Obesity : A Growing Problem

The last decade has welcomed, with open arms, a new epidemic: obesity. Currently in the United States, more than one-third of adults, 35.7%, and approximately 17% of children and adolescents are obese. Obesity is not only a problem in the US but also worldwide with its prevalence doubling in high income and economically advanced countries and is also growing in under-developed areas. Its incidence rate is continually increasing with each successive generation and in each age group, including the elderly (Byles, 2009; Dorner and Rieder, 2011).

One of the most commonly discussed issues of America in the last few decades has been obesity. It remains one of the biggest problems in American society and requires a careful, systematic but also immediate solution. Obesity is a term used to describe body weight that is much greater than what is considered healthy. Today, 65% of adults in the U.S. are overweight and half of those are obese. The rates for children are smaller but they are not satisfying either: 15% are overweight and another 15% are headed that way (Lemonick). Besides the aesthetic problems for many people that this condition creates, it is most importantly known as the main cause of serious health problems as well.

Obesity is an increasing epidemic affecting the United States in an alarming and negative way. In the past centuries it was rare for Americans to be obese. Today they’re numerous factors contributing to the epidemic but they can be reversed with awareness of the severity of the issue, it’s affect on health, and a willingness to make changes in their daily life.

Obesity is the storage of excessed body fat that is higher than what is considered to be a healthy weight for a given height and may have a negative effect on health. In the last 2 decades, obesity has doubled. In 2011 there was an approximated 1.4 billion overweight people and of those 500 million were obese (Han et al., 1998 and Barofsky et al., 1998). Almost one in three adults are measured obese and one in six children from ages 6-19 also meet the standards for obesity. No matter where you go, you are more than likely to see an overweight population. Since there are 300 million clinically obese people worldwide, it’s no surprise that obesity is categorized as a growing epidemic in America. Obesity comes from many causes and these reasons

Obesity is the second leading preventable cause of disease and death in the United States. Being overweight and obese has become more prevalent and increased during the last three decades in both adults and children. Currently, 25 million children in the United States are obese or overweight (Babey, Wolstein, Diamant, Bloom, and Goldstein, 2011). The rise in childhood obesity and related health diseases are indicators of a decrease in life expectancy and increased individual and societal costs (Olshansky et al., 2005).

The obesity epidemic remains a public health concern worldwide. Obesity rates remain high in the United States, where one third of adults are obese.1 According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the percent of children (ages 2-19 years) who are obese rose from 14.5% in 1999 to 17.3% in 2012.1 A recent study based on the 2012-2013 NHANES suggests a stabilization in obesity rates since 2003-2004, with a significant decrease among 2-5 year olds but no significant changes observed in other age groups.2

The number of obese adults now exceeds 25 percent in nearly two thirds of states. The rates of obesity in America have risen in the last thirty years, costing Americans, health, happiness, money, and productivity (Obesity is a serious problem 12). In this research paper I will be telling you about arguments and opposing viewpoints about a growing epidemic in teens and adults, obesity. Currently this topic is very controversial about who is to blame the kids, the parents, or the advertising companies because the cost is so low and the advertisers are getting a lot of views because kids are less active. The biggest issue in my opinion is that the parents and children are not aware of all of the consequences and health risks they are putting not just themselves in but their children. With this paper I want to bring out these issues so the parents especially have a better knowledge of this whole situation. Also, in this paper I will be discussing how advertising, fast food, cost/portion size, and better education about obesity. Obesity is a growing epidemic in teens and adults across the world especially America and people need more education about this epidemic. My position on this topic is that I am against obesity.

The obesity epidemic has now become one of the most pressing issues of our time. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) said “...obesity has more than doubled worldwide since 1980. In 2014, more than 1.9 billion adults (39 percent of Earth’s adult population) were overweight. That includes 600 million who were obese” (Kiener 2015). In the United States, slightly more than one third of adults are obese (FRAC 2016), and obesity-related deaths make up 18% of all deaths, which is now more than three times more prevalent than once estimated (Fox 2013). For most of its history, however, many have misinterpreted obesity as a lifestyle problem that effect only “lazy” individuals when the opposite is true. Obesity is an issue that goes beyond

Obesity is a growing problem in America, a problem the government can help fix. In the graphic by (Fletcher) it shows Uncle Sam on a poster telling an overweight person eating an ice cream and paying no attention to the poster labeled U.S obesity that he wants him to slim down. This indicates how the government wants you to be healthy but it's also in the people's hands to take care of their diet. The government can is able to provide diet regulations but the people have to take it in their responsibility to change.

