The High Cost of Obesity

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. Did you know, that obesity and overweight account for nearly one of every 10 American deaths, and they also drain our society of $223 billion a year? This simply means that obesity is the cause of most deaths in America.

Children who are overweight are 10x more likely to become overweight adults unless they change their eating habits and exercise. (“Childhood Obesity. Pg 1). 30% of adult obesity begins in childhood, it is also said obesity is the cause of 300,000 deaths a year and cost society an estimated $100 billion a year. Today, about one third of American’s children and teens are considered to be overweight or obese, it has nearly tripled in size since 1963 (“Childhood Obesity”.

These children can have many health problems in the near future. The obesity rate is unacceptable because of the growing rates in children and adults and the many health risks that are related to obesity. Child obesity rates are growing rapidly. Over the past thirty years the obesity rate in children ages two to five have almost doubled. Also the rates of children ages 6 to 19 have almost tripled (OBESTIY 1).

The rise of obesity in the United States has posed health and financial problems for this country that need to be dealt with. It is said that an obesity epidemic is sweeping the country and that the numbers are astronomical. Approximately 31% of all adults and 15% of children, ages 6-19 are obese. Obesity is also severe in a variety of ethnic groups. For example, 50% of non-Hispanic black women are obese.

Obesity; Opposing viewpoints mentions that the rates of obesity are skyrocketing every year the prevalence of women are 50% more then they are in men. For the world to stop obesity they would have to know the causes and factors of obesity, the negative effects, and how to prevent obesity. There are many reasons why obesity is such a big problem in the world today. Even though food looks good and tastes good, does not mean it is healthy for you. The book Overweight America concludes that obesity wouldn’t be such a problem if people would burn off the calories that they ate.

“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”. (Survey on childhood obesity, 2014). Obesity is a chronic condition that develops as a result of genetic, behavioral and environmental factors. Causes of Childhood Obesity There are many factors that may influence the occurrence of obesity in children. These factors can be broad and may vary depending on the individual child.

First, I needed to be defined obesity statistics. It is true that obesity is growing problem. Obesity is defined as being dangerously overweight. According to C.D.C report approximately 12.5 Million children and adolescents aged 2-19 years are obese. In 2011-2012 obesity was decreased from 13.9%to 8.4%.Obesity prevalence was higher among Hispanic group, 22.4%, non-Hispanic black yoth20.2%, non-Hispanic with youth14.1%, and Asian youth8.6%.

There are many things that can lead to obesity and the state of the economy in our country is not helping fight this issue. If the government does not create stricter food policies and restrictions then people will suffer from the effects of obesity and eventually die. Obesity today is a very serious and deadly problem in the United States. Today, “obesity in childhood continues to grow in prevalence among adolescents in the United States. In some states, obesity is found in nearly forty percent of children” (“Obesity-Related Diseases” 3).

Children have been greatly impacted in the increase of obesity. This is a major problem as someday these obese children could possibly turn into obese adults. If the population of obese adults and children keeps increasing, than not only will our country have a lot of severely unhealthy people but the cost of health care will increase dramatically. Obesity is a very common disease in America. An estimated one third or 12.5 million of children in the United States are overweight or obese.

D’s researched that being overweight during childhood increases the risk of developing diseases such as high cholesterol, hypertension, respiratory ailments, orthopedic problems, depression, and type 2 diabetes. Unhealthy weight gain is caused by poor diet and lack of exercise and is responsible for 300,000 deaths each year (Obesity In Children And Teens). If children do not adopt a healthier lifestyle it can cause health problems as an adult. Some things that may help to prevent child obesity are more physical activity in schools, taxing junk food, and parents should help educate their child how to have a healthy lifestyle and keep healthier options in the home. One major aspect to being healthy is to have an active lifestyle, therefore one solution for child obesity is schools adding more opportunities for physical activity throughout the school day.