Obesity Is A Health Crisis

An estimated 97 million adults in the United States are overweight or obese (Klein 2000). “"Affecting one in five Americans – or more than 22 percent of the U.S. population – obesity is one of the most pervasive health problems in our nation right now," said George L. Blackburn, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of surgery and associate director of the Division of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School/Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. "We need to implement steps to slow the progression of this national epidemic” (NAASO 1999). But the problem of obesity does not only affect the United States. "We now know that the growing prevalence of obesity is creating major health problems worldwide," said Dr. James O. Hill, president of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO) and Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Obesity was once regarded as unique to Americans, but it is now seen as a global health risk affecting developing and underdeveloped countries (AOA 2000). Obesity is increasing at an epidemic rate in the United States - 1.3% a year for women over 20. Rates of obesity among minority populations, including African-Americans and Hispanic Americans are especially high (AOA 2000). There is also a marked increase in obesity among children.

My topic was based on the nutrition and weight status health indicator for the Healthy People 2020. The nutrition and weight status indicator based one of their objectives on adult obesity and its need for health promotion especially amongst minorities. Obesity is a major issue because it increases the risk for chronic health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, or cancer. In this paper I will discuss 3 issues of adult obesity on the African American population such as the disease effects, healthcare racial disparities , and food policies to reduce obesity.

In 2013-2014 37.7% of adults 20 years of age and older in the U.S were obese. Among racial ethnic groups white Non -Hispanics had the lowest rate of obesity at 36.4%. Black and Hispanics populations had rates of 48.4% and 42.6% nationally. The rate for Black non- Hispanic groups were 1.5 times higher than the rate for white non- Hispanic groups.("Healthy People 2020," 2014, p. 3).

One of the main health issues that leads to many other degenerative diseases in the African American population is obesity. According to the Mayo Clinic obesity is likely to be clinically diagnosed in three stages, beginning with Class I when a person's BMI is greater than 30 (Obesity, 2015). Class II is defined as a BMI of greater than 35, and Class III (extreme obesity) is defined as any BMI above 40 (Obesity, 2015). African Americans are almost 1.5 times more likely to be obese than other Americans - and even more startling - 69% of African American men and 82% of African American women are overweight or obese, making up nearly 75% of the African American population (The State of Obesity, 2014). Of this 75% over 47% are considered obese,

Over the years obesity has become more and more prevalent in the United States. Currently, approximately 35% of Americans are obese. The Center for Disease Control statistics on obesity are alarming. They have reported the obesity rate to be higher in Non-Hispanic blacks than Hispanics. 47% to 42%, while 32.6% of Non-Hispanic whites are obese. In addition to ethnicity, the CDC looked at obesity among age groups. Obesity was found to be higher among middle-aged adults 40-59, rather than younger adults age 20-39. As far as socio-economic groups were considered, Non-Hispanic black and Mexican American men with higher incomes are more likely to be obese than those with low income. When genders were factored in, the opposite was found. Non-Hispanic

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).

Obesity in the United States has been a serious problem affecting Americans and has been continually growing higher in numbers each year. American obesity has nearly doubled within the last 40 years and is now considered to be an epidemic that is affecting millions of people around the nation. According to the National institute of Diabetes and digestive and kidney Diseases, 31% of men and 35% of women are considered seriously overweight, along with 15% of children between the ages of six and nineteen are also overweight. The lack of physical inactivity and extreme poor dieting are catching up to almost the same threat as cigarettes and tobacco smoking. We as a nation are considered to be the fattest country in the world.

