Obesity As A Social Norm Essay

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

Obesity has been a growing problem in the U.S. for more than a decade. Various reasons and theories are thrown around as to the cause of this severe problem by psychologists, dietitians, and professors trying to pinpoint a single cause. Due to America’s vast supply of resources, luxurious living standards, and moral of the country, there is no one cause for obesity contrary to advertisements offering a quick-fix drug. America’s obesity problem is rooted much deeper than just cheap fast food and poor choices. Medical conditions, influence of genes, unhealthy lifestyles, and mental illnesses are all contributors towards obesity in any one person. Obesity is a serious problem in America with multiple contributors and one lone solution

Obesity in America is a continually growing problem and even worse our own children are sharing in this problem. A commentary in the Washington Times reports that sixty million Americans are obese. What really is the meaning of obese? Obese is having a body mass index of thirty percent or more. In recent years, the percentage of obese Americans has risen. In the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, the percentage of obese Americans rose from 22.9 in 1984-1994 to 32.2 in 2003 and 2004. The study also says if you throw in the number of "over weight" Americans (body mass index of 25 to 29.9) the total jumps to 66.3

America is known for its advanced society and technology, but is also known to be one of the most obese populations. Found in “Down to Earth”, America is one of the most progressive countries to exist; therefore it should be the healthiest (“Obesity in America”). If America is so highly advanced, more advancement needs to be put towards obesity rates. As time goes on, adults and children are having to consequently expand their waistbands because of unhealthy habits. In an article previously discussed, Brown-well states that Americans are at an all-time low in exercising (Murray). By having less motivation to exercise, family health is at stake. Future generations need to be more pressured to keep physically fit for their health. With less motivation for a healthier lifestyle, communities across America will remain obese. According to CBS news, Americans prefer to consume Twinkies over Tofu (“The Blame Game”). With Americans not giving healthier options opportunity, less interest will be put into healthy options. Individuals are focusing on the pleasure of taste than their own well being. Internationally speaking, Americans have one of the strongest societies, but the weakest mindset for healthy living. With stubborn attitudes and continual unhealthy choices, obesity will not only stay but

When it comes to the topic of obesity, most will readily agree that it is a growing dilemma. This argument has many writers bringing different responses. Two explanations are debated in What You Eat is Your Business by Radley Balko and Don’t Blame the Eater by David Zinczenko. Both pieces create a good stance on the topic of obesity. Balko’s piece, however, has a better all around flow, organization and consistency.

In the chapter The Adoption and Management of a “Fat” Identity, Douglas Degher and Gerald Hughes analyze how the reality of people that are overweight changes. “Obese people are fat first, and only secondary are seen as possessing ancillary characteristics.”(Degher and Hughes p.265). In today's society being overweight or not having the ideal body being portrayed by the media is usually considered as unhealthy. As a consequence, pharmaceutical drugs are being created daily to help reduce weight, workout dvds are being produced daily, and clothes keeps getting reduced and limited so that overweight people have a hard time finding something that fits them and that they like. In the eyes of countless individuals, being fat is considered deviant

Obesity has become an epidemic across the United States. Americans have continued to gain weight, increasing the amount of people that are considered obese by millions every few years. More and more experts have come to a consensus: weight needs to be addressed and changed in America. Many experts, however, have not found a way to completely solve this problem at large. In the article, “Rethinking Weight”, senior writer Amanda Spake directs attention to the barriers our society has built for obesity treatment. Through this attention, it becomes evident these barriers have developed from the changing ideals in our society. Roberta Seid, a lecturer at the University of Southern California, argues in “Too “Close to the Bone”: The Historical Context for Women’s Obsession with Slenderness” how our body ideals have changed the way our society views obesity. Both authors emphasize the problem our society faces with obesity becoming an epidemic, and how that needs to be changed so our society can live happier and healthier lives. Although both authors are achieving the same point, Spake concludes that obesity has stemmed from pharmaceutical problems and biological factors, while Seid holds that obesity has come from the changing fashion and body ideals in our society. By reading both articles in conjunction, it becomes clear that the root of this problem is our societal issues, obesity has become an epidemic because of the way our society neglects obesity from all aspects.

