Obesity: A Nationwide Epidemic

In today’s society obesity has become a nationwide epidemic that is affecting children and adults daily. Dietitians have an essential role in the health field to treat patients with nutrition problems such as obesity, but every patient is different and how the dietician decides the course of treatment is as well. For example, there are many ways the dietician can treat the patient like goal setting, self-monitoring, meal preparation, and other strategic plans that lead to the best health of the patient. When making a plan to treat the patient many detailed factors come into play. For example, patients age, occupation, family history, and most importantly social environment.

In today’s day and age you can purchase a “happy meal” for less than you can purchase a salad. In many more ways than could possibly ever be listed obesity is by far the worst epidemic to ever hit our nation. For hundreds of thousands of years obesity has affected senior citizens all the way down to children as young as 2-3 years old. Have you ever wondered how much obesity has progressed over time? How about how obesity affects our world now? Maybe you want some helpful tips to avoid obesity.

In our society today we have a lot of large scale epidemics, ones that are always the front runners for debate and argument, ones that can we viewed in so many different lights it’s hard to really tell the true origin of its cause. One such epidemic is obesity, wildly debated and argued its true cause of combination of causes are researched to this day. Having done conclusive research on the topic to try and find the best fit answer I came across 2 hand in hand causes that are in the driver seat for obesity and its rise. Over easting in combination with unchanging levels of exercise are the root of this obesity epidemic one that stems for a culture deep rooted in its ways, unable to really escape its self.

Over the course of this semester we have stated time and again that the current Obesity epidemic represents a worldwide healthcare crisis. We have explored all the possible triggers of the increasing rise of obesity cases amongst children and adults of both developed and undeveloped countries. Ultimately, the prominent bearers of responsibility are governments, the food industry and the obese patients themselves. The question now is not who to blame, but who to look to for solutions. In this final assignment I will explore what are the relative roles of government, industry, and individuals responsibility in meeting the obesity epidemic? and, To what extent is this problem and its putative solution(s) similar to that of other global problems.

Obesity seems to be a growing epidemic in our country affecting almost 40% of adults. Obesity is linked to many degenerative diseases, but over the year’s type 2 diabetes mellitus has dramatically increased in people who are obese. Our bodies tend to carry fat in different ways, studies have shown that people who carry their weight in the mid-section are more likely to increase their risk for cardio vascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. “This constellation of metabolic abnormalities increases the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus and of various cardiovascular outcomes”(Després, PhD, FAHA, FIAS, 2012).

In the United States obesity is an increasing problem . With obesity rates soaring with each year something must be done to alleviate this massive issue. There are many different ways to help some of which include increasing the knowledge of students and parents, improving nutrition facts at restaurants, and providing more facilities for citizens to become physically engaged.

Considered as a disease by society since 2013, obesity has become a growing epidemic. It results from consuming an overly excessive amount of calories than the approximated two thousand that are necessary for everyday use. The extra calories that are not burned for immediate energy are stored as fat. This eventually leads to an accumulation of fat and thus, generates a large weight gain. It was once believed that obesity was only an issue for the developed countries, but globalization has changed this. As undeveloped countries transitioned from a traditional diet to a more western one, the rate of worldwide obesity has doubled since 1980. A western diet primarily consists of highly processed foods. This type of food is composed of high concentrations of sugar, sodium, fats, and carbohydrates. Through trade and multinational fast-food companies, globalization has allowed greater access to these very cheap and unhealthy processed foods. The trend of globalization increasing the number of obese people has been labeled by the World Health Organization as “globesity” (Brunner-Brown 1).

Obesity is one major healthcare issue worldwide. This occurs in any race, gender, and ethnicity. In fact, individuals have been struggling with this problem way before the simplest sexually transmitted diseases were ever discovered. Buchwald (2003) states that, “An individual usually is considered obese when his or her body mass index (BMI) is over 30 percent.” Although it can occur in any individual, obesity is determined after a few factors: gender, height, and age. A physician is usually the one to determine BMI and whether an individual is obese or not. An individual who is obese but can easily take proper precautions to control their weight is not that serious. On the other hand, those who are way over a 30 percent BMI may have a bigger problem. For example, A 30 year old women weighing 500 pounds who only stands about 66 inches tall can be a bit risky. After this is discovered, individuals usually make surgery decisions if he/she cannot take control of their own weight. Often times, to jumpstart their weight loss, patients usually choose gastric bypass surgery. Gastric bypass surgery does not take all of the excess weight off of an individual but it starts the process. The surgery is very risky. Gastric bypass surgery causes a series of health problems, causes financial burdens, and navigates to lifestyle changes. Therefore, dieting and exercising should be the only decision an individual should make when thinking about how to lose weight.

