My goal is probably not one that most people would set for themselves. Most people set their goals in terms of their education, career, and family. My goal is to lead a healthier life style because I got tired living with obesity and being unhealthy. At the age of eleven, my doctor officially diagnosed me as an obese child. Being overweight did not affect me personally while I was growing up in my country of Saudi Arabia. People in my country are not as concerned with looks are as Californians. Saudi Men all wear the same thing, white garment called "Thoob," so no one was different from the others. When I moved to California, I began to feel social pressure to drop my excess weight, the sooner the better. Californians have an ideal image of men as slim and athletic. I felt so pressured for being different that I sited a goal to lead a healthier life style for myself to achieve. I had multiple problems living with obesity, such as poor body image, social pressure, low self-esteem, and to seek parent's approval. With the negative experience of childhood obesity, I have come to learn a valuable lesson to pursue and maintain a healthier life style.
The mirror can be your friend or your enemy. I considered it my worst enemy because I had to look at something I feared: I had to face myself at my worst physical shape. I had what was called "man boobies": they were the worst part of being overweight, followed by my chubby face. Sometimes I would wear several layers of thick clothes to cover my "man boobies," even if the weather was hot. That is how much I hated my body. But what is funny is that I did not feel this way about myself until I moved to California five years ago. Now, I live in a world that favors the slim, athletic body. That world did not help, instead that world made me feel unpleasant feelings such as anger towards myself and jealousy towards others who were in better shape than I was. Brained-washed by television and magazines to look in a certain way, I felt I was not worth looking at or even worth loving. I wanted to be someone else: a thin, good looking man. Sometimes I would look in the mirror and wonder, "How did I do this, how did I eat so much that I have led myself into obesity?
Obesity is on the rise, and it is becoming more and more of a national health concern. It effects more than 1/3 of the population, and an additional 1/3 is overweight. With obesity becoming more and more of a problem each year, the American population is going to suffer from a catastrophic health emergency.
Obesity today is a widely spread nutritional disorder that can affect anybody at any age across North America, majority of the reason being because there are so many fast food restaurants at just about every corner. With its low prices people are not going to be making the right decisions in what type of food they consume in their diet. Some examples of the junk food would be: Microwave dinners, snack foods like potato chips, which have high calories. It is not necessarily junk foods that make people obese and fat. Too many carbohydrates and foods with lots of starch in an individual’s diet can also cause them to gain undesired weight. It is not always someone’s dietary decision that makes him or her obese. Genetics play a monumental factor in a person’s weight. For example, if a child is born with two obese parents there is an 80 percent of a chance that the child can be born or become obese later in his or her life. Pregnancy can make the mother gain about 20 pounds after giving birth. Another said cause of weight gain is when the energy intake is more then the energy outtake in the body. That is not always the case.
Obesity in America is a very serious problem affecting many Americans currently and is a problem that continues to grow each year. “Over the past 40 years, the prevalence of obesity has more than doubled in the United States” (Wimalawansa). This issue is known to many but believed not be an issue to care much about but this is not true. Obesity in America affects everyone regardless if they are obese or not. In order to resolve the problem, we can slaughter all the adults that are currently obese in America.
According to the American Heart Association, 23.9 million children ages 2 to 19 are overweight or obese. In addition to them, 154.7 million adults are pudgy. That means more than one-third of children and two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight (Pages 1-3). Many Americans know about the high rates of obesity in our country. Michelle Obama, along with several other politicians and health professionals, push for recognition of these facts. They believe too many citizens are overweight and something has to change. The statistics raise several questions and problems, but of these conflicts, which ones are worth solving?
There is no doubt that obesity has taken its seat as one of the top disease that strikes the world today. In America, obesity has now spread through the country leaving 2 out of 3 adults either overweight or obese, and worldwide 1.5 billion are overweight or obese (Overweight). The cause of this disease stems from multiple reasons such as the increase in modern food production, putting out ample amounts of food causing the prices for meat, groceries, and especially junk food to plummet. Subsequently, Americans especially were more inclined to purchase more food and showed an increase in the average American house hold food intake by 1,000 more calories a day (Dreifus).
