The Obesity Epidemic : Obesity Essay

The sociological aspect of obesity shown through the impact of families, the government and the economy. The rapidly growing, fast-paced, technological society creates an epidemic of sorts. Families pursue the use of technology, restaurants and fast-paced eating as well as single parenting and parental denial. The government sets a significant health care cost to obesity, which prevents a solution and increases risks. A non-stable economy brings about a society filled with unemployment or multiple jobs as well as both parents working to stay above absolute or relative poverty leading to distractions from a healthy lifestyle. Obesity is a concern, not just for an individual but also for

Obesity rates are soaring throughout North America (What Is Obesity?, 2013). With obesity reaching almost epidemic proportions in the United States, and the threat of a global epidemic, we must watch this alarming increase carefully ( Health Risks of Obesity, 2013). Obesity is defined as: "…an excess of adipose tissue…" (A Report of the Surgeon General, 2014). The two most common measures of obesity are Body Mass Index (BMI is a ratio of weight to height) and relative weight index, such as percent desirable weight (Body Mass Index , 2013). BMI is the most frequently used measure of obesity as it has a strong correlation with more direct measures of adiposity, such as underwater weighing (A Report of the Surgeon General, 2013). Some

Obesity has become increasingly more prominent in American society. The Unites States has even been termed an overweight nation. Some twenty to thirty percent of American adults are now considered obese (Hwang 1999 and Hirsch et al 1997). With this in mind, Americans constantly look around themselves determining their weight status as well as that of those around them. While some Americans do fit the healthy category, others enter the underweight, overweight, and even obese categories, all of which can be unhealthy.

Wheat is not the “healthy whole grain” it was pretending to be. Like a faithful spouse exposed as a philanderer and polygamist, wheat is not to be trusted. Held up as an icon of health, it is in reality a major contributor to the world’s worst epidemic of obesity and an astounding list of health problems, from simple annoyances like dandruff to incapacitating conditions like dementia.

The Obesity Epidemic is a topic widely studied and mentioned in several contexts’ both medical and social. Obesity is described by Boero (2012) to have exploded in meaning Post- World War II to be more than a “physical flaw.” Weight concern became an idea that debuted in magazines mainly targeting women and emphasizing “natural thinness.” The disappearance of the normally worn “corset” and popularization of the typical 1920’s “boy catching” flapper, increased the production of diet products and the ideology of “desirable thinness” which gave birth to a social and moral model of obesity as a disease (Boero 2012). Throughout her book, Boero (2012) examines the ways in which the view of obesity has transformed into a medicalized epidemic, rather than a simple “flaw in human biology” in addition to the implications that come along with the “epidemic” title it has been given. Although there is a relationship between poor health and fatness, the Obesity epidemic would fail to exist in the absence of societies constant fat shaming, medicalization of fatness and an emphasis on individual blame. The Mayo Clinic’s “My Weight Solution” pamphlet and “The HAES Manifesto” each approach health and weight from a different angle. The Mayo Clinic’s pamphlet takes the Anti-Obesity Approach giving reasons as to why people should have a negative outlook on Obesity while also blaming a handful of obesity-related issues on the bad habits of an individual person. The HAES Manifesto adopts a more

Obesity has rapidly emerged as a serious health issue in America. The cause of obesity results from America’s social injustices. Today, food advertisements are in all places promoting an unhealthy lifestyle. Considering the great expense of healthy foods, low income families can barely afford fruits and vegetables. These two factors contribute to the increasing obesity rate in the United States. Unfortunately, it has taken an excessive amount of Americans to become obese for America to become aware of the issue and take action. Although obesity is still an increasing problem, America is fighting to reduce the number of obese citizens. As a result of low income and the media advertising unhealthy lifestyles, America is in the midst of an obesity epidemic.

In America, more people are becoming overweight or obese than ever, over 70 percent of the population. Much of this is occurring because of what the food industry is doing and because of many misconceptions in the minds of the ordinary people. These, along with other factors are generating an obesity epidemic in the USA. This documentary visits several experts and people with first-hand experiences with obesity. They bring to light many of the causes that induce people becoming obese, teach people how to avoid such things, suggest methods for restoring one's health, and reveal the benefits that come with good health and the hindrances that come with malnutrition. At the same time, it follows the fictional life of a woman as she makes the decision

Described as the epidemic of the twenty and twenty-one centuries, obesity has reach alarming levels in the United States in the last three decades. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) declared that the prevalence of obesity was 36.5% (crude estimate) among U.S. adults during 2011–2014 (Cynthia L. Ogden, Margaret D. Carroll, & Cheryl D. Fryar, 2015). Obesity results from a combination of causes and contributing factors, including individual factors such as behavior and genetics. Behaviors can include dietary patterns, physical activity, inactivity, medication use, and other exposures. Two of the most important factors in our society include the increase in the consumption of fast food, which contains high quantities of trans fatty acids (TFAs) and fructose, and a marked decrease in physical activity. Both of them combined have resulted in the development of the serious widespread across the country. Likewise, it is extremely important to point that “obesity is associated with poorer mental health outcomes, reduced quality of life, and the leading causes of death in the U.S. and worldwide, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer” (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). Which guides us to the necessity of expanding our health initiatives in order to increase the education, prevention and better alternatives for future generations.

