Obesity : The Epidemic Of The Twenty And Twenty One Centuries Essay

Obesity continues to be a problem in the United States. With obesity rates on the rise something must be done to prevent this massive issue. Seventeen percent of children and adolescents about 12.5 million are obese (Diet). Obesity is the result of a rise in fat that accumulated over time due to the lack of exercise and having a calorie surplus due to unhealthy food. An adult with a BMI (body mass index) higher than 30% is considered to be obese (Obesity). There isn’t a direct focus on obesity, because people don’t think it’s an important issue. To ensure a better future, solution is needed now. The solution to ending the obesity epidemic by encouraging a healthier lifestyle on children at young ages, improving nutrition at schools and restaurants, as well as providing more time and space for citizens to get physically active.

Obesity and being overweight are problems in America that are continuing to exacerbate each and everyday.  According to Jan Simmonds, being a few pounds above an individual's ideal weight is considered overweight; while obesity is being more than twenty percent above an individual's ideal weight (3).  Ideal weight is a number based on one's height and body frame.  TeensHealth states, "Obese people are very overweight and at risk for serious health problems" (1).  Obesity is life threatening and there are many side effects associated with being obese.

Affecting over 36% of the population, obesity is a rising epidemic within the United States. An estimated 75% of adults over the age of twenty are classified as overweight or obese (Kolata, 2016). The disease affects women more significantly than men, with a greater prevalence within African American and Hispanic ethnic groups. Extreme obesity (BMI >40), affects six percent, and growing, of the American populace. This rise in obesity correlates not lonely with a lower life expectancy but also a rise in numerous other non-communicable diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, pulmonary ailments, cardiovascular diseases, and mental health issues. Although the obesity epidemic is seen mostly within developed countries, such as the United States, the non-communicable disease is showing advancing prevalence and incidence rates worldwide, including low and middle income countries. The World Health Organization estimates one billion people are classified as overweight or obese (Kapil, 2016). In addition to the plethora of additional health care problems, obese patients are often hard to treat as the health care system does not yet have the equipment to detect, measure, or treat possible underlying problems. The treatment of obesity and related conditions is currently estimated to reach $100 billion within the United States (Kapil, 2016). Accounting for more than 100,000 premature deaths each year, the disease is the second highest noncommunicable and preventable disease

I have been naïve to an epidemic that has been plaguing America for quite some time now. It wasn’t talked about or taught much when I was younger. I thought that this disease was for the geriatric population. In 2012, 29.1 million Americans were diagnosed with diabetes. 8.1 million went undiagnosed. (diabetes.org) Diabetes is a dilemma and the statistics for this disease is rising steadily. Per the diabetes association there are 1.4 million of new cases of diabetes a year. Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the united states of America. Diabetes is not affecting only one group of people. Diabetes.org states that 208,000 Americans under the age of 20 have been diagnosed with diabetes. In 2014 I started a new job at a call center. Prior to this occupation I had never personally, that I knew of interacted closely with anyone suffering from this disease. I had never heard of the younger population developing this illness and I certainly never heard any first-hand accounts on how diabetes affected the body. I discovered just how prevalent diabetes were in young adults. I watched people between the ages of 20-27 be afflicted by this disease. They had to constantly watch their diet to ensure that their blood glucose wasn’t either too high or too low. I watched a 20-year-old female be in and out of the hospital because of this disease. I hope to inform this reader of the dangers of this disease and what to do to prevent it.

It is no secret that obesity is huge problem in the United States. About 40% of the United States’ population is obese (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2015). According to CDC, obesity causes: heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and is the second most preventable disease in the United States (2014). If that’s not enough of a public health problem, than add the 147 billion dollars spent in healthcare expenses just in the U.S. alone (CDC, 2014). According to the text, Public Health 101, “the prevalence of obesity has been steadily rising in the U.S. over the last 50 years; increasing over 250%” (Riegelman & Kirkwood, 2015, p. 114). The obesity percentages increase when a family is in poverty. The facts are that if you make about $30,000 a year; the children of that family is almost twice as likely to be obese than a family that is making 350% above the poverty level, which is about $136,000 a year (Riegelman & Kirkwood, 2015, p. 114). But, to make it even worse, the Mexican Americans and non-Hispanics black populations don’t even follow those statistics; they have a high obesity level in all socioeconomic levels (Riegelman & Kirkwood, 2015, p. 114).

