Social Disparities And Tragedies: An Analysis

Obesity does not discriminate against social status, sex, or race; it can take a person’s life and turn it upside down in the blink of an eye if they are not careful. Some people think of obesity as a worldwide killer because there is no outrunning it if it overtakes a person’s body. Every 1 in 3 adults are obese right here in America, that should give each and every individual some type of hint that there is a major problem occurring. The obesity epidemic is not something that has just caught the attention of people recently; it has been going on since the 1950’s! This epidemic is a major problem; over 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being obese or extremely overweight and over 40 million children were said to be obese in

Clearly, the individualistic western society has taken a toll upon the populace, in such a way as to render certain members of the social order helpless in matters of health and wellbeing (Peralta 329). A degree in sociology is not required to note significant health differences amongst the various SES’s of the population. According to information from the CDC in conjunction with per capita income by state and county, the wealthiest counties within the wealthiest of states, generally, held the lowest population of obese individuals ("Obesity and Overweight…”np) ("State and County…”np). Such information proves only to refute Peralta’s claims that an unequal allocation of resources perpetuates and unequal society. Commensurate to the given socioeconomic status of certain groups are the variances within racial and gender based identities. For instance, according to statistics offered by Peralta, the educated, wealthy, white woman will weigh substantially less than the average African American woman (Peralta 334-335). This can be attributed to the variances in aesthetic ideal within the different cultures.

Society today has distorted what a healthy physique actually looks like. It tells you, if you don’t have muscles bulging from under your skin then you are out of shape. And that if you are overweight you are just ugly. Another false concept is that if you are overweight you’re lazy or not self disciplined (Bordo 2). There are so many factors that have to be accounted for when evaluating someone’s weight. To assume that someone is lazy or weak because they are overweight, is ignorant. Many people are deceived into thinking that obesity is terrible like a sin. In her article Susan Bordo gives an example of a study taken where children chose obesity to be more uncomfortable or embarrassing than dismembered hands or facial deformities when shown

Our culture uses health and wellness with food to divide groups as well. Julier ("The Political Economy of Obesity: The Fat Pay All") discusses how obesity vilifies certain groups and how poverty and obesity have a function in society, serving the industry and the economy. Julier says rhar obesity vilifies women, the poor, and people of color, groups of people that are already marginalized, and the stress of life as a marginalized group can lead to a disordered relationship with food. Americans are incredibly intolerant of individuals who have let themselves go, and get even angrier when those individuals don't do anything about it to get to the socially accepted normal: skinny (Mead "Why Do We Overeat?"). Julier ("The Political Economy of Obesity: The Fat Pay All") gives 13 political, economic, and cultural functions of poverty and obesity, one of them being the idea that when fatness is related to irresponsible behavior, those who aren't fat and stick to the socially constructed normal of thin are able to maintain and create public agenda to control and vilify the obese and overweight.

Racial and ethnic health disparities plays a significant role when it comes to those living in a what is considered a low- economic community because people are more susceptible to poor air quality, high blood pressure related to stress, and violence. Inaccessibility to healthy foods forces people to have to eat unhealthy and struggle with the risk that can lead to obesity or high cholesterol down the road (Noonan, A et al ,2016). Also social racism with having limited income, and education can cause people to act out in a negative way due to being frustrated and can cause one to act out in a violent way which can cause a spike in crime. So much can be done to strengthen low economic communities such as re-opening schools in the neighborhood,

Eventually from socioeconomic disparities, a factor affects low income students from priming them from college is the maintenance of the school. The lower the maintenance of the school like poor hygiene and change of teacher will affect the students highly. It may come to a surprise that hygiene affects the mentally of the low-income school but it does because it distracts them. In the encyclopedia, Multicultural & Diversity Education, it describes that the many disparities that low-income schools face when being in the environment they are in. For example, they provide the example of “Cockroaches, rats, and and other vermin that can be found in the schools” (Multicultural & Diversity Education 119) when attending low-income schools because

According to the case, 65 % of Americans are overweight. Many perceive themselves as social outcasts.

The purpose of this paper is to study the social aspect of obesity and an individual's personal experience of being fat. I understand obesity as a socially and politically meaningful divergence that is analogous to other significant differences based on the body, for example: disability, gender, and ethnicity (ef. Cooper, 1997&1998; Young, 1990). In my research, I approach obesity as a discursive category that is created, produced and reproduced through various social practices, such as: medicine and health care system, school, religion, and the media (e.g. Foucault, 1979).

Over 60 million people are obese in the world today. The socioeconomic statuses of the Americans play a major part in the obesity rates across the country. People with higher incomes are less likely to be obese than people with lower incomes. One in every seven preschool-aged children living in lower income areas are obese (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). A 2008 study showed that obesity is highest among American Indian and Alaska Native (21.2 percent) and Hispanic Americans (18.5 percent) children, and it is lowest

Obesity is defined as a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduce life expectancy and/or increased health problems. “The problem of obesity is increasing in the United States. Understanding the impact of social inequalities on health has become a public health priority in the new millennium. Social, political, and economic factors now are acknowledged to be "fundamental" causes of disease that affect behavior, beliefs, and biology.” (Goodman, 2003)  In the United States today, obesity has become an enormous problem. In the last 3 decades, the number of people overweight has increased dramatically. Obesity has not always been seen as a medical

This essay discusses how social constructions have an effect on obesity and what combination of causes and contributing factors it includes can lead to obesity. `Obesity is the term used to describe someone who is overweight and unhealthy. Obesity shortens life by an average of 10 years. It is very common in the UK and results from a study back in 2014 showed that a whopping 65.3% of men and 58.1% of women are obese here. (UniversityOfBirmingham,2016) Being over weight is generally associated with being lazy and unpleasant. There are a lot of media groups that have influenced our society’s perception on obesity and many factors that lead to the disease. Obesity can be life threatening and can be the start of lethal conditions such as diabetes,

There are more than one billion overweigh adults in the world with at least three hundred of these adults being obese. In North America, obesity has increasingly become one of the most important public health problems (Flegal, Graubard, Williamson, & Gail 2005). With cases of obesity increasing, there has also been more exportation of research being done into the topic. Moreover, social, psychological and biological factors are being investigated to determine aspects that may influence the onset of obesity. This paper will focus on two specific domains of the biopsychosocial model of health with a focus on psychological and social factors that affect obesity.

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.

(2003), likewise point out that the fact of not being physically active plays a crucial in doubling cases of obesity. According to Hastings et al. (2003), people in 1st, 2nd and 3rd world countries are doing less physical activities such as riding bikes, working in the fields. Instead, people spend more time sitting in cars, in factories, in offices, in front of the TV, developing “Couch-potato” syndrome, only eating and drinking. In addition, the authors comment that wage-labor patterns are other contributing factors in culture-bound

In the example of Obesity, an individual’s obesity can be wrongly viewed as their own personal trouble but when viewed at a broader spectrum, it is noted that there is a variety of social issues involved which transforms it from a personal trouble to a social phenomenon. In addition to Mills’ ideas, there has been a significant amount of research which suggests obesity is a social phenomenon.