Obesity Is A Threat For Global Health

Obesity is a big problem in our world today. From the beginnings of 1970’s, America is known for the country on the fast track for being overweight. Obesity can cause health related issues among the people. From the early childhood onwards kids got attacked by the type II diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure and some other lifelong diseases.

According to Harvard Health Publications (11-12), the causes of obesity are interrelated. By understanding how these various factors interrelate and eventually how they cause obesity, we can be able to draw a conclusion whether the problem of being overweight is as a result of our own fault or it is a problem that people do not have control over. The factors that interact with one another and result in one person being overweight compared to another include; genetics and the person’s weight, influences from the external environment, physical inactivity and the behaviors that have been learned by a person.

“Worldwide, at least 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese and an estimated 35.8 million (2.3%) of global DALYs are caused by overweight or obesity” (Global Health Observatory data, 2017). With the help of others, adults and teens in the world will strive in their goals to achieve weight loss. What are the causes and history of obesity? What routines, diet, treatment are available for the overweight individual? Are there support groups for obesity?

Experts have found that there are three contributing factors when studying the causes of obesity: biological factors, decreases in physical activity, and poverty. At its most basic the cause of obesity is the taking in more calories, or energy, than one uses. As people have strived to reach the American Dream – a life of abundance and ease – the biology of the body did not change. This makes it difficult for people to remain slim and healthy.

Worldwide over the last twenty years there have been many research studies into the causes of obesity. While many correlational links have been found, it is safe to say that obesity is a complex multi-faceted problem. Researchers have found a relationship between fetal malnutrition and later in life obesity, as well as a relationship between the thrifty genotype and inability to lose weight. Both of these correlations to obesity are thing that an individual has no real control of so they will not be examined in this essay. Relationships have also been found between increased caloric intake, decreased physical activity, and sleep deprivation with obesity, which are all things we can control so they will be discussed in this essay.

Causes of obesity include lifestyle choices such as diets, lack of physical activity, psychological, environmental, genetics, medical conditions, effects of medication, lack of awareness and its implications as well as lack of education in the community. According to Sethi & Vidal-Puig (2007) there is a high risk of developing a wide range of health problems including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, infertility and osteoarthritis when obese and puts

“The American Medical Association has classified obesity a disease, defining obesity as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) measure above 30 (AMA).” They also stated that, “disease occurs when the body cannot accept the challenge of the environment and begins to malfunction”(AMA). The Webster dictionary defines obesity as a disease declaring, “an impairment of the normal state that modifies the performance of the vital functions, and is a response to environmental factors” (Webster Dictionary).

There are many reasons obesity is so prevalent. The official Mayo Clinic website lists only two causes: unhealthy diet or eating habits, and inactivity. However, although these are the only two causes they list, the actual causation of obesity goes deeper than that.There are many other risk factors that come into play and put someone at risk for being obese. This includes but is not limited to: genetics, family lifestyle, inactivity, unhealthy diet, medical problems, medications, social and economical issues, age, pregnancy, quitting smoking, and

This topic will explore the subject of obesity in today’s society and the people that are affected by this. There has been an increased in obesity rates in the United States alone according to an article by Patricia Eilerman et al in its abstract (462); there is some charts and evidence to support this authors’ claims in this subject. This may be a significant research topic because obesity is a common issue that goes on; obesity can lead to a lot of health problems and decrease one’s state of health. This subject is important because it is seen as a taboo with someone who works in a medical field; a doctor must think twice to mention the subject of obesity to a patient if it is a cause for this concern which ultimately can lead into a lot

Although many individuals are uncertain about the increasing statistics associated with obesity, more than seventy percent of men and virtually sixty-two percent of women within the United States adult population are overweight or obese (Wilmore, Costill, & Kenney). Obesity refers to the condition of having an excessive amount of body fat. If an individual’s amount of body fat becomes too excessive, he/she is at a much greater risk of developing life-altering diseases such as heart failure, hypertension, type II diabetes, cancer, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, etc. (Wilmore, et al., 2008).

Obesity and its cause is a complex issue, but the main causes can be generally grouped into three headings: poor diet, lack of exercise and lack of awareness.

The rate of obesity is increasing globally and is a serious public health issue. It no longer only affects developed countries but is also having implications on developing countries. Often the focus is placed on individual choices and behaviours, this does not take into account the research and evidence that clearly shows that obesity is a multifaceted issue. To improve the level of obesity the broader determinants needs consideration. This essay will identify the key determinants of obesity and discuss the social, environmental, individual and cultural determinants of obesity. Ultimately, it must be realised that obesity is not predominantly an individual problem.

• Environmental factors; gene is an important factor in many cases of obesity, but a person’s environment also play a role. This environment includes lifestyle behaviors (e.g., what is eaten and how many times a person eats and how its activities). Someone must of course not be able to change its genetic pattern, but he can change diet and activity.

The first etiology of obesity is the detrimental lifestyle of the individual. Each individual has his own lifestyle. Some people tend to have a healthy lifestyle and other have a baneful life style. As a result, the baneful lifestyle will induce the establishment of disorders. First, physical exercise inadequacy will induce the accumulation of Proteins, Carbohydrates, and Lipids in the Liver which will metabolize these macromolecules into Fats and stores them in the cutaneous layer of the skin in the form of Adipose tissue. Increment of Adipose tissue will contribute in the physical shape deformity. The deformation of the physical shape is known as Obesity i.e. excessive body fat. Second, the unbalanced consumption of foods and unhealthy foods. The unbalanced food diet is one of the most common etiologies of Obesity. To illustrate, many people consume a lot of food that has a high percent of Carbohydrates and

Obesity is classified as one of the extremely common and serious public health problems in the world. Overweight and obesity are the fifth leading global risks of mortality in the world (World Health Organization, 2009). Furthermore, they are one of the major factors of for a number of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer (World Health Organization, 2005). According to NHS UK, obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more for adults, and the UK 1990 growth reference curves are used to define obesity for Children (Cole TJ, Freeman JV, Preece MA, 1995). The growing challenge of obesity of Europe countries is remarkable among Asian countries .In 2008, 1.4 billion adults (35%) aged 20 and over were overweight and 500 million were obese (11%). More than 40 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2012(World Health Organization, 2014). That is the global obesity situation. Furthermore, the obesity problem in the UK is not optimistic, the UK has the highest obesity rates among Europe countries, and this trend has strikingly increased over the recent years to the point where more than 20% of the population are now obese. (University of Birmingham, 2014) However, the obesity situation in Singapore is more worrisome. In 2010, 40% adults aged 18 to 69 were overweight and 10% were obese which is more than double the level seen in 1992. (Ministry of Health Singapore, 2010) This essay will