Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Obesity causes and effects
Obesity causes and effects
The problem of obesity among american population
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Obesity causes and effects
An epidemic is sweeping through the developed world, threatening millions with disability and death. Is it the dreaded Ebola virus? No, it is obesity. ‘Epidemic’ may sound exaggerated, but the facts speak for themselves: 154 million people worldwide are obese—or more than 20% are over their ideal body weight—including more than 50% of all Americans. More disturbing is the prevalence of childhood obesity, which has jumped dramatically over the past 20 years and now accounts for a doubling in the incidence of diabetes, a 5-fold increase in sleep apnoea and a 3-fold increase in gall bladder disease. The World Health Organization and the US Surgeon General have already warned that obesity is a serious, life-threatening disease. Indeed, as a major risk factor for hypertension, stroke, heart disease, diabetes and possibly certain forms of cancer, obesity exacts a greater toll on health and healthcare costs than either smoking or drinking. In the USA alone, the direct medical costs of obesity-related diseases account for 6% of the nation’s entire health-care budget. Obesity is, in short, a great deal more than a ‘lifestyle’ or cosmetic problem.
This has not been lost on the pharmaceutical industry. Companies know that the worldwide market for an effective treatment for obesity is gargantuan: analysts estimate that an effective and safe drug could generate as much as US$26 billion per year in the USA alone. ‘It is probably the largest pharmaceutical market ever, and carries with it 27–30 dangerous co-morbidities,’ said Louis Tartaglia, Vice President of metabolic diseases at Millennium Pharmaceuticals (Cambridge, MA), who estimates the current annual worldwide market conservatively at US$10–15 billion. If one adds the patients who are obese and diabetic, the number soars even higher, as obesity and diabetes are linked diseases.
The sudden rise in obesity is mainly a result of lifestyle changes, particularly the ready availability of calorie-laden, refined food and a decrease in physical activity. ‘Genes have not changed in the past 50 years, but our eating and exercising habits have,’ said George Yancopoulos, Chief Scientific Officer and President of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (Tarrytown, NY), one of many companies working on drugs to treat obesity. But it cannot be lifestyle alone. Certain ethnic groups have a higher prevalence of obesity, and the discove...
... middle of paper ...
...ses obesity-associated high blood sugar and high insulin levels. Johns Hopkins University, which holds the patent to C75, has licensed it to FASgen, a new company in Baltimore.
Finally, older substances may yield new drugs as well: a small region of the human growth hormone appears to have a specific effect on fat without any effect on either growth or insulin resistance, according to Frank Ng of Monash University (Melbourne, Australia). With the support from Metabolic Pharmaceuticals, Ng has developed it into an orally administered drug, which is now in phase IIa testing.
Basic research to uncover fat metabolism and applied research to find effective treatments against obesity have received a lot of attention over the last years both in terms of media coverage and funding. And even if the interest in developing effective treatments against being overweight has a strong lifestyle component, it is increasingly crucial to public health. New treatments are needed to help those millions of people suffering from obesity—especially the dramatically rising number of overweight children who are at risk of lifelong diabetes and the accompanying risk of heart disease and disability.
Those who are observing the concerns of medicalization have brought up the fact that the pharmaceutical industry can and will increase the preventive measures for health care and affect many. Obesity is one of the most deadly public health crises of the 21st century. Globally, at least 2.8 million adults die each year as a result of being overweight or obese [24]. In the United States, it’s the second leading cause of preventable death (WHO,
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 is a very complex condition as there are many physiological and psychological dimensions to it. The complications accompanying the disease are multiple and are associated with the increased risk of many other medical conditions. It is thought that we live in an obesogenic environment due to an interaction of environmental, developmental and cultural influences. With the main cause of the disorder thought to be due to a combination of a sedentary lifestyle accompanied by an increased consumption of poor quality food with a high calorie and sugar content. The lack of energy expenditure could be explained by many individuals working a large number of hours, most days of the week in jobs that require minimal physical activity and it is often difficult to accomplish the recommended ...
"Treating Obesity Vital For Public Health, Physicians Say." Science Daily. 2006. Web. 10 May 2014. .
A national epidemic is occurring, the war between food and people. In the United States, about “32% of children (from 2 to 19 years old) are obese” (Bernadac 1). As the years continue to go on the rate of obese children are increasing as well. In the past the problem did not have much consideration due to a low rate of affected children. Now families are suffering the long-term consequences of having an obese child. Some of those health effects are “Heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer and osteoarthritis” (CDC 1). A problem with this type of drastic effects may have a solution; method prevention for the future generations and correct treatment for those who are already obese can lower the rate.
