Opinion: Making America Fat Again

Obesity is a rapidly growing and vastly underestimated epidemic impending upon the youth of America. The American food culture is known for being big, fast, fake and unhealthy. With increasingly limited access to fresh foods and produce and the fast-paced day-to-day life of the average person, the majority of Americans have found themselves with bad eating and exercising habits. President Donald Trump has been no exception to this phenomenon.

Despite his “excellent” health reports from Dr. Ronny Jackson, Trump is visibly overweight and undoubtedly too busy to work out. According to the last official records, President Trump weighs 239 pounds and is six feet tall, conveniently putting him at a body mass index of 29.9 –  just below the 30.0 threshold, which puts him one pound away from being another name on the long list of obese Americans.

As the focal point of media providers and news outlets across the nation, Trump is the unavoidable center of attention of households everywhere. He is the face of the nation and a man that is looked upon as a role model to many. That being said, Trump’s health and lifestyle is a destructive example for the youth in America.

Photo courtesy of mirror.co.uk

The New York Times recently reported that Donald Trump has a button on his desk to signal his household staff for one of the 12 diet cokes he drinks each day. Previous presidents have made it a part of their mission to promote balanced lifestyles and encourage healthy eating.

Michelle Obama, with the support of her husband and her platform for advocacy as the first lady, made it her role to set an example of sustainable living and self-care in order to improve society. In a nation that is already defined by highly unequal access to healthy food and exercise, Trump’s own inclinations threaten to make wellness and health an even lower public priority.

For many people, the balance of work, family and the hustle of everyday life are prioritized over healthy choices–especially when unhealthy food is the easiest and most appealing option. With the ability and position to have a positive influence on the choices of Americans our current president has chosen to do the opposite by clinging on to one of the United States’s least notable trends–obesity.

Photo courtesy of Vanity Fair

However, not only has Donald Trump failed to exemplify or even remotely promote his own or others’ well-being, but he has also, on several occasions, used skewed standards to define that of others. While exercise and healthy eating is not a part of Trump’s priorities, it is a requirement for the women in his orbit. Trump has made a habit of commenting on women’s’ appearances and has gone as far as describing some of those closest to him as “fat pigs.”

In 1996, Trump took part in a media set up to humiliate Alicia Machado after she gained what he deemed was an unacceptable amount of weight for Miss Universe. It is clear that Trump’s world is a sexist one in which wellness is a women’s issue rather than a responsibility for the very government he claims to run.

Trump’s lifestyle choices have the potential to pose a detrimental effect on society and the younger generations of America. His powerful influence over the nation may cause the statistics on obesity to rise. Moving forward, it is important to remember that when our leaders fail to embody values for the well being of the nation, it is the duty of the people to take on that leadership role, and set an example for the young minds in America. 

Photo courtesy of ABC News