The question of how the obesity epidemic has evolved over time is best answered by examining the topical literature—not necessarily critical analyses of anti-obesity propaganda, but the propaganda itself. The difference in content is similar to the distinction between primary and secondary sources. Although authors and critics like Deborah Lupton and Natalie Boero can connect concepts between the literature on a wider scale, the actual documents generated by anti-obesity groups and fat advocates provide the best context and examples of the trajectory of the supposed crises in the present day. Here we examine two such documents, one from the Mayo Clinic’s weight loss plan, “My Weight Solutions,” and the other from a writer in support of the fat advocacy movement, Health at Every Size (HAES). Both texts are guidelines for personal health in relation to lifestyle and whether weight plays a role in health; there are similarities between them, as well as stark contrasts. However, it may come as a surprise that there are more similarities than not. Both documents are written with a goal in mind—that is, encouraging readers to engage in healthy lifestyle choices. There is a significant focus on the individual and on realistic behavioral, and therefore psychological, strategies within both documents. Although both documents relate to concepts in Lupton 's Fat and Boero’s Killer Fat, the focus of this analysis will be on the primary documents themselves. The key difference between

Obesity in general is becoming an epidemic in the United States. It is also being considered a disease. Obesity is an excessively high amount of body fat or adipose tissue in relation to lean body mass. The amount of individuals who are affected by this medical disease are increasingly located in the lower class. It is possible that government aid food programs are no help to this issue. Not only are adults being affected, but more children are falling into the category of obese. Obesity in children can be looked at from many possible areas, such as race and ethnicity, the education level of the parents, their gender, and where they are located in a city or town. Many researchers have begun to attempt to discover a solution to this growing epidemic. Obesity is increasing in low income areas in the United States. Government aids and other programs help aid low-income families and help battle obesity.

Obesity is a big social issue in America. Due to the popularity of fast food and other unhealthy processed foods, more and more Americans are developing

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

Obesity rates are soaring throughout North America (What Is Obesity?, 2013). With obesity reaching almost epidemic proportions in the United States, and the threat of a global epidemic, we must watch this alarming increase carefully ( Health Risks of Obesity, 2013). Obesity is defined as: "…an excess of adipose tissue…" (A Report of the Surgeon General, 2014). The two most common measures of obesity are Body Mass Index (BMI is a ratio of weight to height) and relative weight index, such as percent desirable weight (Body Mass Index , 2013). BMI is the most frequently used measure of obesity as it has a strong correlation with more direct measures of adiposity, such as underwater weighing (A Report of the Surgeon General, 2013). Some

Obesity, the condition of being severely overweight, is a serious issue in the United States that is gradually beginning to affect more and more citizens. In recent years, the number of Americans suffering from this chronic disease has significantly increased. Researchers have found that nearly one third of the U.S. population is considered overweight and, on average, three hundred thousand individuals die yearly as a result of obesity (Hollands et al. 2). When one participates in little to no physical activity and their diet consists mostly of high fat foods, chances are they will gain weight. If someone becomes obese, they may develop serious health related issues that, in some cases,

Diet: A Look at Processed Food, Nutrition, and Obesity in the 20th Century was both insightful and interesting. It brought out many key points in why much of the world has become obese in such a short amount of time. It shows the impact processed foods, diet pills, and genetics have on an individual and their weight. It really helped open my eyes to realize that the rode to obesity is much more complex then we might have previously imagined.

Obesity is a growing epidemic that is puts lives at risk but can be controlled. This worldwide epidemic affects people of all ages. This is all just a matter of unhealthy diets. Most people consume unhealthy foods or mass amounts of food on a daily basis. The key to keeping obesity at a low is to watch what you consume and how much of it you consume.

According to Kenneth Fujioka, MD obesity rates have gone up, drastically, in the past four decades. They have more than doubled since 1980. The rates of overweight and obesity in adult men has increased from 29% to 37% and in women it has increased from 30% to nearly 40%. Obesity in women is twice as frequent than it is in men. Obesity in children has increased by almost 50% than what it was in 1980.The occurrence of overweight or obese children and adolescents in developed countries is more than 22% and almost 24% in boys. Obesity is more likely to be higher in lower income and medium income countries. The United States is the 3rd most obese country with an obesity rate of 66%. There is a higher

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.