Over the past decade, increasing numbers of Americans, as well as people worldwide, have jumped on the low-carb bandwagon. With thirty one (31) percent of its people being obese, the United States has become the country with the highest rate of obesity in the world. Obesity is a global problem and has become a crucial epidemic, affecting an estimated ten percent children across the world with a significant likelihood of having multiple risk factors and a variety of other co-morbidities before or during early adulthood (Lobstein, 2004). The world especially America is clearly in crisis due to the continuously rise of obesity in an alarming rate. Obesity is a global prevalence, there are physical, psychological, social, economic, environmental, and biological influences on obesity, with prevention the only possible solution. Childhood obesity is on the rise, and it is important to educate and inform parents about the causes and how can prevention be possible. The imbalance of calories consumed and calories used can result from the influences of a number of factors including genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors. Unless there is a broad cultural, behavioral, physical, and environmental change among people regarding diet and exercise in America, obesity rates will most likely continue to rise. Now a day, we do not even wonder that why children are not spending time running and playing outside anymore, the reason is that because they are inside in front of the TV,
The new generation continues to increasingly fall under obesity’s evil spell. Although many Americans recognize that their children are obese, they fail to accept that this is an epidemic that should be controlled and given dramatic attention to. Research suggests that childhood obesity in the United States has doubled in the past decade. Despite the fact that we have necessary resources to control these statistics, Americans continue to expose their youngsters to unhealthy and fattening meals. It is no joke that America is the fattest nation in the world. Thus, preventing this serious issue should be perceived as a life-or-death situation where if we fail to control it, many more overweight children will grow up to be obese adults in the future.
The United States is facing an obesity epidemic. Obesity rates have more than doubled in adults and children since the 1970’s (National Center for Health Statistics, 2009). While recent estimates suggest that the overall rates of obesity have plateaued or even declined among some groups, obesity is widespread and continues to be a leading public health problem in the U.S. (Ogden et al., 2014; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2012; Wen et al., 2012). More than two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, and about a quarter of 2-5 year olds and one-third of school-age children (including adolescents) are overweight or obese in the U.S. (Ogden et al., 2014). Health critics and those alike are placing a lot of blame and pressure on food companies as enablers to this matter. There are several factors that influence this complex condition to include, genetic, behavioral, social, cultural, and environmental influences (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 2001). Critics say that factors that
Obesity is a national epidemic with wide consequences and cost to America’s health and productivity. In recent years, policymakers, medical health experts and parents have expressed alarming concerns about the growing problem of childhood obesity in the United States, especially among Hispanic children. While most agree that this critical issue deserves attention, consensus dissolves around how to respond to the problem. This research paper examines one approach to treating childhood obesity: Taxing companies that manufacture foods with low nutritional value “junk food” companies. The paper reviews the effectiveness in children and adolescents of taxing food companies that provide foods with low nutritional value versus parent/child
The Walt Disney production “Wall-E” is a portrayed image of what our world could soon become. If you aren’t familiar with what the film is about, it is about obese humans relying on technology to do everything and anything for them. They weren’t concerned with their health at all, ordering jumbo soda and super-sized meals of fast food, for every meal. As Wall-E broads the ship and knocks some humans out of their delusional life style, they begin to realize something is seriously wrong with their health. Maybe it was because they couldn’t walk or maybe it was the realization that they couldn’t do anything for themselves. To make sure this doesn’t happen to the people of our world today, there is
If a person was given two plates in front of them, one with the chocolate cake and the other one with celery sticks, which one would be? My guess is that chocolate cake would be gone faster than the celery sticks. It is been heard that “you are what you eat” and that is fairly true. The food a person puts in their mouth affects the way they look. A very striking epidemic in America is the way people eta and how that effects them. It is becoming a great concern about the way people eat and how little to no exercise they get. Nearly 1/3 of adults are considered overweight or obese. The question is how does a person become that way in why haven’t they done anything about it? Obesity has become a national epidemic regarding social economic status along with the personal choice of living an inactive lifestyle and begins with children’s mental stability.