Obesity has been identified as one of the risk factors affecting directly and indirectly the health outcome of the population. Even though many approaches and programs have been conducted in order to reduce the obesity rate, this health issue is still a big headache and keeps being put on the table. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overweight and obesity rate have been increasing significantly in the past two decades in the United States with more than 35.7% of adults and almost 17% of children and adolescents from 2-19 years olds being obese ("Overweight and obesity," 2013). As Healthy People 2020 indicated, in the period from 1988-1994 to 2009-2010, the age adjusted obesity rate among U.S adults aged 20 and over increased from 22.8% to 35.7%, which means increased by 57% while the obesity rate among children and teenagers from 2 to 19 years old increased from 10% to approximately 17%, witnessing the increase of 69% ("Nutrition, physical activity," 2013). Obesity has impact both on economic and health of the nation. Obesity is the risk factor of serious chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes, certain kinds of cancer, and other leading causes of preventable deaths ("Overweight and obesity," 2013). Moreover, obesity continues to be economic burden in terms of medical costs for either public or private payers up to $147 billion per year which increased from 6.5% to 9.1% (Finkelstein et al, 2009). In 2008, medical spending per capita for the obese or obesity related health issues is $1,429 per year, as 42% higher than “those of normal weight” (Finkelstein et al, 2009, p.8).
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).
Obesity moved across the nation without regard to sex, race, and age, or so it seemed. However, it strikes some groups more than others. Furthermore, 69 percent of non-Hispanic black women are overweight or obese and 58 percent of non-Hispanic black men are overweight or obese (?Overweight and Obesity?? np). Studies show that minorities in a lower socioeconomic bracket are more likely than whites in a higher socioeconomic bracket to become obese (?
According to the USDA, at the start of century 21st American people have increased their daily caloric intake by consuming five hundred calories more than in 1970. As cited by Whitney & Rolfes (2011), there are many recognized causes of obesity such as genetics, environment, culture, socioeconomic, and metabolism among others; but the cause most evident is that food intake is higher than the calories burned in physical activity. Excess of energy from food is stored in the body as fat causing an increase of weight. During the course of the last 40 years, obesity has grown enormously in the United States and the rates remain on the rise (pgs. 272-273).
This chapter gives various social and biological reasons for the growing world-wide health concern of obesity. Name them and views - why is the reality of weight for most people so far from the cultural or societal ideal?
Obesity means having too much body fat. It is not the same as being overweight, which means weighing too much. Someone may be overweight from extra muscle, bone, or water, as well as from having too much fat. (Bing health). Obesity is a major problem that is occurring in parts all over the world. Currently, the fattest nation is America . Many people are overweight because the do too little or no exercise at all. This is especially true in countries like America, where as people are bombarded by fast food stores on virtually every corner. Obesity can not only cause health problems, but as well mental ones. Obese people may think of themselves as a useless human being because they are too fat and can’t accomplish anything, because of their weight. Though this is incorrect, many people believe this and end up taking their life. In this paper we will describe the causes of obesity and ways to combat the “everlasting epidemic.”
Obesity is not a new notion or phenomenon in history. Centuries ago some cultures and societies saw obesity as the most noteworthy platform for wealth, social status, and sexual appeal. The influential Greek physician Hippocrates was among the first to record the negative effects of excessive weight and poor diet on the human body. While advancements in medicine and public health have helped improve life expectancy, obesity is becoming a silent yet visible threat to these milestones especially with the influence of technological innovation on the day-to-day of humans.
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).
Obesity is a physiological condition characterised by an excessive accumulation of body fat, specifically the build-up of adipose tissue beneath the skin. In recent years, the number of people diagnosed with clinical obesity has increased dramatically, with governments desperately trying to tackle the obesity epidemic and its associated consequences (McLannahan and Clifton, 2008). Studies have found that the prevalence of obesity once stood at an estimated 9.8% (Kelly, Yang, Chen, Reynolds & He, 2008), a considerable figure representing almost 400 million individuals worldwide. Even though obesity has now been recognised as a major problem the number of people affected is increasing rapidly, with almost 300,000 deaths attributable to obesity in the USA each year (Allison, Fontaine, Manson, Stevens, & VanItallie, 1999). Excessive amounts of fat can prove dangerous as the condition has a very high comorbidity rate with other long term health issues such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and cancer (Pi-Sunyer, 1993). Numerous examples of media, medical journals and educational literature concerning obesity refer to the condition as a disease, with an increasing use of the word ‘Epidemic’ to describe the somewhat recent surge of obesity cases in western societies (Boero, 2007), however there is little material available that offers evidence for obesity meeting specification for disease. Instead it has been proposed that obesity is alternatively a risk factor for developing other potentially harmful diseases, influenced by a variety of other factors i.e. genetics, cultural ideals and biological impairments.
According to the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination survey says that, 16 percent of children around the ages of 6-19 years old are at risk of being obese. Obesity has increased in the last twenty years now. Obesity is like other disease, it impairs the normal body functioning. Children who are overweight have excess fat tissue that caus...