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Obesity in Society Essay example

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Obesity in Society

In past years, there has been a great deal of concern throughout North America about the prevalence of certain conditions, which affect teenagers more than any other age group. Eating disorders, drug abuse, stress and peer pressure have all had their moment in the spotlight. In the eighties Bulimia and suicide made their mark. In the nineties, teen violence reached it peak. Now, years later, there is a new villain in the town of adolescence. His name is not Anorexia, Drug Abuse or Peer Pressure. His targets are random, crossing class, race, gender and ethnic barriers. His name is Obesity, and he is victimizing teens at an unprecedented rate.

Health Canada says that …show more content…

Unfortunately, this new agenda does not always include regular physical activity, which plays a huge role in keeping us healthy. At school, only one gym credit is required, and after that, many teens do not participate in any activities to keep them fit. Also to blame is the influence of the forever-present and always dependable technology, now a staple element in most homes. The television, the computer and video games all play a key part in keeping teens indoors and inactive. But today's teens are clever; they're multi-taskers. What else are they doing while they're watching TV or playing on the computer? They're eating. Poor eating habits, including the type of food and time at which it is consumed, can contribute to the amount of excess weight on the body. Because these things can be controlled, eating habits, influence of media and television and physical inactivity can be called modifiable factors in the commonness of obesity. The disregard of these factors causes about three quarters of the obesity cases in adolescents in Canada.

There are things that contribute to obesity in adolescents that we have no control over. These factors cause the other one-quarter of obesity cases in adolescents. Included in this category of unalterable factors are genetic and hereditary problems and family lifestyle.

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