Normalization Of Obesity

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

People are usually identified as obese based on their Body Mass Index (BMI). The average BMI is ranged from 18.5 to 24.9, and overweight BMI is 25-29.9 (Defining Overweight and Obesity, 2012). When a person’s BMI reaches 30 and above, he or she is probably obese. At least one out of three people in United States suffer from obesity which means one third of the nation population needs treatment. In 2013, obesity has been officially recognized as a disease by the American Medical Association. The debate for obesity as a medical disease has never stopped ever since. However, while smoking and alcoholism are addictive and harmful, we hardly consider them as diseases. So why should obesity be a medical disease? Does labeling obesity a disease help calm the epidemic? If obesity is not a disease, how should we label it?

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

Different factors are responsible for obesity in children and adolescents. The cause of obesity was widely agreed, that eating too much and exercising too little. Food is energy, unless you use that energy; however, it will be store as fat. Nevertheless, once someone becomes obese, it is often not as easy as simply eating less and moving more will resolve the situation. From genetic to behavioral, and environmental, the imbalance of calories intake, calories have been use for the purpose of growth, development, metabolism and physical actives. Children usually consume their calories by means of food or beverages. When those foods are not utilize, for energy activities, it leads to obesity. Obesity could be consider, has been

Environment factors, including sedentary lifestyles, high energy intake and social aspects enhance the risk for obesity. A recently published evaluation of the Framingham Study provides an interesting alternative explanation for the worldwide increase in the prevalence of obesity, by demonstrating that the chance of a person to become obese is significantly higher when a friend, sibling or spouse are obese (Christakis and Fowler, 2007). Thus the social net work could be a relevant factor in the obesity epidemic.

Adding, many factors have been shown that Obesity should be taken more seriously then what many people consider. Factors of a person becoming obese can be all of the following, community and environment, drugs, lack of exercise, unhealthy diet, lack of sleep, bad habits (smoking and drinking), genetics, social and economic issues, and one of the most important is they way a person’s family lives. Obesity can happen so quickly in young children if their family does not do anything to make sure their children are getting enough exercise and good nutrition.

America's children are not getting enough exercise, and the health risks due to obesity are becoming epidemic in nature. Even First Lady Michelle Obama is supporting an initiative to help children become more active and to provide for exercise (at least 30-60 minutes per day) in all schools. Even limited amounts of exercise can have great health benefits. When humans exercise, the brain produces chemicals that help enhance mood, limit cravings for sugars, and contribute to healthier joints, muscles, the heart, and kidneys. In turn, this translates into more productive work time, the ability to sleep better, increase memory, and reduce dependence on medications. Children are so vulnerable to this health risk that if it continues, over 60% of graduating seniors will be clinically obese. Written by a medical journalist, the book is designed for the lay reader but has a number of documented scholarly sources.

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.

They pointed to a multiple list of reasons why they found the results that they did. All of their reasons talked about issues that cause people to become obese. They looked at access to healthy foods, job related issues of stress, access to recreational and fitness facilities, and most importantly access to medical facilities. All of these risk factors of cardiovascular disease are directly related to obesity.

In 2008, the American Medical Association recognized obesity as a disease claiming that “Recognizing obesity as a disease will help change the way the medical community tackles this complex issue that affects approximately one in three Americans,” said AMA board member Patrice Harris, M.D. While this may be true, is that a justifiable reason to classify obesity, a result of unhealthy decisions, as a disease? The fact is obesity is the consequence of choosing an unhealthy lifestyle. True the unhealthy lifestyle may not be chosen on purpose but “The choices we make by accident are just as important as the choices we make by design” – Anonymous. Therefore if obesity is a consequence of choices then I feel obesity itself has to be a choice,

Obesity basically means having too much body fat. Not being overweight for your height, having too much muscle, or water in your body. What exactly is obesity? “Obesity is a condition that is associated with having an excess of body fat, defined by genetic and environmental factors that are difficult to control when dieting. Obesity is classified as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or greater. BMI is a tool used to measure obesity. Obesity increases your risk of developing related conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and sleep apnea, to name a few. Many individuals are affected by obesity and are not aware of it” (O.A.C, 2016). Causes of obesity vary from person to person, but most are from the same reasons. Taking in more calories than your body can burn leads to obesity because your body stores the unused calories as fat. Typical causes are eating too much food than your body can use, drinking too much alcohol, and not getting enough exercise. Many obese people who lose large amounts of weight and gain it back think it is their fault. They blame themselves for not having the willpower to keep the weight off. Many people regain more weight than they lost. Today, we know that biology is a big reason why some people cannot keep the weight off. Some people who live in the same place and eat the same foods become obese, while others do not. Our bodies have a complex system to help keep our

Fed Up. Stephanie Soechtig. Perf. Michele Simon, Katie Couric, Bill Clinton, Michael Bloomberg. Atlas Films, 2014.

There are more than one billion overweigh adults in the world with at least three hundred of these adults being obese. In North America, obesity has increasingly become one of the most important public health problems (Flegal, Graubard, Williamson, & Gail 2005). With cases of obesity increasing, there has also been more exportation of research being done into the topic. Moreover, social, psychological and biological factors are being investigated to determine aspects that may influence the onset of obesity. This paper will focus on two specific domains of the biopsychosocial model of health with a focus on psychological and social factors that affect obesity.

The everyday routines of life can and will be more difficult if encumbered with obesity.

Obesity is a condition in which the over accumulation of adipose fat tissue causes the weight of a person to increase abnormally. Their weight exceeds by 20%, as a factor of their ideal body weight. According to recent analysis, statistics show that more than one third of the world’s population is targeted by obesity. Research shows that overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight. Obesity occurs greatly amongst adults who are 18 years or older. An estimated 600 million adults were obese out of the 1.9 billion that were overweight, around the world in 2014. One in three adults in Mexico, New Zealand and United States are obese, and one in four adults in Australia, Canada, Chile and Hungary are obese. In contrast, rates of obesity are much lower in Asian countries, where approximately 2-4% of adults have obesity. In countries such as Mexico and the United States, Latino and Africans have the highest rates of obesity amongst all the individuals. However, along with adults, statistics show that the rates for obesity are also high among children within and below the age of 5. As calculated in 2013, the number of children across the world that were either overweight or obese was 42 million. Since then, the rates have increased by 30% more in in low- and middle-income countries than in developed countries. Due to the fact that this condition continues at higher rates across the world, several organizations, such as the World Health Organization, are working with and