Obesity has become increasingly more prominent in American society. It is also a major health issue affecting many adults and children in the US every year. In his article "Don't Blame the Eater," David Zinczenko sympathizes with children who are suing McDonald’s making them fat. In his own experience as a “latchkey kid”, he knows how easily fast food makes teenagers put on weight with a steady diet of fast food meals. Zinczenko argues that both lack of fast food alternative companies and lack of providing nutrition information contribute to childhood obesity.
How would you feel if I told you that there is no one state with an obesity rate lower than 20%? Take this information and compare it to twenty years ago when every state had an obesity rate lower than 15%. Obesity has become not only the number one cause in death, but according to David Zinczenko, editor-in-chief of Men’s Health and author of “Don’t Blame the Eater”, it is the number one cost in health care with numbers rising well over 100 billion dollars a year (196). There are many people we could blame, such as the food industry or the government, but before we start pointing fingers elsewhere, individuals need to stand up and take personal responsibility for their own actions and health. Either way it is evident a
I choose this topic because I think it is an interesting topic and everyone will like it. As can be seen, obesity is known as one of the most concern in the United States. Many children like to eat fast food, and adults do not have time to cook, so they usually choose to eat outside. Therefore, many people are obese, and they do not know how to balance their
In his article “Don’t Blame the Eater,” David Zinczenko argues that today’s fast food chains fill the nutritional void in children’s lives left by their overtaxed working parents. With many parents working long hours and unable to supervise what their children eat, Zinczenko claims, children today regularly turn to low-cost, calorie-laden foods that the fast food chains are too eager to supply. When Zinczenko himself was a young boy, for example, and his single mother was away at work, he ate at Taco Bell, McDonald’s, and other chains on a regular basis, and ended up overweight. Zinzenko’s hope is that with the new spate of lawsuits against the food industry, other children with working
Over one-half of all Americans are overweight or obese. If you are overweight or obese, carrying this extra weight puts you at risk for developing many diseases. Women generally have more subcutaneous fat than men, but appear to suffer a greater cardiovascular risk from a given degree of fat than women.
In article one Maia Szalavitz, wrote an article titled, “Viewpoint: Defining Obesity as a Disease May do More Harm Than Good.” She is a neuroscience journalist from Time Magazine, who talked about the harmful effect classifying obesity will have on one’s life, as well as others around them. In article two Dr. Keith Ablow’s article is called, “Obesity is not a Disease- and Neither is Alcoholism.” He is a psychiatrist and a member of the Fox Medical A-Team who talked about the solution to obesity, may be as simple as raising someone’s self-esteem. Both these articles talk why one should not classify obesity as a disease, but only one talks about the solution to solve the problem of obesity. Even though Szalavitz and Ablow are similarly matched rhetorically by taking a world-wide problem and discussing the issue of classifying it as a disease; Ablow is more rhetorically effective, because he uses more examples and evidence from different sources to back up his reasoning.
Obesity rates are soaring throughout North America (What Is Obesity?, 2013). With obesity reaching almost epidemic proportions in the United States, and the threat of a global epidemic, we must watch this alarming increase carefully ( Health Risks of Obesity, 2013). Obesity is defined as: "…an excess of adipose tissue…" (A Report of the Surgeon General, 2014). The two most common measures of obesity are Body Mass Index (BMI is a ratio of weight to height) and relative weight index, such as percent desirable weight (Body Mass Index , 2013). BMI is the most frequently used measure of obesity as it has a strong correlation with more direct measures of adiposity, such as underwater weighing (A Report of the Surgeon General, 2013). Some
Although many individuals are uncertain about the increasing statistics associated with obesity, more than seventy percent of men and virtually sixty-two percent of women within the United States adult population are overweight or obese (Wilmore, Costill, & Kenney). Obesity refers to the condition of having an excessive amount of body fat. If an individual’s amount of body fat becomes too excessive, he/she is at a much greater risk of developing life-altering diseases such as heart failure, hypertension, type II diabetes, cancer, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, etc. (Wilmore, et al., 2008).
Obesity is a prevalent condition in America that undeniably leads to a plethora of health complications, including heart disease, diabetes, and depression. However, while medical interventions can be useful for addressing obesity, treating it as a purely medical condition can decontextualize this growing issue. Additionally, it can support the use of ineffective but potentially harmful treatments by a group of disproportionately empowered medical professionals and industries, that are incentivized to maximize their profit. Obesity exists in the context of a society that moralizes eating habits and stigmatizes fat bodies, and the medicalization of obesity impacts not only those who are obese, but also those who become obsessed with avoiding obesity. Combatting obesity is hence a complex problem that should be treated with both medical and societal interventions, and a failure to do so will result in serious consequences.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) in line with a growing number of health scholars, government and private philanthropic organizations support the notion, stating that many of today’s complex health problems may profitably be studied and addressed through approaches that emphasize collaboration with communities in exploring and acting on locally identified concerns (Minkler et al, 2003). There is no doubt that success and sustainability of the proposed research study on the prevalence of overweight and obesity among African immigrants in the United States using CBPR approach will likely benefit and depend on the collaboration of non-scientific trained community members. Yet, the argument continues to center on why non-scientifically trained
Obesity has caused great dilemma in America. It was known as an adult disease. “Over two thirds of adults are over weight or obese.”(Obesity, Jerry R Ballenttne) these numbers are increasing rapidly. Obesity is not just a appearance
In order to impede the epidemic of childhood obesity, the actual causes of the problem need to be evaluated and dissected. Obesity in children is becoming a huge problem in American society. In the past three decades, the rate of overweight children has increased by 300%. This is an alarming rate that is only climbing higher. Every member in society should take steps to becoming healthier. This would help the present generations as well as future generations to come. The lifestyle of Americans keeps us too busy to be a healthy society.
According to the World Health Organization(WHO), obesity is one of the most serious public health issues of the 21st century, globally affecting 42 million children under the age of five years in the year 2010 alone. Obesity is a topic that has received much attention in recent years. It has affected many people in the past, is affecting people now, and will continue to affect people in the future unless actions are taken to change the way obesity is dealt with. For most people, the concern lies with their right to eat how they choose. This is a relevant concern, but allowing individuals to have that choice has led to higher health and medical costs for the individual, as well as for government programs. Obesity is no longer simply a
With the ever increasing, waging war against stoutness. For many, the thought of Obesity putting an entire generation at risk of incalculable medical problems, has become an overwhelming thought. While yet, the masses continue to question if the pandemic is even truly considered a real sickness. In order to inform readers about this well-known pandemic named Obesity, which seems to be sweeping through the nation, and to better help readers understand the cause as to why it is ever increasing, with extensive research many reasons will point to readers as to why this condition may or may not be considered a disease after all.
We are conditioned at a young age to believe the only way to be normal is to be