“Look at her, eating at Macdonalds, maybe if she stopped eating so much she would lose some weight”. This statement is constantly made by thousands of people who do not know the truth about obesity. Humans are quick to make judgements based on what they see in front of them. If an obese person is eating, the first thing that comes to mind for many people is, “Its their fault that they are overweight”. The details of the obese individuals story are often overlooked. People do not realize that there are many factors that contribute to obesity such as; genetics, medical disorders, and the lifestyles being passed on to current and upcoming generations. Likewise, the story of a woman named Claire illustrates how a person can be deemed overweight from the beginning of their childhood. She was raised by a family who used the “clean your plate” method. Since the age of 3, whenever she was being fed, Claire would be forced to finish the enormous portions of food on her plate completely. If she refused, even due to feeling sick, Claire would be punished by being locked up in a garden room by her parents. She now suffers being morbidly obese, having a weight of 392 pounds at age 43 (BBC News Magazine, 2012). These causes are all substantial evidence that obesity is not brought upon an individual at their own fault, however, due to the circumstances they face in their life.
Genetics play a significant role in obesity, since they increase a persons risk of gaining weight or developing excessive eating habits. “In a study of 226 families by Plymouth's Peninsula Medical School, researchers found that obese mothers were 10 times more likely to have obese daughters and for fathers and sons, there was a six-fold rise” (Medindia, 2009). The obesi...
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Williams, Marina. “Obesity, Genetics, Depression and Weight Loss.” Psych Central. N.p., 2013. Web. 16. Feb. 2014.
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Reeves, Gloria. Etl. “Childhood Obesity and Depression: Connection between these Growing Problems in Growing Children.” NCBI. N.p., 1. Aug. 2008. Web. 16. Feb. 2014.
Polis, Carey. “Eating Healthy vs. Unhealthy Will Cost You $550 More Per Year, Study Reveals.” The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post., 5. Dec. 2013. Web. 17. Feb. 2014.
In “Bad Food” – What’s the Best Food? Tax it, and Subsidize Vegetables”, Mark Bittman suggests that the people of America should stop eating unhealthy foods so often. In the article, Bittman tells his audience that people with “heart disease, diabetes and cancer are all in large part caused by the standard American Diet” (page 35). He also states that eating healthy can result in a better health care system, saving millions of lives. The big issue is Americans eating unhealthy every day, but proposing a plan to help stop it from happening.
The third and final reason obesity is not a genetic disorder is that obesity is often just the result of eating too many calories without enough exercise. With obesity the problem is the person afflicted by it is not exercising or being active enough to burn off the calories they have consumed. When this happens the body stores the extra energy in fat deposits between organs. This essentially turns the human body into a refrigerator, as mentioned in the documentary by Cross. By adopting a healthy lifestyle where one is both active and eating a healthy diet, anyone can avoid the growing plague of
Obesity remains an extremely serious issue worldwide. Once considered a problem for wealthier counties, overweight and obesity are now dramatically increasing in low and middle income countries (WHO, 2011). In American, the rates of obesity continue to soar. CDC (2009) recognizes obesity as a risk factor for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other health problems. According to NHANES over two-thirds of the US are overweight or obese, and over one-third are obese (CDC, 2009). Treatment for this illness varies; it may include the incorporation of diet, exercise, behavior modification, medication, and surgery. Since there is no single cause of all overweight and obesity, there is no single way to prevent or treat overweight and obesity that will help everyone (CDC, 2009).
“Obesity Information.” American Heart Association Obesity Information. American heart Association, 27 February 2014. Web. 04 Apr. 2014
Obesity can run in your family. For instance, if one of your parents is obese you are three times more likely to become obese than if you had parents of a healthy weight. Also the way your body responds to food is genetically linked. Food intake and activity patterns reflect the influence of genetic factors. Genes can also influence how calories are used, how efficiently your body uses calories determines how much fat will be stored. However, genetics can only determine the tendency you have to be obese. Eating right and exercising regularly will be what actually determines if you are overweight or not.
Genetics plays a major role in obesity; inherited genes sometimes contribute to the accumulation of fat in the body. Over 200 genes have effect on the weight having repercussions from physical activity, food choices and metabolism. Therefore, genes may increase the vulnerability of a person to become obese. Family eating patterns and social tendencies can also trigger obesity. Moreover, environmental circumstances such as availability of food high in calories and fat and the increase of the portions and combination selections in meals contribute to the development of fat accumulated for years in the body (Whitney & Rolfes, 2011, pg. 277).
Gorkin, D.U., & Ren, B. (2014, March 20). Genetics: Closing the Distance on Obesity Culprits. Retrieved from xeries.calstate.edu/fullerton/metasearch/record?group=2014-03-21-0003000&resultset=009356&startRecord=13
Obesity has been associated with energy intake and expenditure imbalance, genetics, cultural, socioeconomic, behavioral, and situational factors all play a role in eating and weight control (Bray, 2005). To get an idea of the scope of the problem, the American Journal of Health Promotion states that the rates of obesity has more than tripled among children and adolescents over the past 30 years (Gollust, 2014).
Although inherited conditions have been linked to childhood obesity, they are rare. However it has been noted that children with obese or overweight parents are more than likely to be obese themselves, the reason for this as described by Heaton-Harris (2007) is because of the length of time it takes to break a bad habit. Unless the parents are correctly informed of healthy diets themselves the problem will continue from an ill-informed childhood into adult hood. Other probable causes are numerous ones. Fast food and processed foods becoming more read...
According to an article in Oxford Journals, “There is substantial evidence for the hereditability of obesity, and research in both rare and common forms of obesity has identified genes with significant roles in its etiology” (Genetics…).
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).
In the end, fast food companies and individual faults should not be targeted as the main epidemic of obesity in the United State is increasing tremendously. Our lifestyles and poor 'convenient ' diets we can all say is an appropriate blame for the increase in obesity. Heaney acknowledges Oliver’s admonition “to stop worrying so much about our weight” is premature, although his advice to start caring more about diet and exercise is sensible. Eating well, eating less, and exercising regularly is what we must do to if we want to increase our life span and feel better about ourselves
Obesity and overweight remain the two major social problems in the United States. Apart from the fact that obesity and overweight are dangerous by themselves, they also cause a variety of negative health consequences. Our lives our overloaded with tasks and obligations, and we often choose to eat something fast. “Fast”, however, does not necessarily imply “useful”, and more and more people face the risks of becoming obese even at young age. Because obesity has already become a national i...
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the United States more than one-third of adults and one-sixth of children are obese. Over the next twenty years, these numbers will more than double. By the year 2020, obesity will be considered a normal thing, and a healthy weight will be the exception. Who is to blame for the increasing obese population? Some say fast food restaurants that are on every block in the city. Others say it is the obese people themselves because they do not know how to control themselves. Many major health conditions come with obesity and it is costing the government millions in healthcare to pay for others lack of self control.
Society should consider the physical and emotional problems of obesity in our nation. “Obesity is defined as an excess proportion of total body fat (Mayo Clinic).” American society has become increasingly obese, “characterized by environments that promote increased food intake, unhealthy foods, and physical inactivity (cdcinfo@cdc.gov).” Our nation increasingly has become consumers of a fast food diet. It is so simple to just pick up food on the go and not deal with the hassle of cooking and cleaning up afterwards. What are nation needs to acknowledge is the health risks they will obtain if they do not acquire a healthy life style.