Relationship Between Wages And Obesity

Kyrillos, J. (2014) Obesity in America, A Growing Epidemic. Workplace Strategies and Solutions. Health Advocate.

The intent of this paper is to explore the correlation between obesity and increased cost to companies for their healthcare coverage of all employees. Our hypothesis is that obesity is increasing the cost of healthcare company wide due to obesity and the diseased associated with this epidemic. Our null hypothesis is that the effects and treatment of obesity is not having a direct impact on the total healthcare cost of organizations.

According to Wall Street Journal, “More than 33% of adults who earn less than $15,000 per year were obese, compared with 24.6% of those who earn at least $50,000 per year.” (Izzo 2011) Processed foods such as cheeseburger or French fries tend to be cheaper than buying healthier ingredients and making home cooked food. When people have lower incomes, they do suffer from food insecurity, which is an important connection between poverty and obesity. Two reasons can contribute to obesity: parents are working and are no longer at home with their children and therefore not able to cook balanced meals; and foods with high fat are cheaper than healthy foods.

Obesity is a classified disorder that occurs in the body when someone overeats which results to an immoderate body weight. This happens to be the central cause of death in America according to CDC (Center of Disease Control and Prevention). States with low income, who live in poverty often are dealing with obesity due to either food insecurity, or their area being a food dessert this often deals with the state’s location, money (income), and the society’s attitude towards food. There is a link between poverty and obesity because usually when living in poverty the area does not have lots of fresh foods, so the people there turn to the unhealthy foods because they are more affordable in their region.

According to the media article, Whose Fault is our Fat? Obesity solely stems from Americans not participating in enough physical activity. On the other hand, Family Stressors and Child Obesity, attributes the stem of childhood obesity to stressors, particularly family stressors. Another possible explanation for obesity, other than Americans not getting enough physical activity or stressors, comes from the movie, watched in lecture, The Weight of the Nation. This movie makes the connection of rates of obesity to living in poverty areas. The movie also firmly believes that Americans are turning to quick, processed, and readily made meals, instead of healthy food options.

Us Americans love to eat food and eat more than we need to. We tend to snack and constantly eat even when we even arent hungary. Childhood obesity has brought many problems for kids and has allowed them to suffer from things. Surgeon general Richard states that “Because of the increasing rates of obesity, unhealthy eating habits and physcial inactivity, we may see the first generation that will be less healthy and have a shorter life expectancy than their parent.” Childhood obesity is increasing among the years, it tends to have many health effects, environmental causes, theories, and many reasons on how to prevent it.

America is facing a growing danger that has been gradually taking more and more years off of the life expectancy of its citizens. Obesity has been a growing issue throughout the United States over the last few decades and is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in the country. This health issue, particularly childhood obesity, is definitely a health equity issue that needs to be addressed. Being overweight stems from and creates its own complexities that undoubtedly affect the determinants of health. There are two main angles public health can attack this issue from; developing a healthy public policy and developing personal skills with regards to health.

One can imagine how obesity is taking over the world 's population, so rapidly and it is obvious that the United States of America has high rates of Obesity. Obesity, also known as overweight, is a serious epidemic disease that can cause harm to the systems of the body including the heart. Obesity is the biggest threat to the United State of America 's population and something urgent has to be done, otherwise our future generation is at stake. the parent of U.S kids should be aware that obesity is affecting health, has national consequences, and lead to depression in the victims. If something is not done fast to alter this misfortune, there is a high percentage that our future generation is at stake.

know over the past couple of years America has become one one of the most obese countries in the world and to be quite honest the reason for it are right in front of us. If you go out to McDonalds everything is so ridiculously cheap. From snack cakes to 12 pack sodas being less than 5.00 you can easily say that there is a problem in how we are going about this obesity problem in the United States today. To be honest how many of us can honestly say that we have never indulged in some type of our favorite food that was extremely cheap these days? I can answer that for you not very man at all. Upon further research I noticed that in 2012 a study showed that obesity rated have increased at a constant level and have stayed there for about a couple of years but even that is still unacceptable. The reason why that is unacceptable is because about 40 percent of all Americans are obese to this day that is twice the amount that is was about 30 years ago and it is still growing in outrageous numbers. Not only has that but the number of children being obese nearly tripled in that time frame to about 17 percent. So in all honesty, do you believe that we are doing enough to bring these ridiculous numbers? Do you believe America is doing enough to bring these numbers down? I will answer that for you a big fat NO because making food that is unhealthy for you extremely cheap and giving your kids anything they want to eat no matter what it is apparently is not working at all and it needs to

