Obesity has become an overwhelming issue around the world today and is a potential leading
cause of more severe public health problems. The world is a diverse place in terms of
environments and cultures and, as a species we influence each other more than is recognized.
Environment has played a major role throughout history to answer the questions of how, when,
where, why, as the human race, have we come to be as we are today, and ultimately why we are
so different. Social environments prove to be a point of diffusion among people and can be used
to explain people’s behaviors and values in a community. Food is an intersection between
culture and ecology because it has been influenced by how people live their lives in a certain
environment. This can be a good or a bad thing, either promoting a healthy diet among peers or
instigating “bad” habits, and when countries are developing it seems people trend towards a less
healthy diet. We have seen issues with dietary behavior in the United States, such as obesity,
and now these same problems have spread to other areas of the globe. Humans have come a
long way from the hunter-gather lifestyle and advanced in many areas to varying degrees, but our
drive for more innovation and an easier lifestyle has manifested into a destructive lifestyle for
our health.