Obesity : Health Risks And The Social Stigma

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.

Obesity and being overweight are very common worldwide issues around the world, especially in the U.S. There are more than 3 million cases per year. By changing your lifestyle such as diet and exercise, losing weight can seem effortless. Desirable junk/fast food or even irresistible fast food commercials can tempt you to do the unthinkable. We are all victims of this advertising war. Quick-service restaurants (QSR) generate these advertisements in hope to attract more consumers or to increase their popularity rates around town. These commercials bombard our state of mind only to convince us to buy unhealthy food for worthless money. The increase in fast food commercials in the U.S. has led to an increase in both QSR revenues and the obesity rates. Regulating commercial frequencies will lead to a decline in the obesity rate. Our country has more than enough issues that frequently affect our population. Despite these alarming cautions, the food industries with their advertiser use every available media outlet to promote and sell their products. Pushing food and drinks high in sugar is unethical and unjust. We learn to

There is scientific proof that obesity is linked to many serious health conditions of our time. Cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, sleep apnea, high blood pressure and osteoarthritis [(National Institutes of Health) (Haslam)] are just some of them and were responsible for almost 400,000 deaths in America in 2004 alone (Goldfarb). These conditions even if they do not cause death, are serious enough to significantly decrease the quality of an individual’s life. The aesthetic effects of obesity, on the other hand, are known to cause depression and low self-esteem. Unfortunately, the criteria that most people are judged and evaluated today are based on the stereotypes created by advertisements and lifestyle in general. A thin, fit person has more chances of being likable and preferable than someone who is overweight, in many aspects of everyday life, including the workplace. All these situations create a very negative impact on the mentality of an overweight person.

But now it is found and occurring in many children. At a young age moderate obesity can dramatically increase the risk of getting diabetes. Because of the excess amount of stress put on the knees and hips, obesity can affect the joints in a serious way. Most obese persons cannot receive joint replacement surgery. The additional fat tissue that is formed in the body need oxygen and nutrients in order to live. This causes high blood pressure because the blood vessels cannot circulate more blood to the fat tissue and increases the workload of the heart. The heart now has to pump more blood through the blood vessels. All the extra weight raises the rate of your heart and reduces the body’s ability to transport the blood to where it is needed. The risk of cancer increases tremendously as well. Men that are overweight get a higher risk of colon cancer and prostate cancer. Women that are overweight have a higher chance of breast cancer, colon, uterus, and gallbladder. Our social culture is defined on the idea of physical attractiveness. When it comes to psychosocial effects, being overweight plays a major role in the health of an individual. Culture believes in the perfect ideal person to be thin and in shape. This is considered the “sexy” and norm of our society. The people that are overweight and obese are often blamed for their weight and are automatically considered lazy and weak minded. This ultimately results in these people having fewer love lives and being placed in

Public health issue refers to a health issue that affects the populations as a whole and its financial burden to the society. Childhood obesity is a major public health issue that has impacted the public population health and the cost to prevent and control it. The primary concern deals with obese children growing into obese adults in the future posing an increase in health care cost to obese related health conditions. Strongly linked to mortality and morbidity in adulthood, childhood obesity can cause low self-esteem, eating disorders, negative body image, asthma, diabetes, cardiovascular health factors and decreasing the quality of life (Thorpe, et al., 2004). Social determinants of health impact the risk behaviors of childhood obesity from diet and built environment. At the family level, examples of both determinants can be seen in changes to family structures, socioeconomic status, and perceptions and attitudes toward health and nutrition. Children spend most of their time in a school setting, so school setting changes have been made to nutritional and physical activity policy, physical education equipment, and the sales if unhealthy food and drinks.

Intended audience: In the end, once people finished reading my paper, i hope they understand the idea of Fat acceptance/liberation and how epidemic obesity correlates, and the solution they created won't be able to fix the concept of obesity. Turning it into a social norm will just increase the concept of obesity and will hurt people lifestyle due to the unhealthy lifestyle and regime.

Obesity has become increasingly more prominent in American society. The Unites States has even been termed an overweight nation. Some twenty to thirty percent of American adults are now considered obese (Hwang 1999 and Hirsch et al 1997). With this in mind, Americans constantly look around themselves determining their weight status as well as that of those around them. While some Americans do fit the healthy category, others enter the underweight, overweight, and even obese categories, all of which can be unhealthy.

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

One might argue that genetics plays a role in obesity and that it is not always a choice. There are studies that imply

Obesity has rapidly emerged as a serious health issue in America. The cause of obesity results from America’s social injustices. Today, food advertisements are in all places promoting an unhealthy lifestyle. Considering the great expense of healthy foods, low income families can barely afford fruits and vegetables. These two factors contribute to the increasing obesity rate in the United States. Unfortunately, it has taken an excessive amount of Americans to become obese for America to become aware of the issue and take action. Although obesity is still an increasing problem, America is fighting to reduce the number of obese citizens. As a result of low income and the media advertising unhealthy lifestyles, America is in the midst of an obesity epidemic.

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,

Obesity happens when caloric intake exceeds energy expenditure. The pathophysiology of obesity is complex. Mechanism contributing to the imbalance of energy intake in relation to energy expenditure and multiple pathogenic effects of excess adipose tissue are not completely understood. (McCance & Huether 2014). Adipose tissue plays an important role in obesity because it is responsible for physiologic processes including energy metabolism, neuroendocrine function, and immune function. Therefore, a dysfunction in any of these aspects can lead to excessive adipose tissue or obesity (Porth,

According to the CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (2015) “The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008 U.S. dollars; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight” (DNCPAO, 2015, para.1). Obesity should be stigmatized because it is a leading cause of health concerns, those that are not obese are having to foot the bill for those that are, and simply telling people that obesity is unhealthy clearly has no effect.

Individual problems such as addictions, illnesses and mental depression stalk us throughout our lives, but there is more to addictions, illnesses and mental depression than meets the eye. A good example of this theory is obesity. Obesity in Australia is turning into a problem and as the rates of obesity increase each year, the larger the problem expands. According to sociologist, C. Mills, problems can be divided into either troubles or issues and more often than not, a problem which is seen as a person trouble, when looked at globally, is in fact a social issue. This idea is referred to by C.Mills as the sociological imagination.

Obesity has become an epidemic in our over indulgent North American society. In addition to body image issues, obesity causes significant health issues. Society often views obesity to be a disease when it is actually a sign of a disorder, genetic or environmental. The percentage of our population that is growing overweight is increasing every year, and can become a very serious issue if it is not dealt with urgently. Problems relating to self-confidence, self-consciousness, and isolation can occur as a result.