Obesity remains an extremely serious problem worldwide. Once considered a problem for wealthier counties, overweight and obesity are now rapidly increasing in low and middle income countries (WHO, 2011). In American, the rates of obesity continues to rise. NIH (2012) recognizes obesity as a risk factor for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other health problems. According IFT over two-thirds of the US are overweight or obese, and over one-third are obese (Fast food restaurants ‘not to blame’ for American obesity 2012). IFT.org (2012) in September it was predicated that 75% of Americans would be overweight in 2020. The problem is thought to cause Americans $150-170 billion in annual medical costs. Many people argue that the

The film Fed Up is an American made documentary that examines the obesity epidemic, as well as, the food industry in an effort to uproot the underlining causes of exponential growth rates of obesity in America. The main objective behind the documentary is to educate and expose the current threat of obesity and the associated health complications in an attempt to motivate viewers to reevaluate and alter their current food choices. Fed Up utilizes data gathered through various professional interviews conducted with medical and food industry personnel to propose and support various claims. The film also includes personal stories provided by various children who are confused about and struggle with their obesity as an effective way to establish

Compared to other countries, the United States was reported to have the second highest rate of obesity in the world after Mexico. Over the past decade, cases of obesity have triplicated in the U.S., affecting more than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of the adults (Ogden et al. 2014). Given the current trends, it was projected that 42% of the U.S. population will be obese by 2030 (Finkelstein et al. 2012). Aside from its nefarious impact on the overall quality of life on the affected individual on a micro level, this health issue presents an economic burden for a US healthcare system already without equilibrium. In their extensive annual medical spending report, Finkelstein et al. (2012) estimated the annual medical cost of obesity in the US to amount to $147 billion in 2008; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight. Additionally, more than $150 billion per year is spent on related health care costs and lost productivity (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen et al 2009). The situation as a whole seems dire; however, its repercussions are disparate and its distribution across U.S. territories is uneven. For instance, African Americans are nearly 1.5 times as likely to be obese compared with White. According to Ogden at al.’s (2014) report which is cited by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, about 47.8 percent of African Americans are obese (men: 37.1; women: 56.6 %) compared to 32.6 percent of Whites (men: 32.4; women:

Fed Up is a documentary about the obesity epidemic. Specifically, the government and big food companies role in it. The beginning of the film informs viewers of how they can make healthier food choices -That lots what we think we know about healthy eating isn't necessarily true. Then the focus shifts, and begins to criticize the lack of action taken by food companies. Regarding the issue, big food companies are hypocritical and have self-serving interests. They attempt to keep up sales by teaming up with their critics, deceiving the public, and raising other issues to avoid the ones at hand. In other words, propaganda. Big food companies use the propagandistic device card stacking to deceive and manipulate consumers.

Over the period of this course there has been a few topics that I have really learned about and either it has influenced me to change my lifestyle, and/or attribute to develop healthier patterns for myself whether it be in my marriage, for my child, or for my health. I will discuss the topics that mattered the most to me, that we covered throughout the duration of the semester. Which includes; The Common Challenges to a Healthy Lifestyle, Marital Expectations, and Income.

There is a growing epidemic of obesity in the United States. Obesity is a health condition of an individual significantly above his or her ideal healthy weight. People with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher are considered obese (ANA, 2014). Dietary patterns, physical activity and inactivity are contributing factors to obesity. According to the (CDC) obesity results in type II diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, various cancers and other health problems. Obesity is reported to be one of the leading preventable causes of mortality in our nation, more than one-third (36.5%) adults have obesity, nearly one in three (31.8%) U.S children (23.9 million) ages 2-19 are overweight or obese (CDC, 2017). We are faced with many challenges when it comes to adequately responding to this issue. Although this issue is alarmingly high in all socioeconomic groups, some groups are affected more than others (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2012). Economic status is based of income, education and occupation, this usually reflects the communities we live in. Lower income families are usually impacted the most when it comes to obesity due to the lack of

The prevalence of obesity continues to increase and remains elevated over the past several decades in the United States (12). About 34% adults and 17% children are obese, which totals to about 72 million adults and 12 million children out of the entire U.S. population. Among these, African Americans and Hispanics Americans have the highest rates compared to Asian Americans and non-Hispanics White (12). Obesity is defined as having excessive fat in the body. Although overweight and obesity are

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.