We are all guilty of spending five dollars a meal from McDonalds or Burger King instead of taking a little time the day before and making our self our own meal, but let’s keep in mind that just because is made home doesn’t mean is healthy. According to the article “The state of obesity” by better policies of America more than one third of adults (34.9) are obese in the United States. But why is there so much obesity in the United States and who is there to blame? We can go ahead and blame the fast food restaurants or we can blame the people itself. Individuals are the ones to blame for the obesity in the United States because they have this idea of eating fast and easy, but just cause is fast does not mean healthy. Fast food are part of our daily life but is does not forces us to eat it.

An Obesity epidemic is disturbing the financial and social stability of the United States. As stated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services “our modern environment has allowed these conditions to increase at alarming rates and become highly pressing health problems for our nation“(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). Efforts made by authority figures have been enforced to solve this severe crisis. Obesity has become a concerning problem in the United States. This epidemic is interfering with the success of American citizens and it is also impacting the American economy negatively. The obesity epidemic endures negative impacts to the United States’ economy; even though others argue it is contributing to the economy through the growing weight loss industry.

Obesity is an issue that has been growing constantly in the United States. Due to the growing number of fast food restaurants and everything becoming more and more convenient to the human race, the population has been gaining an abundance of weight over the last several decades. The United States has the highest obesity rate among all of the countries in the world. The rates of obesity for each individual state in the United States all exceed 20 percent (Adult Obesity). Gary Stocklaufer, was a married man that was certified by the state to be a foster parent. Gary and his wife had been foster parents to a child of the family for three months when they filed the papers to adopt him. The judge did not allow Gary and his wife to adopt the child because of Gary’s weight; which at the time was between 500 and 600 pounds. The reason the judge had denied them the right to the adoption was because Gary was obese and he was likely to die at an early age due to a serious disease. The judge had stated the he was authorized to take into consideration the welfare and what was best for the child. A legal defense fund was started by the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) and the case was soon appealed. The judge ended up reversing his previous ruling because during the whole situation, Gary had gastric bypass surgery and lost 200 pounds. Gary’s story is only one of several stories where a person has been denied the right to adopt due to their weight (Grison, Heatherton,

Poor parents are less likely to monitor their children's diet, diet patterns and physical activity due to stress and time constraints if they work. Parents who work full-time are less able to monitor their children due to a decrease in maternal presence and availability during the day. Studies shows that poor people who move out of low-income housing into better neighborhoods are much less likely to have diabetes or be obese than people who stay behind in poor neighborhoods. Studies suggests that not only the financial burned of poverty contributes to obesity but the surroundings or type of area that an individual lives in adds to the complication. (Committee on Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity. National academic Press. ) (2005) Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: Focus on Schools. Retrieved from the National academic Press, http://site.ebrary.com/lib/devry/Doc?id=10115249&ppg=11

Does low socioeconomic status bear a significant role in the obesity epidemic? A national survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) estimated that more than two-thirds of Americans are now overweight or obese (body mass index of over 30), and the percentage is escalating. The Census Bureau (2011) reported 46.2 million people in America are currently living beneath the official poverty line. The official poverty rate in 2010 was 15.1 percent; up from 14.3 percent in 2009; this was the third consecutive annual increase in the poverty rate (Census Bureau, 2011). One might assume that obesity and poverty are not associated, but this is not accurate. The correlation between poverty and obesity can be

Statistical information confirms: obesity and overweight have already turned into an issue of national concern. In 2002, “a National Survey conducted by American Sports Data revealed that 61% of adults in the U.S. felt that they were overweight, 19% admitting that they were ‘considerably’ overweight” (American Sports Data). The major causes of obesity, overweight, and similar nutritional problems included genetics, population trends, hurried lifestyles, high-carbohydrate diets, less demanding workplaces, smoking cessation, and social class aspects (American Sports Data). That hurried lifestyles and a less demanding workplace contribute in the development of obesity trends is clear. But even more importantly, because the number of those who are overweight or obese exceeds one half of the American population, the government must control our diets. The information about the costs of obesity and related diseases is even more compelling.