Obesity as a Social and Medical Problem

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Obesity has become an epidemic in our over indulgent North American society. In addition to body image issues, obesity causes significant health issues. Society often views obesity to be a disease when it is actually a sign of a disorder, genetic or environmental. The percentage of our population that is growing overweight is increasing every year, and can become a very serious issue if it is not dealt with urgently. Problems relating to self-confidence, self-consciousness, and isolation can occur as a result.

An enduring problem in today’s society, especially with children, has to deal with sociality. Public appearance is very important to us and when we don’t look good, or have a low self-esteem, it can lead to further issues, possibly fatal. Those with the “obese” label have to deal with social problems every single day. The fact they don’t look “normal” causes them to not fit in with the “regular crowd” and can lead to isolation issues. Being isolated from the majority of the population can lead to problems such as depression and later on, suicide. Another big influence on social problems relating to obesity is the media. Every day at some time, somewhere, we are watching TV, reading the newspaper, or searching the web. The media tends to give labels and meaning to words in which we get influenced on. The view that the media portrays to us is that if you are a certain weight, you are obese, and vice-versa. Another problem with the media is the amount of time our society spends on it. Time consumed on useless media takes away from time spent doing productive activities such as exercising. However, the corruption in social patterns relating to obesity isn’t the only problem. Another big factor stands on the medical side....

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...fits to individuals as well as society are well worth the effort.

Works Cited

Abedin, Shareen “The Social Side of Obesity: You Are Who You Eat With.” Sept. 03, 2009.

Ahima, Rexford S. “Digging Deeper Into Obesity.” Jun 2011

Brownell, Kelly D. “The Chronicling of Obesity: Growing Awareness of Its Social, Economic, and Political Contexts.” Oct. 2005

Chen, Hubert “Health Encyclopedia – Diseases and Conditions.” July 8, 2014.

Hauch, Valerie “Let then play ball, parents say of school’s ball ban.” Nov 15 2011

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1087597

“Obesity.” Greenhaven Press. Detroit MI. c2011

Picard, Andre “Obesity costs up to $7-billion a year.” The Globe and Mail. June 20, 2013

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