Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The problem of obesity
The problem of obesity
The problem of obesity
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Public Health Problem
Obesity is a major contributing risk factor for health complications, regardless of any individual’s age. While obesity is determined by an individual’s weight at a particular height, it constantly changes throughout some person’s life as they age. All three factors play an important role in determining the means of obesity. With children, age is a more sensitive factor for a predicted ideal weight. When height and weight are combined on a professionally designed chart, it provides an estimated ideal weight based on age for a given child. For adults, height and weight are the two major factors taken into consideration when predicting an ideal healthy weight. Ideal weights for adults are looked at in a broader age range. If the individual’s actual weight exceeds the ideal weight by 10 to 20 pounds, the individual is considered over-weight. The term over-weight is considered an early stage to obesity. Should the person’s actual weight exceed the ideal weight by 20 or more pounds, then the individual is considered to be obese. Standard BMI (Body Mass Index) charts, do not take muscle mass or bone density into consideration when prescribing ideal weights.
…show more content…
One leading factor in health complications for both adults and children around the world, is obesity (CDCP: Overweight and Obesity, 2015). It is one of the easiest contributing risk factors to control but seems to be among the top deadliest diseases. When children are enduring obesity at an early age, they are experiencing a lesser quality of life due to increased health complications. Those complications can result in worsened morbidity and even early mortality due to limited accessibility to physical activity opportunities (CDCP: Overweight and Obesity,
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 reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. Obesity has been a health problem ever since infectious disease began in the first half of the 20th Century. A 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.
Related to this threat, the chance of developing serious health conditions exists; these include orthopedic complications, hypertension, heart disease, and type two diabetes among others . An associated behavior linked to overweight and obesity in children is a lack of physical activity. Participation in physical activity as a child is important because it often leads to an active adult lifestyle. Physical activity may have beneficial effects on not just body weight, but overall health. Ultimately, if overweight and obese children grow into overweight and obese adults, they are at risk for a shortened life due to this disease and/or related ailments. Understanding risk factors and potential interventions for childhood overweight and obesity serves as a start to address...
In the UK, the number of obesity cases has more than doubled between 1980 and 2014. The most recent data from the health survey England shows that in 2014 more than half of women (58%) and men (65%) were either overweight or obese (Health Survey England). Hence the government foresight projections suggest that 50 percent of the UK population may become obese by 2050. (Foresight, 2007). To classify an individual to be ‘obese’ is determined by their Body Mass Index(BMI). A value of 30 or more would put an individual in this
Childhood and adolescent obesity is a problem of significant concern. Whether obese or at risk, excessive fat is based on the ratio of weight to height, age, and gender of the individual (Ul-Haq, Mackay, Fenwick, & Pell, 2013). Today’s youth are considered the most inactive generation in history thus, childhood and adolescent obesity is more prevalent than ever before. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) documents the obesity rate in children ages 6-11 in 2012 at 18% (an increase from seven percent in 1980), and adolescents at 21% (an increase from five percent in 1980). The obesity rate in children has more than doubled and quadrupled in adolescents over a 30-year period (CDC, n.d). The factors responsible for childhood and adolescent obesity are related to childhood lifestyle, family influence, and community factors (CMA Foundation, 2008). The Healthy People 2020 goal, NWS-10.4, is to “reduce the proportion of children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years who are considered obese from 16.1% to 14.5%” (Healthy People 2020, 2013). Overweight children and adolescents are at increased risk for severe medical issues that can last a lifetime. Interventions to reduce the incidence and improve the health of young people involve solutions at the primary (low risk youth), secondary (at risk youth), and tertiary (obese) levels (Sweeting, 2008). Parents, caregivers, and medical professionals can work together in diagnosing if the child is becoming obese or if the child is having a growth spurt (Ul-Haq et al., 2013).
It is imperative that society coalesces to help prevent childhood obesity. No child or parent wants to suffer through any type of heart condition or disease, whether it be now or later on in their lives. Experts have seen the rising obesity rate as a wake-up call to take the “epidemic” of childhood obesity very seriously. Because of the fact that childhood obesity is interconnected with so many health issues it significantly affects lifespans. Childhood obesity can be prevented and needs to be in order to ultimately save the lives and future lives of children.
Obesity in the United States continues growing alarmingly. Approximately 66 % of adults and 33 % of children and teenagers in the US are overweight. Obesity is the result of fat accumulated over time due to the lack of a balanced diet and exercise. An adult with a BMI (body mass index) higher than thirty percent is considered obese (Whitney & Rolfes, 2011, pg. 271).
Childhood obesity has already reduced the average life expectancy between four and nine months. “[T]oday’s generation will have shorter and less healthy lives than their parents for the first time in modern history,” warned S. Jay Olshansky, the University of Illinois researcher and author of the study (1). In 2004, the US Center for Disease Control found that at least 66% of adults were overweight or obese—double the percentage in 1980—and that more than 1/6 th of kids ages 2-19 were overweight. Type II diabetes, usually caused by an unhealthy lifestyle rather than genetics, has increased as a side effect of obesity and heart disease is also on the rise. In short, obesity is a national epidemic.
Adult and childhood obesity have increased substantially in the last 30 years. Currently, 31% of adults and 18% of children are obese, as defined by their body mass index (BMI). The vast majority of obesity represents an imbalance in calories ingested vs. calories expended. Other causes of obesity (metabolic, medicines, and other diseases) are...
"The increased prevalence of overweight and obesity particularly among children and adolescents is a severe public health problem" (Bray, 2005). According to our text, health education and health promotion are recognized increasingly as ways to meet public health objectives and improve the success of public health and medical interventions around the world (Gollust, 2014).
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
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. Out of this number an estimated four to six percent of children and teens are severely obese. Children are determined to be overweight or obese based on where they are on the body mass index (BMI) growth charts. Children that are in the 85th to 95th percentile are considered to be overweight. Children that are above the 95th percentile are considered obese. Doctors are advised to calculate their patients BMI and weight-to-height ratio at least once a year. If they find that their patient is overweight or obese, they are typically help to create an exercise plan, tell their patient to moderately cut back on calories, and send them to health counseling. The side effects that go along...
According to the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination survey says that, 16 percent of children around the ages of 6-19 years old are at risk of being obese. Obesity has increased in the last twenty years now. Obesity is like other disease, it impairs the normal body functioning. Children who are overweight have excess fat tissue that caus...
Obesity is a health condition which when an individual has excess body fat that has accumulated which may lead to many negative effects for the individual health. Nowadays obesity has been a major topic in the health industry. Health care professionals use a standardized formula Body Mass Index (BMI) by using the individual weight in kilograms over height in Meter Square. This helps to help determine whether the individual has reached or surpass the obese category (WHO, 2016). The industry has been trying to focus on giving knowledge and techniques to help reduce the obesity rate in children.
Society should consider the physical and emotional problems of obesity in our nation. “Obesity is defined as an excess proportion of total body fat (Mayo Clinic).” American society has become increasingly obese, “characterized by environments that promote increased food intake, unhealthy foods, and physical inactivity (cdcinfo@cdc.gov).” Our nation increasingly has become consumers of a fast food diet. It is so simple to just pick up food on the go and not deal with the hassle of cooking and cleaning up afterwards. What are nation needs to acknowledge is the health risks they will obtain if they do not acquire a healthy life style.
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).