For as long as I can recall, I have always been insecure about how other people perceive my body. Almost all throughout my elementary and middle school years, the perspective I had formed of myself maintained negative. It was not until the beginning of freshman year that I came to the realization that, of course I am not fat; I am simply not in shape. Being in shape, however, entails consistent exercise and healthy eating. This seems to be a simple solution, right? Fortunately for myself, it was not that difficult to adapt to because I am a high school student that has all my needs provided for and more. However, the reality is that a healthy lifestyle is not a priority for an individual that does not have the time, money, or resources to change the unhealthy habits of themselves and/or of their family.
More than one-third of adults and about seventeen percent of children and adolescents are obese in the United States and these numbers are expected to double over the next two decades, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It has also been observed that 80% of adolescents who are obese will stay obese throughout adulthood. The diagnosis of obesity leaves an individual with a vast amount of health and financial issues. In the United States obesity is second only to tobacco in the number of deaths it causes each year (Danaei G). The health issues that commonly come with obesity include heart disease, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol, asthma, sleep apnea, gallstones, kidney stones, and infertility. Also about eleven types of cancers, including leukemia, breast, and colon cancer are risks that come with obesity. There are also social and emotional effects of obesity, like harsh judgment ...
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...s is an increasing problem in the United States that is costing the government money and far too often costing individuals their life. The minimum wage needs to be higher so that someone can adequately provide for themselves and/or their family. There are many more variables to my paper- such as ethnicity- that can be observed, but it is good to start with the foundation of understanding how low income jobs can and do affect one’s health. Though fast food restaurants provide jobs, they endanger the lives of many people who cannot afford or do not have the time to cook fresh and healthy meals. I suggest that community gardens become mandatory, that way produce is more available than fast food and it will not cost the consumer an arm and a leg to prepare one meal. As the rate of low-income jobs and obesity increases, the more people need to be aware of how to help.
Being overweight or obese are risk factors for many chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and … cancers.”
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).
In the discussion of child obesity, one controversial predicament has been that, whether parents are being responsible enough, and are the ones to be blamed for their child’s health, and most important of all, their nutrition. In which they need to be held accountable for their decision making, towards their child’s healthy lifestyle. On the other hand, supporters, and those in favor of this specific idea, suggest that parents, and the newly parenting, has is it that, it must be mandatory that they must have the knowledge, and be aware of expert advice that’s available to them, and going out seeking for that type of professional help. But on the contrary, they all disagree with this whole concept, in which the other supporters want to see take
Obesity has been accepted in the American society as a norm. According to the U.S. office of the Surgeon General, in 1999, 6 in 10 American adults were classified as obese or overweight (McMurray, par. 5). In order for one to be classified as obese they’re body mass index (BMI) must be 30 or greater. The number of obese in America has continued to increase. It has been estimated by The World Health Organization that 300 million people will be obese by 2025 (Bailey 3). Since obesity comes with many health risks, many feel it should be treated as a disease.
Recent data shows that close to 80 million American are obese. Now, considered a chronic disease, obesity is associated with various health conditions and increases one's risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, asthma, osteoarthritis, gall bladder disease, sleep apnea, and some cancers. Aside from these medical issues, obesity also raises psychosocial as well as economic problems.
About 2.8 billion adults every year die of obesity (Diet). Rachel Epstein wrote the book “Eating Habits and Disorders” which talks about obesity being a disease. Obesity is a condition with extra body fat which often starts to form in childhood (Epstein 25). While obesity for some adults can be life-threatening (Epstein 25). It can also form psychosocial problems (Epstein 25). Being obese causes a risk in diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, kidney trouble and more (Epstein 25). Being obese during pregnancy can cause many problems for the mom, and for the baby (Epstein 25). Any of these things could cause many problems either in the future, or in the present (Epstein 25). The worse the eating habits, the harder it is to cure (Epstein 25). The government needs to do more about obesity because obesity rates are rising, many kids are being victims of obesity and they don’t even know it, also Medical Care is taking a big part with the growing obesity rates.
