Obesity in the United States

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Obesity in America has been an ever present issue for the past three decades. Unfortunately, it is

being passed from one generation to the next. There are approximately over 60 million Americans who

are obese and now, children are pre-disposed to this epidemic. According to Alfred, a person is

considered obese of their body mass index is over 30 percent. This number continues to rise and the

number of overweight Americans, whose body mass index is 25 to 29.9, this total escalates to over 66

percent of Americans (A18). This begs the question as to why we are becoming more and more obese

as a nation. There are a mixture of factors including; heredity, inactivity and poor eating habits. As

more and more people rank in the overweight to obese category, the more health care providers must

deal with serious health issues such as hypertension, heart disease and adult onset diabetes.

The most frustrating aspect of obesity is genetics, because we have little control over this. If one

or both parents are obese, the likelihood that a child will struggle with weight issues significantly

increases. If only one parent is obese, the child has a 60 percent chance, but if both parents are obese,

the child's probability of obesity skyrockets to 90 percent. One primary theory that supports how fast or

slow a person's body gains or loses weight is the enzyme theory. This states that extra fat storage is due

to high concentrations of lipoprotein lipase or LPL. Another theory is the fat cell number theory that

says an individuals body fat levels are correlated with the size and amount of fat cells present. While

genetics are certainly a factor, they are not the be all end all determining factor in obesity. If one wa...

... middle of paper ...

...ations such as joint discomfort due to excess weight placed on them, as

well as the psychological aspects like depression and anxiety about appearance. While many modern

conveniences are nice, they don't contribute to a healthy physical stature. Fast food drive thrus,

elevators, escalators, robots and machinery that does the work that humans used to do, are some of the

largest culprits of obesity in our society today.

Works Cited

Tella, Alfred. "Obesity Times Influx", Washington Times, May 17, 2006. Commentary pg. A18

Ruskin, Gary. "The Fast Food Trap: How Commercialism Creates Overweight Children." 7 December 2003. Commercial Alert.org. Retrieved 12 December 2013.

Health Problems Linked to Obesity Outrank the Medical Problems and Costs of Smoking and Heavy Drinking." Health Affairs.org. 12 March 2002. Health Affairs. Retrieved 12 December 2013.

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