I am thin and have always been. It is probably due to my fast metabolism as an Asian. I never noticed any serious issues about weight until I moved to the United States three years ago.
In Vietnam, the word “obesity” is not a common word. While I was growing up I almost never heard it. In the United States, though it is not a strange topic. A significant number of American magazines that I read regularly had featured articles about the danger of obesity, losing weight and related topics. The issue gained my interest so I decided to do some research about it. According to The American Obesity Association, approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million obese, and 9 million severely obese. In fact, the number of Americans whose health is jeopardized by too much weight is growing alarmingly and becoming part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' health agenda. The information completely shocked me. I could not believe that obesity was now recognized as “a neglected health problem” in the United States. The more I understood the danger of obesity, the more I realized how much I had been unaware of my weight.
When I first moved to the United States, I lost twenty pounds due to the difference of food and weather. After a year, I stopped losing weight and stayed at my one hundred and twenty pounds. In Vietnam, my weight would be normal in comparison to that of other males my age; however, in the United States, people commented that I was way too thin. It was the first time that someone else was concerned about my body shape. Because I was shorter, thinner and less athletic then the average American young male, people did not recognize me as a college student and thought that I was having a health problem. It was always a hassle to find clothes that were cut appropriately for my body type. When I was surrounded by Americans, I felt like an unhealthy outcast. It had a big effect on my self confidence and my communication with other students.
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