Obesity in the human population is becoming a global epidemic, results from the 2007–2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) estimated that 34.2% of adults in the United States are overweight, 33.8% are obese, and 5.7% are extremely obese (A). Obesity in humans can be caused by multiple factors although it is most commonly the result of genetics, increased availability of high-energy foods and decreased amounts of physical activity (B). Obesity is an abnormal or extensive accumulation of adipose tissue and is defined as a state of chronic low-grade inflammation (23, D). This low-grade inflammation links obesity to the development of multiple secondary chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, high cholesterol, fatty liver, pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers (B,A,E, 23). Of these secondary diseases cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes are responsible for more than 36 million deaths every year (63% of all deaths), with almost one quarter of deaths occurring in people under the age of 60 (F). The secondary diseases caused by obesity are often debilitating, costly and shorten the lifespan.

Obesity is a condition characterized by excess body fat as a result of too much calorific intake which exceeds the amount being used in the body. The body mass index (BMI) is normally used to assess the health risks of this condition among those affected (2). A BMI of anything between 30.0-39.9 is considered obese by the CDC (4). It is an emerging health issue which is caused by a number of factors including genetics and behavior or lifestyles. Other factors causing obesity include diets, physical inactivity, environmental exposures, psychological factors, and genetics. Obesity has become a global epidemic which is spreading faster among demographic groups as well as regions across the world. It has become a serious health issue because of

The rates of obesity have been increasing dramatically as the new generation emerged. Typically, the incline in the fast food industry has centered in the United States by extreme use of social media and technologies. Much “faster” foods are made for those who are in rush and they are considered convenient while satisfying one’s appetite. Nowadays, the advanced technology such like “Tapingo” is used to order food much faster rather than waiting in line to get fast food. However, obtaining fast food “faster” doesn’t result on any of the good side. Hence, the advance in convenience has shown its incline in the risk of obesity. The epidemic of obesity has become such controversial topic over many countries due to its unstoppable rise in the invention

Fighting obesity is major in the society we live in today. Obesity has become a big part in the lives of Americans. Most of the American population is obese. When an individual is obese, they have an excessive amount of body fat. In the society we live in, there are many different ways to fight obesity. Ways to fight obesity are eating healthy going to the gym and getting motivated to change.

Approximately 1.6 billion adults over the age of 15 were obese in 2005. At least 20 million children under the age of 5 years are overweight. Obesity of children in the United States has recently skyrocketed in the last decade. Obesity and weight gain have become a global problem, according to the World Health Organization. Encouraging children to maintain a healthy diet and fitness routine will help prevent obesity now and later on in life (Department of Health).

Obesity is one of our biggest issues in today’s society. We see many kids on a daily basis that are a lot on the bigger side. When we see these kids what do we start to think? Is it the parents fault, right? If you were to sit there and start to question it, you would say do the parents realize how big that child may be. I know I would and I would also blame myself for not paying close attention to what my child is eating. As a parent, it’s your responsibility to make sure that your child is as healthy as you can.

Obesity is a major problem in America. This is a health problem that affects people of all the ages. Although this disease has always existed recently, has increased due by the lack of knowledge of the people. People who have this disease suffer not only of physical problems but psychological as well, such as low self-esteem, depression, and bullying. Other significant elements that contribute to obesity are stress, anxiety, and inactivity. You must be aware that obesity is a disease that if left untreated can cause death. Is important to take this disease seriously and seek professional help as soon as possible before it is too late. Today we see that more children are suffering from this problem due to lack of parental knowledge and lack of physical activity. In order to stop childhood obesity, the government and the parents have to encourage the child to eat better and to do more out-door activities because this problem has increased drastically over the years.