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Obesity : The Disease Of The 21st Century

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Obesity is known as the disease of the 21st century. The occurrence of obesity is increasing globally, with nearly half a billion of the world 's population now considered to be overweight or obese. There are many factors in today’s society that contribute to this growing epidemic including media, technology and demographics. With the media having more influence over our daily habits now more than ever, it is extremely easy to slip into a lifestyle that will lead to weight related health issues. By examining the ways the media influences our daily lives, one can see that the media began as a bad influence for our unhealthy lifestyles and, that changes are being made to improve this impact. Prevention should be the primary objective, but it is also vital to develop strategies to treat those already affected with obesity and the media is the most effective tool we have. It is increasingly clear that the media plays an important role in the source of this obesity epidemic. Today, we are constantly distracted by advertisements for unhealthy foods, new gadgets, movies, television shows and, other things that can divert us from living a healthy lifestyle. Media use has increased drastically since the 1990s and it is said that; “today’s children, ages 8 to 18, consume multiple types of media (often simultaneously) and spend more time (44.5 hours per week) in front of computer, television, and game screens than any other activity in their lives

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