A Neurological Role Of Music In Social Bonding

Obesity continues to be a problem in the United States. With obesity rates on the rise something must be done to prevent this massive issue. Seventeen percent of children and adolescents about 12.5 million are obese (Diet). Obesity is the result of a rise in fat that accumulated over time due to the lack of exercise and having a calorie surplus due to unhealthy food. An adult with a BMI (body mass index) higher than 30% is considered to be obese (Obesity). There isn’t a direct focus on obesity, because people don’t think it’s an important issue. To ensure a better future, solution is needed now. The solution to ending the obesity epidemic by encouraging a healthier lifestyle on children at young ages, improving nutrition at schools and restaurants, as well as providing more time and space for citizens to get physically active.

Music has played a major role as an agent of socialization in each of my 4 decades. I know and hope that it will continue to do so. During each period music has affected my personality, shown my personality, affected my perceptions and helped me to cope with growing and changing as a person. My Looking Glass Self has compared the person in song and possibly the singer themselves to myself to gain perspective of who I was at each time. I am going to discuss each decade with the thought of how music was an agent of socialization in each.

Obesity in America is real and profoundly alarming when you look at the major impact it has on our communities. Major health concerns like diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure cases are at an all time high. Specifically, the disparity between low-income urban inner cities in regards to obesity as compared to more upper class wealthier communities makes you take pause. This relates to my professional goals of going back into my community as an activist and organizer of issues related to my environment, like health and education.

For as long as mankind has walked on this earth, music has been an important part of our culture and lifestyles. Each walk of life beats to a different drum. Different cultures use music for many aspects of their lives; for religious purposes, for celebrations, for comfort, for sorrow, for relaxation, for sports, for dances, for energy, for learning, for sleeping, and for sexual experiences. Everyone uses music for something. Music connects with people and reaches them in ways that words simply cannot. Music is a representation of what feelings sound like. It expresses emotion and brings that characteristic out from within us; it tells us a story. Every generation has its’ own sound and different music styles have emerged and become

America, like any other country, has its assortment of problems: immigration, debt, or foreign affairs but one issue that is rather hard to overlook, literally, its obesity epidemic. The extra pounds have become a sight all too common in America’s society, “men are now on average seventeen pounds heavier than they were in the late seventies, and for women that figure is even higher: nineteen pounds.” (Kolbert). Obesity does not just affect adults in this way either, the kid population has been getting bigger, according to the numbers on a scale “the proportion of overweight children, age six to eleven, has more than doubled, while the proportion of overweight adolescents, age twelve to nineteen, has more than tripled.” (Kolbert). This issue has been a major concern to doctors and scientists for decades and in recent years, has even has the American Medical Association recognizing obesity to be a disease (Pollack). That is a highly debatable statement because obesity itself is a preventable lifestyle. Obesity is avoidable and curable to all (or at least most) of its sufferers. For some citizens, obesity is not a choice, rather genetics, but for the majority of the population, obesity is caused by an unhealthy diet and lazy lifestyle, and for these certain individuals, through a lot of work and discipline, the return to a healthy lifestyle is not as impossible as it may appear.

Today’s children are at risk to be the first generation in the modern era to have a life expectancy less than that of their parents (Lemonick, 3). This is because of obesity. In the last thirty years, the rate of obesity among adolescents in the United States has quadrupled, and the anatomical health repercussions are being felt (“A Comparison” 16). Ailments like heart disease and diabetes, that have a direct correlation with obesity, are all on the rise. The issue within society is that few people recognize that obesity is the root of these problems (Ward-Smith, 242). For this reason, Americans have allowed themselves to create a lifestyle where obesity will continue to exist. With a fast paced culture that demands results instantly, society

The United States as a nation is struggling tremendously with high an outrageous obesity rate. According to the documentary “Weight of the Nation,” obesity is number five out of the ten leading causes of death. The lifestyle in the United States has become a “norm” that has to be changed quickly. It is imperative that we as adults draw into our youth the importance of eating healthy. We as people are in control of our own health and can prevent ourselves from getting chronic diseases such as heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

An epidemic is happening in the United States of America; obesity is on the rise. The United States is currently is second in the world’s most obese countries with more than two-thirds of adults being overweight ("Overweight and Obesity Statistics"). Countermeasures to promote a healthier living style are on the rise, also. For instance, Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” program promotes eating healthy food and increasing exercise. The NFL promotes sixty minutes of play for children each day to promote healthier living and establishing an active lifestyle.