“I couldn't open up a magazine, you couldn't read a newspaper, you couldn't turn on the TV without hearing about the obesity epidemic in America.” is a quote by Morgan Spurlock, that acutely describes the obesity problem going on in America. Any way one can want to talk about the problem, it will always be a huge dilemma throughout the United States. For a long time now, people have been discussing who is to blame for the obesity crisis going on. Some people prefer to blame the government, several blame the restaurants, others the parents and even the schools receive criticism for obesity. People should develop their own ideas on the obesity crisis and to figure out who is to blame and how to fix the problem.

America, like any other country, has its assortment of problems: immigration, debt, or foreign affairs but one issue that is rather hard to overlook, literally, its obesity epidemic. The extra pounds have become a sight all too common in America’s society, “men are now on average seventeen pounds heavier than they were in the late seventies, and for women that figure is even higher: nineteen pounds.” (Kolbert). Obesity does not just affect adults in this way either, the kid population has been getting bigger, according to the numbers on a scale “the proportion of overweight children, age six to eleven, has more than doubled, while the proportion of overweight adolescents, age twelve to nineteen, has more than tripled.” (Kolbert). This issue has been a major concern to doctors and scientists for decades and in recent years, has even has the American Medical Association recognizing obesity to be a disease (Pollack). That is a highly debatable statement because obesity itself is a preventable lifestyle. Obesity is avoidable and curable to all (or at least most) of its sufferers. For some citizens, obesity is not a choice, rather genetics, but for the majority of the population, obesity is caused by an unhealthy diet and lazy lifestyle, and for these certain individuals, through a lot of work and discipline, the return to a healthy lifestyle is not as impossible as it may appear.

Our culture uses health and wellness with food to divide groups as well. Julier ("The Political Economy of Obesity: The Fat Pay All") discusses how obesity vilifies certain groups and how poverty and obesity have a function in society, serving the industry and the economy. Julier says rhar obesity vilifies women, the poor, and people of color, groups of people that are already marginalized, and the stress of life as a marginalized group can lead to a disordered relationship with food. Americans are incredibly intolerant of individuals who have let themselves go, and get even angrier when those individuals don't do anything about it to get to the socially accepted normal: skinny (Mead "Why Do We Overeat?"). Julier ("The Political Economy of Obesity: The Fat Pay All") gives 13 political, economic, and cultural functions of poverty and obesity, one of them being the idea that when fatness is related to irresponsible behavior, those who aren't fat and stick to the socially constructed normal of thin are able to maintain and create public agenda to control and vilify the obese and overweight.

The readings for this week’s response paper consist of the second half of the book Fat-Talk Nation: The Human Cost of America’s War on Fat by Susan Greenhalgh. Unlike the first half, the second half of the book gives a broader look at the American weight obsession. Skinny shamming, the obsession with “normality”, health risks and relationship issues caused by the American public’s obsession with weight are all addressed in the last chapters (Greenhalgh 2015). Overall, the book does a good job of addressing the aspect of weight through biocitizenship. As the author states throughout, individuals are pressured into achieving a certain weight in order to fit into the mainstream culture’s ideal of a “healthy body” (Greenhalgh 2015). This is achieved through media,

The sociological aspect of obesity shown through the impact of families, the government and the economy. The rapidly growing, fast-paced, technological society creates an epidemic of sorts. Families pursue the use of technology, restaurants and fast-paced eating as well as single parenting and parental denial. The government sets a significant health care cost to obesity, which prevents a solution and increases risks. A non-stable economy brings about a society filled with unemployment or multiple jobs as well as both parents working to stay above absolute or relative poverty leading to distractions from a healthy lifestyle. Obesity is a concern, not just for an individual but also for

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.

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

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,