Essay On Obesity As A Disease May Do More Harm Than Good

Obesity is defined as a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduce life expectancy and/or increased health problems. “The problem of obesity is increasing in the United States. Understanding the impact of social inequalities on health has become a public health priority in the new millennium. Social, political, and economic factors now are acknowledged to be "fundamental" causes of disease that affect behavior, beliefs, and biology.” (Goodman, 2003)  In the United States today, obesity has become an enormous problem. In the last 3 decades, the number of people overweight has increased dramatically. Obesity has not always been seen as a medical

In order for obesity to be a disease it would have to either impair the function of an individual

Recently, a lot of debate has gone around about whether or not obesity is considered a disease or not. It is very difficult to pinpoint one sole reason obesity is occurring in people, there are many different justifications for what causes a person to become obese. Obesity is a disease that is currently sweeping the entire world. Percentages of not just adults, but children are skyrocketing like never before. People have never been so overweight until now. I am going to examine why obesity is considered a disease through a scientific, economic, historical, and futuristic lenses.

Is obesity really a serious health concern or is the “epidemic” merely a result of highly fabricated, misleading ideas of politicians and the media? The article, Obesity: An Overblown Epidemic? By W. Wayt Gibbs featured in the May 23, 2005 edition of Scientific America, raises this question. Most health experts and average people believe that obesity is one of the most prevalent health concerns today, resulting in increased risk for other major health issues; such as; heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer, and the chance for early loss of life. However, other researchers are suggesting that the consequences of being overweight are being blown out of proportion. Naturally, they do

Over 60% of the people in the U.S are obese, obesity ranks second among preventable causes of death. What you eat is what you are. More and more people are becoming obese which is not healthy. People who suffer from obesity are going to face severe chronic illness or stress. A person who is obese is not necessarily overweight but has too much body fat. Many experts use BMI index for an accurate measurement for a body fat. BMI is calculated by a formula that includes a person’s height and weight. One important cause of insulin is obesity. Insulin is supposed to transport blood sugar into the cells of the muscle and fat. Since the year 1980 the obesity rate in the U.S. has changed. In 2000 the obesity rate was 30% percent but in 2013 it

In 2015, the rate for diabetes in adults was at 10.7 percent, imagine the percentage it has reached now. ("The State of Obesity in North Carolina.") Many doctors and physicians say obesity is a disease. In my opinion something you do to yourself is not a disease, it can be prevented and it can go away if you work on exercising and eating healthy foods. Unlike “real” life threatening diseases that cannot be prevented or cured. ("Rethink Obesity.") How can you declare obesity as a disease when people are throwing away their lives, and also are killing themselves without trying to help themselves and change their lifestyles, they are not born with obesity so you cannot say it is a disease in my

As matter of fact, in the article, Obesity in the United States: Public Perceptions it states, “The U.S. public considers obesity second only to cancer as the nation’s most serious health issue, with conditions closely related to obesity—diabetes and heart disease—tied for third” (T. Tompson, J. Benz, J. Agiesta, K.H. Brewer, L. Bye, R. Reimer, D. Junius). Americans must realize their nutrition affects their health and over all well being greatly. If Americans do not try to prevent obesity now when they can, they will look for help when it will be too late or too hard for them to lose the weight. Obesity is one of the most complex, chronic medical conditions and successful treatment often requires the support and care of healthcare professionals. Health authorities, and doctors have had to make a stand about the current situation the United States is in. For example, The Publics Perception of the Obesity epidemic argues, “Obesity has been called a major health crisis and a national epidemic. Health authorities, including prominent spokespeople like Michelle Obama and the Surgeon General, have sounded the alarm, and the media has responded with a bombardment of stories about the state of the nation’s waistline” (Cornell University). Americans should consider changing some of their diets because the unhealthy foods

The question of how the obesity epidemic has evolved over time is best answered by examining the topical literature—not necessarily critical analyses of anti-obesity propaganda, but the propaganda itself. The difference in content is similar to the distinction between primary and secondary sources. Although authors and critics like Deborah Lupton and Natalie Boero can connect concepts between the literature on a wider scale, the actual documents generated by anti-obesity groups and fat advocates provide the best context and examples of the trajectory of the supposed crises in the present day. Here we examine two such documents, one from the Mayo Clinic’s weight loss plan, “My Weight Solutions,” and the other from a writer in support of the fat advocacy movement, Health at Every Size (HAES). Both texts are guidelines for personal health in relation to lifestyle and whether weight plays a role in health; there are similarities between them, as well as stark contrasts. However, it may come as a surprise that there are more similarities than not. Both documents are written with a goal in mind—that is, encouraging readers to engage in healthy lifestyle choices. There is a significant focus on the individual and on realistic behavioral, and therefore psychological, strategies within both documents. Although both documents relate to concepts in Lupton 's Fat and Boero’s Killer Fat, the focus of this analysis will be on the primary documents themselves. The key difference between

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.

Obesity does not discriminate against social status, sex, or race; it can take a person’s life and turn it upside down in the blink of an eye if they are not careful. Some people think of obesity as a worldwide killer because there is no outrunning it if it overtakes a person’s body. Every 1 in 3 adults are obese right here in America, that should give each and every individual some type of hint that there is a major problem occurring. The obesity epidemic is not something that has just caught the attention of people recently; it has been going on since the 1950’s! This epidemic is a major problem; over 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being obese or extremely overweight and over 40 million children were said to be obese in

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

Dalton revisits the controversial issue of whether obesity should be declared a disease or not. In the author's opinion, obesity is not a disease. With that in mind, this book will offer a sound basis for my assertion that obesity cannot be regarded a disease but a contributing factor to ill health.

Fast food is responsible for the increase of obesity rates in Western nations. In order to curb obesity rates, government regulation from the local level is necessary. The fast food corporations are responsible for the obesity epidemic because they make false health claims about their food and market heavily to children. But critics of regulation state that individuals, along with their food choices are responsible for the obesity epidemic. But regulation proponents believe that fast food needs regulation because of high obesity rates in poor inner city neighborhoods. In order to curb current obesity rates, local governments must intervene by implementing fast food regulations.

In the simplest terms, obesity is a chronic condition of excess stored body fat (Balantine). Such a minor problem hardly warrants the need for worry; surely a few pounds in excess and snug-fitting jeans are not enough to cause nation-wide apprehension. However, Dr. Tansneem Bhatia, medical director and founder, the Atlanta Center for Holistic and Integrative Medicine, goes on to describe that similarly to depression, alcoholism, or anxiety, there are several medical patterns including hormone imbalances, neurotransmitter deficiencies, and nutritional exhaustion which contribute to the disease of obesity (Rossi). Although the severity of more than one in three Americans suffering from obesity is significant and the health complications are notable, is it enough or even acceptable to medically define obesity as a disease? Doctors from coast to coast insist the term can be justified. For instance, Dr. Pam M. Peeke, assistant clinical professor of Medicine, University of Maryland, straightforwardly maintains that obesity

There are many serious health issues today in society. A few of them are anorexia nervosa, bulimia, diabetes, and obesity. Today, obesity is one of the most popular diseases around the world. Obesity typically means having a body mass index of thirty kilograms or more. If taken in more calories than burned, it leads to being overweight, and eventually obesity. Since the 1960s, people in the United States and other industrialized countries have become heavier on average. Excess weight is the cause of more illness than virtually any other medical condition. Most people still do not practice healthy behaviors that can prevent obesity. Obesity is mostly caused by poor eating habits. People do not eat healthy foods, have larger portions than