The Effects Of Obesity On Public Health

Obesity is an increasing issue in modern society. It has been deemed an ‘epidemic in the developed world’ and statistics (from Public Health England) show obesity in the United Kingdom has been on the rise for many years, with currently 61.9% of men and women being obese or overweight. In England alone, 1 in 4 adults (age 16 years or over) are currently obese – (25.6%) - placing more than half the adult population overweight or obese (HSE, 2014). This growing problem in developed countries is responsible for thousands of deaths each year due to a number of contributory factors.

Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide and its prevalence is increasing at an alarming rate (Barness et al, 2007). For thousands of years obesity was rarely seen, it was not until the 20th century that it became common, some much so that in 1997, the World Health Organization (WHO) formally recognized obesity as a global epidemic (Caballero, 2007).

Obesity is a worldwide epidemic with 67.1% of adults (aged 16 and over) in the UK being overweight or obese according to the

“Obesity is a disease that affects more than one-third of the U.S adult population (approximately 78.6 million Americans). The number of Americans with obesity had steadily increase since 1960, a trend that has slowed down in recent years but show no sign of reversing”.

Obesity is a big problem in our world today. From the beginnings of 1970’s, America is known for the country on the fast track for being overweight. Obesity can cause health related issues among the people. From the early childhood onwards kids got attacked by the type II diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure and some other lifelong diseases.

The number is alarming with one in five children also believed to be overweight or obese before they start primary school. Childhood obesity is a terrifying issue with many studies showing that childhood obesity is linked to obesity in adolescence and through to adulthood. It has been demonstrated that children with obese parents are more likely to obese themselves, continuing a vicious cycle. These children are presented with many complex health issues and risks, including a reduced quality of life. Every child deserves and has the right to a healthy life that they can get them most out of. These obese and overweight children deal with an increased risk of ?CVD?, they often experience asthma and/or wheezing and are continually presented with mental health risks due to poor self esteem, body image or

The last decade has welcomed, with open arms, a new epidemic: obesity. Currently in the United States, more than one-third of adults, 35.7%, and approximately 17% of children and adolescents are obese. Obesity is not only a problem in the US but also worldwide with its prevalence doubling in high income and economically advanced countries and is also growing in under-developed areas. Its incidence rate is continually increasing with each successive generation and in each age group, including the elderly (Byles, 2009; Dorner and Rieder, 2011).

Obesity is a medical condition in which excess fats have grown and accumulated to the point of harm, and a shortened life expectancy. Obesity is a problem that has been more prominent in the 20th and 21st century and is now a main concern for both society and the government. It is the citizen’s duty to resolve this epidemic known as obesity in the United States.

The prevalence of obesity in the United States has doubled over the last two decades (Pomerantz et al, 2010) and tripled over the last three decades (Taylor et al, 2006); similar trends are also occurring worldwide (Sabharwal and Root, 2012).

It is no surprise that obesity is becoming an increasingly prominent health concern. In fact, since 1980 global obesity has almost doubled. (1) “The percentage of children aged 6-11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12-19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.” (2) “35% of adults aged 20 and over were overweight in 2008, and 11% were obese.” (1) To put these percentages into perspective, in 2008 the world population was at almost 7 billion, more than 1.4 billion adults, 20 and older, were overweight, roughly 500 million were obese. (1) Obesity can no longer simply be a concern; it is a

Obesity is a major public health concern in the United States and worldwide. Recent data suggest that more than 70% of the U.S. adults 20 years or older are overweight or obese (CDC 2016, CDC 2015). Obesity is associated with numerous serious health sequelae, including cardio- and neuro- vascular diseases, diabetes, and several types of cancer and incurs substantial medical costs (CDC 2015). Given the seriousness of the public health concern, there is great interest in the identification and mitigation of potential causes of obesity. As such, obesogenic environmental contaminants with widespread exposure and biological persistence is of great concern.

In America, obesity is found in relatively every community. Several factors contribute to this problem, three of them are dietary options, genetics, and inactive lifestyles. According to the National Center for Health Statistic, since the 1970’s the rate of obesity has doubled in children and adults. Unfortunately this public health problem, in America, is ongoing.

This book comprehensively addresses the subject of obesity. Apart from highlighting the main causes of the epidemic, the book also presents suggestions on what can be done to stem the rising rates of obesity.

With the number of fast food restaurants rapidly increasing and bigger clothing sizes becoming increasingly apparent in shops, it is difficult to not notice the high risks of obesity hitting our nation. With the average height and weight for women in the UK being 161.6cm and 70.2kg [Office of National Statistics, 2010] and is considered to have 26.8 bodily mass index (BMI) which is considered overweight [NHS, 2015] and the average height and weight for men in the UK being 175.3cm and 83.6kg [Office of National Statistics, 2010] and is considered to have 27.2 BMI which is considered overweight as

There are many women’s health topics that can affect all generations of female patients. As future providers, it will be important to identify important women health issues that can possibly be prevented, or the risk of developing the condition reduced with education, health promotion, and wellness for the patient. The patient may need encouragement, a listening ear, or time spent with them to develop a goals and a plan for health promotion. A women’s health topic that is well known is the negative effect of obesity and endometrial cancer.