Obesity is defined as having an excessive amount of body fat (Mayo Clinic staff par 1). United States citizens are known to have excessive amounts of body fat; 20% can be labeled as obese (Obesity Statistics & More par. 2). Heart disease, sleep apnea, infertility in woman, and type 2 diabetes are some effects of obesity on the body. Heart disease is is a huge risk factor of obesity.
It appears this person does not need more food; they are wasting my taxpayer money. As a consequence angry tweets and Facebook postings ensue. Unknown to some people is the relationship between obesity and poverty. Rising costs of fruits and vegetables, falling costs of processed foods, physiological reactions to the mental stresses related to poverty, partnered with lack of nutritional guidance leads to increased obesity in today’s society. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), over one third of adults and about 17% of children in the United States are obese (2013).
Obesity: An Increasing Problem among Americans 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.
Around the world, over one billion adults and more than 10% of children are considered to obese. As the World Health Organization predicts, the number of obese children will increase to 700 million and nearly 2.3 billion adults by 2015. In addition, childhood obesity is correlated with a higher probability of becoming obese adults, premature death, and disability (Kaltra, De Sousa, Sonavane, & Shah, 2013). Many researchers believe that racial composition of communities associated with obesity and that obesity has a big impact on various subgroups in the United States. In a study, the researchers compared the mean body mass index values among the popular races.
Access to gyms, community centers or safe playgrounds can also have an effect on obesity. If there aren’t the resources people need to stay in shape it is harder to have to motivation to want to be in shape. According to the book Overweight America in 2002 roughly nine million children are obese because their diet consisted processed and packaged foods that are loaded with sugar and fats. Also accordi... ... middle of paper ... ...he started losing weight no one made fun of her, but that’s when the physiological effects came in and she had no self-esteem and was depressed about her weight. Obesity is condition of being grossly fat or overweight.
Why, we eat out too often, we do not make the right menu choices, and most importantly--we are not active enough to compensate for the intake of high calorie foods consumed everyday. You are what you eat. The fact is many American’s are out to lunch when it comes to making healthy food choices. The obesity epidemic is affecting every man, woman, and child regardless of age, race, religion or geographic location. Obesity occurs in over one-third of adults age 20 or over (BMI ≥ 30)Body Mass Index.
Just as little as thirty years ago fast food companies exploded with business because it’s cheap food and that coincidence it has caused so many health issues to consumers with the fast food injusry. A factor causing obesity is lack of exercise and physical activity. An example can be the type of jobs people do not have time exercise or physical activity. Someone that has a nine-to-five desk job,who rarely gets physical exercise who eats very unhealthy foods from lack of exercise. Causing gradual weight gain for people who dont exersise enough.
Basically, obesity is the long-term result of a diet that delivers more calories in than are consumed through daily activity. Nevertheless, obesity is a serious medical condition that impacts a high percentage of Americans and should be treated with concern. There are many possible factors for the rise in the number of overweight and obese Americans. Brownell outlines these factors very well in Food Fight and writes, “The reasons for this growing problem are simple and complex at the same time. People eat too much and exercise too little...” (Brownell 2).
Millions of Americans and people worldwide are overweight or obese. Obesity develops when “calories consumed exceeds calories expended” (“Obesity and Genetics”). “Obesity rates have more than doubled in adults and children since the 1970’s,” and in the present day it is estimated that “two – thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese” (Ogden). Being overweight or obese highly increases the risk of deadly health problems, therefore this statistic states that the majority of the United States population is at risk of obtaining life–threatening diseases. Around forty years ago obesity would not effect this abundant number of people; however today’s society consumes more fast food in addition to spending most of their hours doing sedentary activities (Green).
BMI is calculated by dividing the weight in kilograms by the height squared in meters. A desirable BMI for children to sustain a healthy life is between 18.5 and 25. A child with a BMI over 25.0 kg/m 2 is considered overweight. A BMI over 30.0kg/m 2 is considered obese, and a BMI over 40 is morbid obesity. “An estimated 80% of overweight adolescents continue to be obese into adulthood, so the implications of childhood obesity on the nation’s health are huge”.