Obesity is a very serious threat to the health of Americans and people all across the world. A plethora of studies have been done to confirm the adverse effects of obesity on an individual 's health. Obesity rates have been skyrocketing in the past 30 years. The year 2000 marked the first time in human history that the percentage of obesity in the human population rose over 50% (Obesity: A Cultural and Biocultural Perspective). Obesity, as well as childhood obesity, is more prevalent than ever. There has been little done by the American people and the U.S. government to reverse this trend. My research has shown that the problem of obesity is a much larger problem than most people believe it to be. Many Americans underestimate the
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
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
Obesity is an epidemic that affects individuals worldwide. Unfortunately, more children are facing issues with obesity than ever before, leading to major health issues including diabetes, hypertension, and elevated cholesterol. The CDC website defines childhood obesity as a “BMI (body mass index) at or above the 95th percentile for children and teens of the same age and sex”("Defining Childhood Obesity," 2015, p. 1). It is important that parents understand that how the health of their child can affect the rest of their lives. The President-Elect of the American Academy of Pediatrics states that “to recognize obesity as a disease does help because it allows us to determine the chronic disease model and address obesity with community-level interventions, healthy interventions, and family interventions”(Devereaux, 2014, p. 288). This paper will examine an online website that is dedicated to the well-being and overall health of children. It will also analyze the mission, usability, and credibility of the online resource.
Obesity is a major public health and economic problem within populations. The complex interactions between environment, individual factors and genetic variability have escalated the issue to the top of policy and programme agendas worldwide, with prevention of childhood obesity providing a particularly compelling mandate for action.1, 2 There is an undisputed understanding that this epidemic is in need of urgent action that is both comprehensive and sustainable. Often upstream legislative and funding decisions are subject to socio-political and economic influences and scrutiny; a framework for defining their evidence base is essential.3
The occurrence of childhood obesity has become a huge public health concern in the past few decades although it may not be as widely noticed such as cancer and other diseases like heart and lung disease. Obesity is a disease. This disease is associated with other health issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes and mental health complications (CDC, 2013). There is a great need for implementation of low-fat, low-sugar, and portion-controlled options available to all children and adolescents at home and school. It is best to teach them early in hopes that they will continue to make healthy eating choices throughout their future. Healthier eating choices will not only have a long lasting effect on their health but also the health and economy of the general public. When a person eats healthier, it is more likely that they will have less health issues in the future in turn lowering healthcare costs and reliance on insurance and public health programs. As a community and country, action needs to be taken now to protect our children and our future.
ABSTRACT: It has often been observed that obesity follows a socioeconomic gradient which adversely affects the poor. This paper proposes the outline of a sociological theory of obesity as a consequence of ‘globalisation factors, such as labour market deregulation. Forced to work longer hours – and with lower levels of job-security – workers in low paid jobs have fewer opportunities to burn calories, and are more likely to consume fast-food. This combination has led to higher levels of obesity among the poor in countries that have adopted neo-liberal labour market reforms.
Obesity has been a growing problem in the United States for several decades, and has been associated with a host of chronic health conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Several studies have indicated a direct association between television viewing and obesity, using various approaches and theories.
In today 's world, obesity has reached epidemic proportions – so much it has become a global epidemic. Coined 'globesity ' by the World Health Organization, obesity has more than doubled since the 1980s, and today more than 1.5 billion adults are considered overweight (1). Junk food comprises nearly one-third of the Standard American Diet while fresh fruits and vegetables make up only a mere 10 percent (2). In his news article 'Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables ', New York Times columnist Mark Bittman proposes taxing junk foods to combat the obesity epidemic. He says that by doing so will address and decrease the number of obesity-related diseases that Americans are faced with today and also tremendously reduce public health costs as well (3). Although a solution is in dire need, a junk food tax to address the obesity issue does not seem suitable or even practical because it infringes on people 's freedom of choice in terms of what to eat and not eat, raises controversy about what is considered healthy and not healthy and as a result of which food items get taxed, is hypocritical to an extent because the government will be adding to the false belief that eating junk food is the more affordable option.
As obesity has shown to reach epidemic proportions not only in developed regions but even in developing countries, this study has been conducted to understand the relationships between energy, activity levels and carbohydrate intake (WHO, 2000). Personal data collected reflected that in comparison, the subject’s EE was consistently greater that the EI over the two experimental days, therefore the output was greater than that of the consumed categorising the subject as active and as their body mass index (BMI) was calculated to be at 20g/m2 , the subject was categorised as healthy (Lyons et al., 2012). With the percentage energy intake from protein being 17%, fats 33% and carbohydrates 47%, the subject was within the range of the