The way a person see’s oneself and imagines what they look like is one’s body image. One can either have a positive or negative connotation regarding their own body appearance. A positive body image means that most of the time one is comfortable and satisfied about the way they appear. In a sense, that means they feel good about the way they see themselves in mirrors or pictures. Having a negative body image is a common struggle for individuals. This means they are unhappy with their physical appearance and constantly want to change something about him or herself. Negative body image leads to serious mental problems such as anorexia or bulimia. Not only do we have a personal view on our body image, but society also has an input. Society
Do you like what you see after you look within the mirror? Envision looking in the mirror and you see something other than what is truthfully there. That’s a nightmare numerous women suffering with eating disorders live with daily. No matter how pretty. In today's modern society we live in an image conscious culture, that encourage individuals to improve their image and this particularly goes towards women. Eating disorder is any of a range of psychological disorders characterized by abnormal or disturbed eating habits like anorexia nervosa could be an example.
Imagine a world where a school aged child can step out of their school and walk into a McDonalds. A world where soda companies make millions of dollars a year by placing soda machines in schools. A world where 30.5 percent of adults are considered obese. A world where obesity is killing more people than smoking. What if I told you this world is not in your imagination but is the world we live in today?
Obesity among Americans has been a growing issue in the United States predominantly over the past decade. Many may argue American’s are obese because of poor food choices, over-eating, genetic disposition, lack of exercise, or the environment which one lives, while others blame it all on fast-food chains and restaurants. Throughout my research I have come to find a lot of facts and statistics about fast food consumption causing obesity. Statistics show that without a doubt the United States is the most obese country in the world.
The government plays an important part in our safety, but many people think they take it too far. Recently, people have thought more and more about how much involvement the government should have when it comes to food regulations. Some people think the government's involvement in regulating food would greatly help obesity rates, and others think the country's obesity rates would show little to no improvement. Although no one cause of obesity exists, and no government regulations will likely alter someone’s lifestyle choices, the government should implement some regulations by implementing programs to educate and encourage citizens to lead a healthier life and by requiring companies to list a full disclosure of ingredients on their products.
Obesity in the United States continues growing alarmingly. Approximately 66 % of adults and 33 % of children and teenagers in the US are overweight. Obesity is the result of fat accumulated over time due to the lack of a balanced diet and exercise. An adult with a BMI (body mass index) higher than thirty percent is considered obese (Whitney & Rolfes, 2011, pg. 271).
With society’s ever increasing price tag of education, public schools have gone to great lengths to cut costs from the unessential activities during and after school hours. First it was music programs and art classes; however, with the desperate need for teachers, athletic programs have felt the grunt of this expedition. Now, more than ever, youths in our communities are battling serious problems. Not only are sports and organized athletic programs vital to physical development, but also mental growth and offer children structure and goals. Unfortunately, many schools have to cut back or even eliminate sports/athletic programs due to lack of funding.
Obesity is a very common health problem in the U.S., and the number of people considered obese is forever increasing. More than 35.7% of U.S. adults are considered obese (“Adult Overweight”). The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism points out that “obesity is a chronic medical condition characterized by too much body fat” (Beeson, Hill, Wyatt). It is diagnosed by a number called the Body Mass Index or BMI. This number calculates the amount of body fat based on the person’s height and weight. The higher the BMI the more body fat obese people have which leads to obesity. An adult with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight. An adult with a BMI of greater than 30 is considered obese (“Adult Overweight”). While Obesity is an extremely serious problem in the U.S., this condition, except possibly for the cases of genetic and hormonal disorders, can be prevented by portion control, exercise, and eating a well-balanced diet.
Americans are becoming more obese due to the challenges of the economy because healthy food is overpriced, fast food restaurants at every corner, and not enough motivation to exercise. If we are going to make a change, we need to take baby steps. A healthy world is a happy world.
There are some people who are obese enough to be considered disabled, and therefore are qualified for disability benefits under certain government rules.