Many people combine obesity and overweight as one category, in where they think that it is the same thing. Obesity and overweight are what doctors use to categorized people that are over the healthy body mass index (BMI) scale. The Body Mass Index is a range of numbers that uses a person’s weight and height to calculate a range of numbers. When an adult is overweight, they have a BMI between twenty-five and twenty-nine and nine tenths; when they are obese their BMI is thirty and over. One issue with this scale is that since the BMI only measures weight and height and not necessarily how much fat is in a body, a person who is an athlete may be considered overweight since muscle is heavier than fat. A more accurate scale is the Withings …show more content…
This is because of the many stereotypes that overweight and obese individuals face. Some of those are that they were once fat kids, they do not have any sexual interactions, they do not exercise, they do not diet, and they only eat fast food. Other overweight and obese stereotypes are they are uncontrollable eaters, they are not healthy, they make poor employees, they are stupid, and they smell. When looking at an individual that you know that may appear to be overweight or obese, you do not see them as those stereotypes. In fact, those stereotypes only applies to few of those that are overweight and obese. For example, a fellow Georgia Gwinnett College student who happens to be obese is hardworking young individual that is graduating with a history degree, and is getting married this …show more content…
In fact, more than 20,000 years ago, an obese woman would be icons of fertility or the mother goddess. In the Bible, it contains many stories that has food imagery and that famine was more deadly to humans, especially when it describe the Garden of Eden. It gave the idea that Heaven is a place where there is an abundance of food. In the arts, curvy women were more favored. During the Renaissance Michelangelo created curvy women in the Sistine Chapel and in the Vatican. Curvy women were associated with affluence, power, and influence during these times. Even in literature curvy women was jolly, loveable, and good-natured like in Sancho Panza by Cervantes and Falstaff by Shakespeare. These women would stand in contrast to the introvert, miserly, and agonizing personalities of the slimmer women such as in Don Quixote by Cervantes and Hamlet by Shakespeare. During the eighteenth century that attitudes about obesity began to alter, and then it began to change during the nineteenth century. Obesity began to be look down during the latter part of the twentieth century (Eknoyan,
When you are a more heavy set person or have a noticeable flaw it gets pointed out daily, especially if you are a woman. I agree with Weiners point about Weight Watchers. She says that Weight Watchers basically tells you to be your beautiful self, only if you are thin. This is a huge self-esteem killer. Being a heavy set girl myself, I have come to learn that I will always have the mentality of a fat kid. I’ve lost nearly 30 pounds over the past year. Normally this would boost someone’s self esteem but due to how society has treated fat people it will always be ingrained in my head. I will always worry that I am still that fat
Moreover, no matter how much fat people try to lose weight, media and judgmental people will always be there to make obese people look worthless. On top of that, their strict exercise regimen does not seem to pay off because everything would match but weight. At one point, obese people give up and just accept the reality that they are obese and are allowed to be mocked.
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 from psychological and social issues. Nearly two-thirds of the United States population is overweight. There are several ways to determine if a person is obese or overweight. Experts say that a person’s body mass index is the best way to determine an adult’s weight in relation to their height. A BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2 is considered normal, adults with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 kg/m2 are considered overweight.
Interest in the social aspects of obesity is nothing new. Jeffrey Sobal has written extensively about the social and psychological consequences of obesity , including the stigmatisation and discrimination of obese and even overweight individuals (Sobal 2004).
Discriminating against a person because of one's weight can be a seriously hurtful and demeaning thing. Many people assume that the causes for being overweight are eating all day and rarely exercising. Some people call overweight people slobs or lazy, when in most instances this isn't the case. Some have health problems that lead to being overweight, like a kidney disease or malfunction, or the person may even be suffering from a birth defect.
Obesity is defined by Webster’s dictionary as increase body weight due to excessive accumulation of body fat. It is a condition or disease in which the “the natural energy reserve of humans or mammals, which is stored in fat tissue, is expanded far beyond usual levels to the point where it impairs health.” Obesity is most often measured by using the BMI (body mass index). 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”. (Survey on childhood obesity, 2014). Obesity is a chronic condition that develops as a result of genetic, behavioral and environmental factors.
It is a sad one. People of all races and backgrounds are obese. In a recent survey done at Henry Ford College, 43 percent of students were overweight. Whether it is because they do not follow a healthy diet or because they inherited it from their parents. Being overweight is correlated with lack of exercise or physical activity and not watching what is on the plate.
The official definition of obesity, is having a BMI of greater than 29.9. (Obesity and overweight). For example for a 5’10” male, a weight of 160lbs would yield a BMI of 23.0. Perfectly within the BMI range of healthy weight, 18.5- 24.9. But if that 5’10” male weighed say 230lbs, they would have a BMI of 33.0, and would be considered Obese.
