The Health And Fitness Epidemic Essay

As per Healthy People 2020 most Americans do not consume healthy diets and are not physically active at levels needed to maintain proper health. As a result of these behaviors the nation has experienced a dramatic increase in obesity in the U.S with 1 in 3 adults (34.0%) and 1 and 6 children and adolescents (16.2%) are obese. In addition to grave health consequences of being overweight and obese. It significantly raises medical cost and causes a great burden on the U.S medical care delivery system ("Healthy People 2020," 2014, p. 1).

“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”.

Within the last half century, the obesity rate in America has increased by twenty one percent from thirteen percent to thirty four percent of adults; while the percent of the population considered overweight has remained stagnate at thirty-four percent. Unfortunately, the increase in the obese population poses a large threat to the health and well-being of United States citizens. Obesity is not only an accumulation of fat mass, but has been linked to many diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. The strain that each of these respective diseases contributes onto the United States healthcare system is great, but how exactly does obesity contribute to the occurrence of these three diseases? What health factors are affected by obesity and lead to the development of chronic illness?

One in three Americans are at risk for more than 30 chronic illnesses due to obesity. It is the biggest driver of healthcare, costing the country millions of dollars each year. Poor eating habits are the main cause of this disease and could all be changed beginning with the youth of the nation. 20 million children under the age of five are now considered overweight or obese in America (Dyer). What was once a rare disease, has now become an epidemic. Few health topics have initiated as much debate and controversy as obesity has within the past 15 years. The hope of new treatments progresses as obesity becomes the norm of our society and continues to change America every day.

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).

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

Adult overweight and obesity have become a worldwide issue that has very dangerous consequences on health. World Health Organization defines obesity as the “epidemic of the 21st Century”. WHO reports show that 1.9 billion people with 18 years age and older are overweight, and 600 million of them are obese. In the United States, obesity is a serious problem today that results from overconsumption of high-fat food and sugary food with lack of exercise. The Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention reports show that the obesity rates are above 20 percent in all states. Overweight and obesity have become a major public health issue because of their high rates of mortality and morbidity. People who are considered overweight or obese are at increased

America’s Obesity rate has dramatically increased throughout the years. The United States of America obesity rate is ranked in the top 10 countries in the whole universe. This is outrageous, and there must be something done in order to decrease it. Many Americans don’t even know what obesity means and how it targets millions in the nation. Obesity is when an individual is overweight, this can be classified with your BMI. Many reasons that obesity can attack you is through great amounts of calories we intake daily, and our lack of exercise,

Compared to other countries, the United States was reported to have the second highest rate of obesity in the world after Mexico. Over the past decade, cases of obesity have triplicated in the U.S., affecting more than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of the adults (Ogden et al. 2014). Given the current trends, it is projected that 42% of the U.S. population will be obese by 2030 (Finkelstein et al. 2012). Aside from its nefarious impact on the overall quality of life of the affected individual on a micro level, obesity has an enormous economist cost on the US healthcare system. In their extensive annual medical spending report, Finkelstein et al. (2012) indicated that the annual medical cost for obesity in the US amount to $147 billion

Consequently, the result of this negative trend caused obesity to be the second leading cause of preventable deaths with 18% of American adults dying each year (CDC, 2016). According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases “more than one-third (35.7%) of adults are considered obese. More than 1 in 20 (6.3%) have extreme obesity” (NIDDK, 2012).

Our life is something that is so precious. Every choice we make impacts our life wether it be physically or mentally. When we choose to make poor life choices, it will reflect on us as individuals. Poor choices in what we consumed or how active we are will lead to a life that can lead to an early death. Obesity is an epidemic health problem that has been one of the leading causes to death. The disease itself causes sever health conditions as well as mental health issues.no one wants to become obese, but in today’s society we have been given the perfect recipe that will land us in a fight for our life. Obesity is not something that simply happens, but a lifetime of poor choices. We must discover the source of obesity and attack the health issue from the primary leading factors. We start with the source in order to help improve the lives of people everywhere who are battling this disease, as well as those who are predisposed to a higher chance of developing it.

Although many individuals are uncertain about the increasing statistics associated with obesity, more than seventy percent of men and virtually sixty-two percent of women within the United States adult population are overweight or obese (Wilmore, Costill, & Kenney). Obesity refers to the condition of having an excessive amount of body fat. If an individual’s amount of body fat becomes too excessive, he/she is at a much greater risk of developing life-altering diseases such as heart failure, hypertension, type II diabetes, cancer, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, etc. (Wilmore, et al., 2008).

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,

Obesity has become the silent killer in American society. It is a risk factor for numerous chronic diseases including the four leading causes of death. Obesity can be linked to stroke, heart disease, cancer and diabetes, all serious health problems that can be fatal. Obesity is linked to 300,000 deaths annually in the industrial world (Flamholz, 2001). Often in society and in the medical community there exists a lack of understanding that obesity is in fact a disease and needs attention, otherwise the rates of many diseases will continue to climb.

Obesity rates in the United States are alarming, with more than one-third of U.S. adults and 17% of children qualifying as obese with a Body Mass Index greater than 30.0 (Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 2015). Even more frightening is the growth rate of this crippling health epidemic; between 1980 and 2014, obesity has doubled for adults and tripled for children (CDC, 2015). The physical consequences of rising obesity rates in our country include an abundance of physical ailments including type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, arthritis, elevated cholesterol, and even some cancers. Additionally, obesity-related health care costs to our country are estimated at $147 billion annually, plus the costs of productivity lost at