Childhood obesity has been on the rise in the last couple of years. In the 1970’s childhood obesity was never a concern to the public until the number increased over the years. An alarming rate of 31% of all adults have been obese since they were children and the rates of childhood obesity don’t fall too behind with an 18% of children being obese. That makes almost half of obese adults and children. A child that is obese has a 70-80% higher chance of staying obese even through their adulthood if no action is taken. Childhood obesity is not something children are in control of, these children suffer from different outcomes since they can’t look after themselves and heavily rely on someone to aid them when they need it. These numbers can be drastically altered in a positive way by educating both children and parents about healthy, nutritious foods to consume, supplying schools with better lunch and healthier vending machines with healthy choices and promoting after school activities to keep children active and away from electronics.
This paper will be talking about the three main parts of avoiding obesity. According to Taylor, Parento, & Schmidt (2015) obesity is putting people around the world in higher risks of getting “health problems” such as diseases (p. 258). Having a proper nutrition can help a lot when trying to avoid or get rid of obesity. Eating fruits and vegetables with vitamins and fibers help out with someone’s body system which is opposite of consuming fats and sugars which usually just stay in the body. The only possible way to get rid of fat is by doing physical activity because it helps burn all the calories inside the human body. Ferkel, Judge, Stodden, & Griffin (2014) recommend a child that does physical activity to transition into adult hood to keep
As a little enlightenment on obesity, overweight and obesity result from an imbalance involving excessive calorie consumption and/or inadequate physical activity (Buchholz 5). The increases in overweight and obesity cut across all ages, racial and ethnic groups, and both genders. This increase stems from a variety of factors, primarily more consumption of calories and less vigorous activity. Obesity greatly increases the risk of developing many serious medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, hypertension, osteoarthritis, metabolic syndrome, sleep apnea, and certain forms of cancer (Davis 270). In 1999, 13% of children age 6 to 11 and 14% of adolescents age 12 to 19 were overweight. This prevalence has nearly...
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 medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduce life expectancy and/or increased health problems. Obesity has been a health problem ever since infectious disease had began in the first half of the 20th Century. The person with obesity is not the only person who is affected by their disease. In the case of childhood obesity, It can affect the parents because they might be the cause of the child’s issues. It can also lead to many different health problems such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and respiratory problems, and it can also even lead to death. Obesity has affected the world in many ways: task forces have been formed to address the issue, people are suffering from health problems due to obesity, and others suffer psychological and social issues.
Short-term health effects such as, high-cholesterol, high blood pressure, pre-diabetes, bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and poor self-esteem. According to the CDC, obese youth are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure. In a population-based sample of 5-17 year olds, seventy percent of obese had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease (Freedom DS, et.al, 2007). Obese adolescents are at risk for developing pre-diabetes. Both children and adolescents are at a greater risk for developing bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem(2015). These conditions can lead to long-term health effects as well. Obese children become obese adults with a risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, osteoarthritis, and many types of cancer. For the first time we may be raising a generation of children that we will
American citizens economic standing plays a role in the what foods they buy, where they buy, and their accessibility to buy. According to the United States Department of Agriculture an estimated twenty-three and a half million people live in a “food desert”. which is an urban or rural community that has little to no access to fresh food distributors such as a supermarket or farmers market. A lot of times these communities only food options are convenience stores and fast food restaurants, such as McDonalds and 7-Eleven, that...
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.
Obesity occurs in all countries and it is one of the gravest problems in modern society. Obesity problems have become one matter of concern for individuals all around the world. What is more is that Obesity rates continue to rise all around the world. One of the chief causes is unhealthy diets. Obesity is also due to lack of exercise and lack of education and awareness. Therefore obesity has various effects including the risk of suffering from a range of health conditions, increased expenditure on health care and lack of self-esteem.