The Health Problem Of Obesity Essay

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

“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 has been measured or defined in various ways. Many researchers have differing opinions on the origins and effects of obesity. The rapidly increasing rates of obesity are often linked to a high calorie diet and little to no physical activity. Although obesity is seen as a disease that affects a person’s weight, it actually affects a lot more than that. Obesity can affect individuals in both adolescence and adulthood, their families, and the healthcare system. From an outside viewpoint, obesity looks like a disease that careless, inactive people develop. Not always is this the case. Obesity is not a disease that affects solely the weight of a person. To be considered obese, your BMI (body mass index) would have to be 30 or higher. Almost 70 percent of Americans are either overweight or obese. Not only does obesity affect the weight of a person, it can also lead to increased risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep apnea, and many other things. Questions posed on this dreadful disease by many people are on the origin of the disease, the effects and exponential growth of the disease, and the actions that are being taken to help provide a healthier environment for Americans and to establish programs and preventative methods across the country to help fight the ever increasing obesity rate.

Obesity in the United States has been a serious problem affecting Americans and has been continually growing higher in numbers each year. American obesity has nearly doubled within the last 40 years and is now considered to be an epidemic that is affecting millions of people around the nation. According to the National institute of Diabetes and digestive and kidney Diseases, 31% of men and 35% of women are considered seriously overweight, along with 15% of children between the ages of six and nineteen are also overweight. The lack of physical inactivity and extreme poor dieting are catching up to almost the same threat as cigarettes and tobacco smoking. We as a nation are considered to be the fattest country in the world.

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.

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,

Increasingly high obesity rates among the U.S. population have both personal and societal ramifications. For the individual, increased body mass has been linked to a myriad of health issues including heart disease, Type II diabetes, high cholesterol, cancer, strokes, kidney & liver disease, and hypertension. (Wilmore, et al., 2008) On a societal level, the Center for Disease Control estimates that obesity related medical care costs reached a staggering $147 billion in 2008 with obese patients costing $1,400 more per patient than those that fell into a "normal" weight rage (CDC). Obesity-related diseases may also contribute to millions of lost workdays and higher insurance premiums (CNBC).

Nearly a third of adult Americans are obese (NCHS 2003). The occurrence of obesity in the United States’ adult population has more than doubled in the last 25 years, from about 15 percent in 1976 to more than 30 percent in 2000. Since obesity in the US has reached epidemic levels, it is important to understand as many aspects of the social determinants of this disease as possible. Obesity is not a standalone disorder; rather it has caused increases in increasing risks of disability, related diseases, and death as well as important and burdensome increases in the cost of health care (Allison, Zannolli, and Narayan 1999; Wang et al. 2003). Further, obesity is estimated as contributing to almost 15 percept of deaths in the US each year (Allison and Fontaine et al. 1999; McGinnis and Forge 1993; Rogers, Hummer, and Krueger 2003; Sturm 2002).

I was shocked when I read in our text that obesity in the United States (U.S.) has increased in one decade from 12% to 70% (Knickman & Kover, 2015, p. 125). Obesity is linked to many preventable chronic diseases and pushes health care cost between $147 billion and $210 billion per year (The State of Obesity, 2015). Even though the metric for obesity, the body mass index (BMI) is an old metric for judging health, the data is staggering and needs to be addressed.

For the sake of concise and clear discussion about America’s problem with obesity, it is first important to understand what this health condition entails. According to the definition provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity is defined as a condition where a person incurs excessive body fat (World Health Organization 4). Obesity has been among the epidemics that have affected the health conditions of Americans of all ages even those under the adolescent stage (Hardy, Harrell and Bell 376). Obesity causes other major health complications, such as diabetes, heart ailments, etc. making a major reason for concern. The US government spends millions of dollars each year to mitigate the effects of obesity as well in the efforts to prevent I, but not much success has been accomplished so far.

The enormity of this economic burden and the impacts that excessive weight take on human health and the well-being are increasing. The awareness of individuals, communities, states and nations are slowly acknowledging the problem, yet necessary interventions are limited at all levels and the essential tools and knowledge to combat the rising tide of obesity are not uniform.

Obesity is becoming an outrageous and alarming health issue in today’s society. Children are rapidly getting engulfed by this pandemic every day. According to the book Public Health 101: Health People-Healthy Populations, pandemic can be defined as, “An epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries and affecting a large number of people” (Riegelman, Kirkwood, 2015). The World Health Organization estimates that 43 million children worldwide are overweight or obese, with the United States leading the numbers (WHO, 2016). About one in three children and teenagers in America are obese. Obesity can lead to a variety of other serious health issues, such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma, high blood pressure, and other health risks. Finding effective interventions and programs to reverse obesity rates is essential. Obesity is one hundred percent preventable and treatable.

Obesity has caused great dilemma in America. It was known as an adult disease. “Over two thirds of adults are over weight or obese.”(Obesity, Jerry R Ballenttne) these numbers are increasing rapidly. Obesity is not just a appearance

In the United States obesity has become an enormous problem, both literally and figuratively. Americans have become larger, gaining weight at ever increasing amounts. This extra weight has become a burden, taking its toll on the health of individual Americans by making them vulnerable to a range of diseases, including type 2 diabetes, stroke, atherosclerosis, osteoarthritis, reproductive problems. As a result, public health officials, health policy makers, and the much of the health community have been paying increasing amounts of attention to this issue, from the formulation of school lunch policies that reduce the risk of obesity, to the implementation of “diet” or “low fat” products to counter the ever growing spread of obesity. Although obesity has become a hot topic among today’s policy makers and health officials, it is not a new phenomenon with trends of obesity being noted as far back as 50 years ago, when Douglas Coleman, a scientist who pioneered research in the pathophysiology of obesity, a investigated “how excess fat affect[ed] health and disease” in mice (Wood 16). At around the same time, changes in diet were occurring, leading many scientists to establish tentative links between these new energy sources and newly rising obesity rates. After half a century and the combined research of large parts of the health community, these shaky links have evolved into much stronger relationships.. In the past fifty years, changes in food consumption have led to a marked

Obesity is a serious problem in the United States, it is also a rising issue affecting people of all ages and incomes. Overweight and obesity are words to describe having excess body fat. Obesity or overweight status are determined by the measure of body mass index; BMI uses the calculation based the ratio of someone’s height and weight. Research has shown that BMI shows a good estimate of “fatness” and correlates well with important health outcomes like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and overall mortality. Obesity is a very concerning and rapidly increasing health issue, my public health analysis will primarily be focusing on childhood obesity and overweight. In the United States, 20 percent of children aged 6 to 11 are obese. This rising trend is one that is likely to endure and have long term devastating influences on the population unless there is action taken to reverse this issue. “Obesity is not only a cosmetic concern. It does not just impact the way we look. It can change the course of our lives, and not for the better.” (American Heart Association, 2012) I came across this statement and could not agree any less. Childhood obesity impacts many things from medical complications such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease, to mental and psychological issues such as poor self-esteem, depression, stress, and the list goes on. However, there are good news to obesity. This trend can be prevented and managed. The most efficient cure to this