Amongst one of the bigger health issues in United States children is obesity. Obesity is a condition in which a person has accumulated an excess amount of body fat that it has become detrimental to their health. To track this health professionals use the term “obese” when a person has a body mass index (BMI) of over 30. Although BMI should not be the only determining factor of whether or not you child is obese as it only takes into account of height and weight, it is one of the better known systems of telling whether or not a person is overweight or obese (Nichols). Obesity comes with a range of other health conditions that can include but are not limited to cancer, diabetes, and depression. Not only do children and teens who suffer from obesity acquire many health diseases, they also tend to get failing grades and are bullied amongst peers. Most Americans correlate being obese with having an unhealthy lifestyle, but according to a 2006 Fox News article there may be other factors that attribute to obesity that include smoking, medicine, pollution, technology and lack of sleep. (“10 Causes of Obesity Other Than Overeating”). One part that does although indeed play a role in to child obesity rates is economics.
Physical beauty is constructed by the society that we live in. We are socialized from a very young age to aspire to become what our culture deems ideal. Living in the United States, as in many other Western cultures, we are expected to be well-educated, maintain middle-class or upper-class status, be employed as well as maintain a physical standard of beauty. Although beauty is relative to each culture, it is obvious that we as Americans, especially women, are expected to be maintain a youthful appearance, wear cosmetics and fashionable clothes, but most importantly: not to be overweight. Our society is socially constructed to expect certain physical features to be the norm, anything outside this is considered deviant. Obesity is defined as outside the norms of our culture's aesthetic norms (Gros). “People who do not match idealized or normative expectations of the body are subjected to stigmatization” (Heckert 32). Obesity is a physical deviance; it is one that is an overwhelming problem in our society as we are always judged daily, by our appearance. Those who do not conform to the standards of beauty, especially when it comes to weight, are stigmatized and suffer at the hands of a society that labels them as deviants.
Models of Rubens, Rembrandt, Gaugin and Matisse were all rounded, plump women.A plump and healthy women was admired as it reflected wealth and success.(14). Where as images of women have become slimmer since the 1950’s according to Jennifer A. (Australian journal of nutrition and dietetics).
Within the city limits of Dallas, Texas, two different life scenarios are being lived out. On the outskirts of downtown Dallas, in what is often referred to as the ghetto, many adults and children struggle to receive their daily nutritional needs. Low-income families cannot always afford healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. In order to obtain some nutrition and meet their daily calorie intake, they are forced to consume hyperprocessed food that are healthy for one’s wallet, but not for their body. In place of fruit juices and milk, these low-income families are forced to drink sugary beverages that are conveniently sold at almost every store at a relatively cheap price. On the other hand, many families have sufficient funding, but choose to consumer unhealthy foods. These people have every opportunity to eat nutritionally rich foods and avoid junk food and sugary drinks, but they choose to use their freedom to do just the opposite. In the articles “Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables” by Mark Bittman and “Free to Be Fat” by Richard B. McKenzie, these two ideas are discussed in more depth. The essay “Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables” largely focuses on the effects of hyperprocessed foods on the body and its solution, while “Free to Be Fat” points out that our individual freedom in America plays a key role in today’s obesity problem. In the two articles, both Bittman and McKenzie utilize logos as a way to appeal to their audience; however, the articles differ in the way they use diction and tone.
In the media there are people who view women a certain way, and if we don't hold to the standard that we are not as good as other women who are the size the media says we have to be. In an article it said that "Large women in America are to all intents and purposes invisible in today's thinness-obsessed culture. A big women is neither seen nor heard, and is defined purely in terms of her weight and other people's prejudice." (Goodman par 1) This is a hard thing for women that a heavier to understand because they want the person to think that they are heard. This plays into the way that they think and the way that women look at their bodies. You can see this happening with different types of televisions shows, which put on the show thinner women. "Practically the only television programming that addresses her directly consists of weight-loss ads, the message: lose weight. You're not real women unless you're thin (Goodman)". It is hard to think that this statement could be true, but
When one hears the word obesity thoughts that may come to mind are overweight, big, or even unhealthy. "Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 30" (Obesity).
Obesity and overweight have became a global problem in the last decade, according to the World Health Organization back in 2005 approximately 1.6 billion adults over the of age 15 were overweight, at least 400 million adults were obese and at least 20 million children under the age of 5 years were overweight. Experts believe if the current trends continue by 2015 approximately 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will be obese. The scale of the obesity problem has a number of serious consequences for individuals and government health systems. Obesity is a concern because of its implications for the health of an individual as it increases the risk of many diseases and health conditions. Being obese means having so much body fat that your health is in danger. However, being fat is simply not an opinion. Having too much body fat can lead to many diseases. Obesity and overweight have become a global problem in the last decade.