Obesity has been a growing epidemic for decades. The United States is among the highest countries around the world to experience obesity. Nearly 78 million adults and 13 million children in the United States deal with obesity. (American Heart Association, 2017) Furthermore, death tolls for obesity range from 100,000 to 400,000 in the United States per year. This has caused an increase in health care use and expenditures an estimation of 147 billion dollars (Finkelstein, 2009). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is one of the top states where obesity prevalence is 35% or greater. (CDC, 2016) Social and environmental influences contribute to the rise of obesity. Nevertheless, there are some interventions and suggestions that can be applied to

problem but a growing disease. The United States identifies itself as a world power and a nation of

Obesity is a public health and policy problem. It brings with its numerous health effects. Overweight and obesity are the result of caloric imbalance. Obesity runs in families tend to have similar eating and exercise habits. Some evidence shows that if you are overweight, you are more likely to develop health problems. For example, diabetes, cancer and stroke.

Over the past few years, increasing number of people all over the world, especially Americans, have reached to the low-carb bandwagon. With thirty one percent populations being obese, the United States has turns out to be the country with the highest number of obese inhabitants in the world. Obesity is a global issue and has become a crucial epidemic, effecting an estimated ten percent children and teenagers across the world with a substantial probability of having various health issues and a range of added co-morbidities during childhood and teenage (Lobstein, 2004). The entire world, especially America is undoubtedly in crisis due to the continuous rise in obesity at an alarming rate. Obesity is a global prevalence; there are physical, psychological, social, economic, environmental, and biological influences on obesity, with prevention being the only conceivable way out. Childhood obesity is likewise on the rise, and it is important to educate and inform parents about the reasons and preventive measures that could be taken. The disproportion of calories intake and calories used can be a consequence of a number of factors including behavioral, genetics and ecological influences. Unless there is a far-reaching cultural, behavioral, physical, and environmental change among people regarding diet and physical activity in America, obesity rates will most likely continue to rise.

Obesity is a growing disease within our ever quickening, largely sedentary society. The American Obesity Treatment Organization reported the current obesity problem in the US as 72 million people dealing with this disease and associated risk factors. Obesity is a disease that affects both adults and children. The CDC lists related risk factors of this disease as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, Type-2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and stroke ("Adult Obesity Facts"). Obesity is highly prevalent in Florida with rates as high as 25-30% (“Obesity Prevalence Maps”). As a nation, the goal set by Healthy People 2020 is to reduce the rate of obesity to less than 15% and as the data and statistics clearly show Florida is nowhere

Obesity is classified as one of the extremely common and serious public health problems in the world. Overweight and obesity are the fifth leading global risks of mortality in the world (World Health Organization, 2009). Furthermore, they are one of the major factors of for a number of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer (World Health Organization, 2005). According to NHS UK, obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more for adults, and the UK 1990 growth reference curves are used to define obesity for Children (Cole TJ, Freeman JV, Preece MA, 1995). The growing challenge of obesity of Europe countries is remarkable among Asian countries .In 2008, 1.4 billion adults (35%) aged 20 and over were overweight and 500 million were obese (11%). More than 40 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2012(World Health Organization, 2014). That is the global obesity situation. Furthermore, the obesity problem in the UK is not optimistic, the UK has the highest obesity rates among Europe countries, and this trend has strikingly increased over the recent years to the point where more than 20% of the population are now obese. (University of Birmingham, 2014) However, the obesity situation in Singapore is more worrisome. In 2010, 40% adults aged 18 to 69 were overweight and 10% were obese which is more than double the level seen in 1992. (Ministry of Health Singapore, 2010) This essay will