The enlarged percent of obesity amongst Americans is amazing. The National Center for Health Statistics recently reported, “the most recent national data on obesity prevalence among U.S. adults, adolescents, and children show that more than one-third of adults and almost seventeen percent of children and adolescents were obese in 2009-2010” (NCHS Data Brief, 6). Thinking back to humbler times when there was no junk food, people lived a healthier existence but were

The government presently has programs in place that are meant to urge people to deal with their weight. Cities generally have parks which supply free exercise-related areas to the public. While the government offers resources for people to challenge obesity, the government should “let each [person] take responsibility for [their] diet and lifestyle.”(Balko) An individual, not the government, pays the consequences of obesity in their value of life. In fact, the government should not pay for any backlash of obesity, because it removes a person’s own accountability, but “we’re likely to make better decisions when someone else isn’t paying for the consequences.” (Balko). Obesity does not occur in a day or a week, but through a sequence of choices and routines, which form a lifestyle. A law highlights a problem and provides a solution, this procedure is often efficient in dealing with the problem. But as for the growing problem of obesity, solutions suggested are usually short term regulations which cannot always connect a multi-generational problem. Instead of taking away temptations, such as fast food chains or unhealthy foods, the government should continue encouraging people to live a healthy life. The benefit of healthy living is that it is not limited to today, if prioritized, healthy living can become a long-lasting

In recent years, information about how our food choices affect our health has started to emerge in popular society. The outrageous percentage of people suffering with diseases such as obesity, diabetes and asthma has people asking questions and looking for causes (and solutions). Television shows such as Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, in which one ambitious English chef sets out to make the most obese city in America healthier, explains just how serious these problems have become. The scenic city of Huntington, WV has been the key driving force of his movement. This city is only a few miles from where I live. The most obese city in America. The state of West Virginia, has been the most obese state in the United States from 2010 through 2012. “Overall, obesity in the U.S. has increased from 26.2 percent in 2012 to 27.1 percent in 2013; the obesity rate was 25.5 percent in 2008” (Huffington post, 2014). This continuously increasing current global issue effects our society, our landscape and our cities. As designers it is our responsibility to understand our environment’s current problems and develop solutions to improve the lives of everyday people. To find solutions to this global issue “Architecture is now part of the national discussion on the obesity and chronic disease epidemic in the United States” (AIA, Fit Nation, 2013). “It’s not just ‘walk more, weigh less,” Friedman says. “This is about

In recent years, obesity rates continue to grow in the United States, not just overweight, socialization difficulties, but it is a society that is developing a new medical condition. However, a worrying number of overweight Americans living with this abnormal condition does nothing to fix their obstacle, satisfies with light diets, and few minutes a day of exercise. ''While the number of obese adults has doubled since the 1980s, extremely obese adults has quadrupled, currently affecting one in every 50 adults, an estimated 300,000 people in the United States die annually from obesity-related diseases'' (O’Donnell, par.4). Unfortunately, years ago obesity were not an overwhelming problem in proportion, as now, each person has to prevent the number of calories to consume a day to be in the healthy average. Across the country, obesity is an epidemic that affects the quality of life, because unbalanced diets cause our body’s improper nutrition and deficient the essential vitamins and minerals our bodies require. Obesity should not be seen as an epidemic, instead as a medical condition that can be solved and controlled through the following years.

Music has been apart of society for thousands of years and an outlet for people's stress and other problems they may be facing. It helps the brain function and understand conditions better by breaking it down and trying to comprehend it. Music has made and is still making an impact on the lives of people all around the world. Because of its impact on peoples lives neuroscientist wanted to get to the source and have been looking at the brain to determine the exact effects of music and they can now answer the question, what effects does music have on the brain? Listening to music can send pleasure to your mind, decide your emotions, lower stress, and improve learning.

Throughout the past few decades the obesity rate in the United States has been climbing to horrifying levels. Many people have come up with different solutions to this problem but none of them seem to be stopping the rates from growing as fast as they are. There is no exact cure to this problem, however there are steps people can take in order to ensure that overtime this problem can slowly become a problem of the past. This proposal will go through many different ideas on how the problem may be solved. It will also show how some of these ideas may be helpful or harmful in their own ways. Due to the complexities of the obesity epidemic in America, there must be fluidity within the solution itself to ensure a broader fix for this large scale

Proposed solutions include integrating physical activity into everyday life in every way, promoting marketing of what matters for a healthy life, promoting greater availability of healthy foods and beverages, enlisting employers and health care professionals in the fight against obesity, and strengthening schools as the "heart of health."(Michael L. Marlow 4) Although the plans seem simple and like common sense it can’t work without the entirety of society changing. Our examination of the obesity issue demonstrates that government intervention is often ineffective in dealing with individual failures, and in some cases is counterproductive. (Michael L. Marlow 5) This statement itself proves that we must work together to make this change, people follow trends that are popular so if they’re not part of the majority often times they will want to change to fit in with society's