One major occurrence in communities of New Zealand is the rise of obesity. This vast increase is evident in Ministry of Health Adult obesity statistics. For example, ten years ago in New Zealand one in three adults - thirty-two percent were obese; clearly displaying the rapid increase in the adult obesity rate from twenty-seven percent in 2006/07 to thirty-two percent in 2015/16 (New Zealand Ministry of Health surveys, 2015/16). An interesting insight is why obesity has increased rapidly? A question that has been considered by a number of health professionals. In this essay, I will examine at-least two explanations that ‘the obesity epidemic’ has on society, furthermore providing research to support. …show more content…
Ministry of Health NZ, therefore, believe that a lifestyle change from a sedentary lifestyle to a more physically active lifestyle can decrease the percentage of obesity among Maori and Pacific population, the problem with this resolution however, is that it does not consider why local, regional and national actor groups i.e. media and food industries are easily accessible. It can be argued that improvement to lifestyle - increase in physical activity and further development within local, regional and national actor groups are the product of an important cultural reform within New Zealand society by providing regulations and laws for an appropriate environment. The second point to be addressed emphasizes the socio-economic forces. For example, individuals located in deprived areas were one point five times more likely to be obese compared to individual living in the least deprived areas (NZ M.O.H.S, 2016). (Lal, Moodie, Ashton, Siahpush & Swinburn, 2012) argues that the increase in obesity is the result of the economic change that has affected the Maori and Pacific local families and communities, an example of this is the demographic trends exposed by the media. Weil Jr, W. B. et al. also suggest that “lower socioeconomic level women are more frequently obese than are women of higher socioeconomic levels”
In this research paper we will be looking at the topic of obesity and the social ramifications that it holds. We will first look at obesity in a broad way. Then we will focus on obesity and its effects on children. And finally, obesity and adulthood will be covered. The topic of obesity is important to the field of sociology because obese people make up a significant portion of the world’s population. In addition, the manner in which obese people are treated has a significant effect on society as a whole.
At a young age, Canadian children are frequently taught that eating right and staying active are a few of the ways that we can keep ourselves at a healthy body weight. Author, Melanie A. Ferris of the journal “Preventing Obesity in Canada’s Aboriginal Children: Not Just a Matter of Eating Right and Getting Active” explains that many Indigenous citizens of Ontario are aware of how simple it appears to prevent obesity in the media, though, these often stressed tactics are not mindful of the living conditions present in the rural Indigenous communities. As the Indigenous determinants of health differ from the majority in Canada, preventing obesity in their young population can be a difficult task.
2001) Recognised by the World Health Organisation, the dramatic worldwide increase in obesity has been named as ‘a global epidemic’. Although obesity occurs in all populations groups in Australia, Indigenous Australians and people from low socio-economic backgrounds are most prone to obesity. The issue of obesity and the increasing levels of
Obesity is the 21st centuries plaque. It is a disease spreading at a rapid rate, taking over our society; affecting us from the grass roots up. Obesity, defined as excess fat/weight causing health issues is a multifactorial issue that needs to be addresses. There are too many consequences presented by the disease, both physical and mental to allow it the continual power to destroy the lives of many, too many Australians. The alarming rate at which this disease is spreading must become a topic of conversation for our whole society. Change needs to be seen at every level.
Obesity is a public health issue that has devastatingly developed into a global epidemic. According to the World Health Organization, the prevalence of overweight and obesity is dramatically increasing worldwide at an appalling and intimidating rate with more than 1.9 billion adults aged18 years and older being overweight in 2014. Out of these 1.9 billion adults being overweight, 600 million were classified obese. While the issue regarding overweight and obesity are prevalent in all countries, the National Health and Medical Research Council stated that Australia’s obesity levels have been developing faster than any countries in the world over the past thirty years. Although obesity may have been primarily considered as a personal concern three decades ago; it is overwhelmingly a societal concern today in Australia. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare have measured that in 2011 and 2012, around 63% of Australian adults had the characteristics of being overweight and corpulence. That is over a quarter of the adult population in Australia being obese.
Obesity is a medical condition, in which a person’s excessive body fat accumulates to a point where it may have a negative impact on their health causing serious illness, disability and premature death. In Australia the rate of obesity has gradually increased over time, where in 2011-2012 it was found that 35.3% Australians aged 18 and over were overweight and 27.5% obese. (WHO reference)This health condition is the outcome of a range of social determinants that warrant attention. However this report will focus on and discuss two social determinants that could conceivably lead to obesity or being overweight.