Today nearly 60% of America 's population is overweight, a statistic that 's only growing. More and more children are abandoning traditional forms of exercise for video games, television and other forms of a rapidly expanding simulated reality. Too many Americans today are more concerned with social media and popular culture than what 's going on in their neighborhoods and in the country we all call home. People are losing touch with their own realities. Furthering this argument of a lost touch with reality comes the notion and expectation things come easily and anything requiring hard work or discipline is voided unnecessary, which I believe is a side-effect of technology. The obesity epidemic has drawn considerable attention from policymakers, and while new policy initiatives to address the issue are already underway, new policy initiatives are not enough and are likely going to overlook the simple truth. Technology is a major culprit behind this nation’s obesity epidemic. Cell phones, video games and 600 television channels are making kids gain weight, and there is no easy way to solve the issue, other than to get off your couch, pick up a salad instead of a slice of pizza and get active.

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.

Mental health disorders play a major role in today’s society. The National Alliance on Mental Illness states that one in five adults have a mental illness: major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar depressive disorder, and/or anxiety disorder. 1 Mental disorders are not the only major disorders to worry about today. Obesity is the most common epidemic today. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, more than two in three United States adults are classified as either overweight or obese, and more than one in three adults are classified as obese. Furthermore, one third of children and adolescents are classified as overweight, and more than one in six children and adolescents are classified as obese. 2 The Body Mass Index is classified as 18.5 to 24.9 as a normal body weight, 25 to 29.9 as overweight, 30-39.9 as obese, and greater than 40 as extreme obesity. 2 The National Obesity Conservatory found that obese people have an increased risk of developing depression, and a depressed person has an increased risk for becoming obese. A recent meta-analysis from the International Journal of Obesity found a new link between obesity and various anxiety disorders. 3 Three fourths of all mental illness will emerge in adolescence or early adulthood. This literature review is going to discuss various articles that link diet choice and obesity with the prevalence of mental illness in adults, children, and adolescents. It will provide

The young child stands looking up at the tall machine filled with every food he could want and more, stuffed behind the thick glass. How likely is it that he’ll walk past and instead choose a nice crunchy carrot over his Cheetos? Simple choices like these add up over time to make up a lifestyle of habits. A child’s diet is the building block to their health and the nutrition that they intake at school is vital to the rest of their life. Despite previous efforts to reduce the abundance of junk food within school lunch programs, there is still a great need to rethink the availability of caffeine and snacks, saturated in fat that could potentially lead to an array of health issues.

If you were to walk down the street right at this moment and look around, what would you see? You would probably see street signs, animals, buildings and people. However, if you were to look specifically at the people you would probably find that not many people are in good shape, they are either overweight or obese. According to the world health organization, obesity worldwide has doubled since 1980 and in 2014 it was recorded that 1.9 billion adults were obese. Thirty-nine percent of the adults were overweight and thirteen percent were obese. In 2013 it was recorded that 42 million children under the age of five were either overweight or obese. Unfortunately, in today’s society, the obesity rate is exceedingly high and will continue to increase if nothing is done about it. Obesity is caused by an over consumption of unhealthy foods and unhealthy foods are foods that classified as being high in sugar, fat and sodium. Over eating/ drinking these products not only lead to obesity, but also type 2 diabetes. According to www.diabetes.org type two diabetes contributes to a variety of different health issues such as foot complication, kidney disease, high blood pressure, and strokes. The problem with these products is that they have no nutritional value and are very high in bad fat, sugar and salt. This can mean that some people become addicted and can abuse these products. Another issue is that these products are being used as a replacement for healthy, nutritious foods. For

In the United States, obesity has become an enormous problem, both literally and figuratively. This extra weight has become a burden, taking its toll on the health of Americans by making them vulnerable to a range of diseases, including type 2 diabetes, stroke, atherosclerosis, osteoarthritis, and reproductive problems. As a result, public health officials, policy makers, and large parts of the health community are paying increasing amounts of attention to this issue, from the formulation of school lunch policies that ensure healthier options are available to children, 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 problem, with trends of obesity being noted as far back as 50 years ago. Douglas Coleman, a pioneer in the field of pathophysiological causes of obesity, noticed that “excess fat affect[ed] health and disease” in mice (Wood 16). This research, was in part, catalyzed by the numerous changes in diet that occurred at the time, which led scientists to establish tentative links between these new food consumption trends and newly rising obesity rates. After half a century and the combined research resulting from thousands of experiments, these shaky links have evolved into much stronger relationships. In the past fifty years, changes in food consumption have led to a marked increase in the rates of American

The very fact that we are having a national conversation about what we should eat, that we are struggling with the question about what the best diet is, is symptomatic of how far we have strayed from the natural conditions that gave rise to our species, from the simple act of eating real, whole, fresh food. When it becomes a revolutionary act to eat real food, we are in trouble (Hyman).