Summary: This article goes on to tell us what a problem obesity is becoming. It’s becoming such a problem that nowadays Overweight and obesity are the main risk factors for many non-communicable diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, and some types of cancers. Statistics show, in both developed and developing countries, that the prevalence of overweight and obesity is growing. It used to be in just developed countries that obesity and overweight was a problem. But now, it’s a problem in both developed and developing
the serious issue that has impacted our community is type 2 diabetes and it is an issue that has offensively affected in new zealand at the minority percent of 90%-95% that by far the most common form affecting the people with diabetes. nearly 250,000 people in our community are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and this number indicates that our communities are not aware about the causes of type 2 diabetes and the major impacts it has in new zealand. my research question is how does obesity causes type 2 diabetes it also linked to this issue
Much has been written to explain the medical aspect of obesity but little attention has been paid to understanding the sociological aspect of the epidemic. This research attempts to understand the sociological aspect of obesity by examining the socio-cultural, gender, and psycho-social effects and includes the different perceptions of the epidemic as well as what is deemed acceptable in the society we live in.
Crawford, D., Jeffery, R.W., Ball, K. & Brug, J. (Eds.). (2010). Obesity Epidemiology: From Aetiology to Public Health (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 66 percent of Americans over the age of 20 are overweight or obese, and three out of ten are obese. The CDC began gathering data on obesity in 1960, and at that point, thirteen percent of Americans were obese. Obesity slowly began to increase until the 1980’s when it began to rise rapidly. Now, the number of obese people has nearly tripled since then (Stern, Kazaks 15). These trends continue to increase, and now, more than ever, organizations and institutions are pushing to create a healthier America. The problem with obesity is that is preventable, but difficult to overcome due to certain circumstances. Many factors play a role in determining the likelihood of an individual becoming obese. These circumstances include poor diets, poor energy balance, culture and family history, and environment among other things.
This essay discusses how social constructions have an effect on obesity and what combination of causes and contributing factors it includes can lead to obesity. `Obesity is the term used to describe someone who is overweight and unhealthy. Obesity shortens life by an average of 10 years. It is very common in the UK and results from a study back in 2014 showed that a whopping 65.3% of men and 58.1% of women are obese here. (UniversityOfBirmingham,2016) Being over weight is generally associated with being lazy and unpleasant. There are a lot of media groups that have influenced our society’s perception on obesity and many factors that lead to the disease. Obesity can be life threatening and can be the start of lethal conditions such as diabetes,
Statistical information confirms: obesity and overweight have already turned into an issue of national concern. In 2002, “a National Survey conducted by American Sports Data revealed that 61% of adults in the U.S. felt that they were overweight, 19% admitting that they were ‘considerably’ overweight” (American Sports Data). The major causes of obesity, overweight, and similar nutritional problems included genetics, population trends, hurried lifestyles, high-carbohydrate diets, less demanding workplaces, smoking cessation, and social class aspects (American Sports Data). That hurried lifestyles and a less demanding workplace contribute in the development of obesity trends is clear. But even more importantly, because the number of those who are overweight or obese exceeds one half of the American population, the government must control our diets. The information about the costs of obesity and related diseases is even more compelling.
The first reason Hastings et al., mention is the weight gain as a result of eating food with insufficient calories. Hastings et al., stresses that almost 50 % of the population from Samoa has been diagnosed with obesity when compared to 30 years ago. In other words, the number of obesity has increased due to the people choices of consuming canned corned beef, popular in England. However, the authors do not detail if this source of obesity is only related to the canned beef consumption, presumably there might be some unclear evidences that played roles in gaining weight. By the same token, the authors also remark that a similar case had been noted in Fiji due to the swap from the production of their own fresh fruits and vegetables practices to canned soda and sheep fat
Louise Townend in her research concerning the moralizing of obesity addresses the issue across a wide spectrum of categories such as economic, health and social policy. She enumerates the different social contexts of the obesity debate and begins by stating that obesity is no longer a trouble but an epidemic which is now a “significant issue for health and social policy, with major ramifications for general economic productivity across the globe”. (Townend) 2009: 3. She points out obesity is often associated with stigma such as laziness, dirtiness, illness and poverty (Townend, 2009). This connects the problem of obesity with the history of poverty and creates the question of why is laziness connected to obesity? And why does that consequently turn into poverty.