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). Causes of Obesity According to the USDA, at the start of century 21st American people have increased their daily caloric intake by consuming five hundred calories more than in 1970. As cited by Whitney & Rolfes (2011), there are many recognized causes of obesity such as genetics, environment, culture, socioeconomic, and metabolism among others; but the cause most evident is that food intake is higher than the calories burned in physical activity. Excess of energy from food is stored in the body as fat causing an increase of weight. During the course of the last 40 years, obesity has grown enormously in the United States and the rates remain on the rise (pgs. 272-273). Genetics plays a major role in obesity; inherited genes sometimes contribute to the accumulation of fat in the body. Over 200 genes have effect on the weight having repercussions from physical activity, food choices and metabolism. Therefore, genes may increase the vulnerability of a person to become obese. Family eating patterns and social tendencies can also trigger obesity. Moreover, environmental circumstances such as availability of food high in calories and fat and the increase of the portions and combination selections in meals contribute to the development of fat accumulated for years in the body (Whitney & Rolfes, 2011, pg. 277). Advertising has social power that influences people to o... ... middle of paper ... ....htm Finkelstein & Zuckerman (2008). The Fattening of America. How the Economy Make us Fat, If it Matters, and What to Do About It. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & sons, Inc. Meryl Loonin (2007). Overweight America. Farmington Hills, MI: Lucent Books, An imprint of Thomson Gale, a part of The Thomson Corporation. The Endocrine Society and The Hormone Foundation (2012). Obesity in America. Matrix Group International, Inc. Chevy Chase, MD. Retrieved from http://www.obesityinamerica.org/index.cfm United States Department of Agriculture. Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://www.choosemyplate.gov/ United States Department of Agriculture. Washington, DC. Profiling Food Consumption in America, Chapter 2. Retrieved from http://www.usda.gov/factbook/chapter2.pdf Whitney & Rolfes (2011). Understanding Nutrition. 12th ed. Wadsworth Publishing Company.
The third and final reason obesity is not a genetic disorder is that obesity is often just the result of eating too many calories without enough exercise. With obesity the problem is the person afflicted by it is not exercising or being active enough to burn off the calories they have consumed. When this happens the body stores the extra energy in fat deposits between organs. This essentially turns the human body into a refrigerator, as mentioned in the documentary by Cross. By adopting a healthy lifestyle where one is both active and eating a healthy diet, anyone can avoid the growing plague of
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.
“Fat Land”, a book by Greg Cristler, a health journalist who was formerly considered overweight, explains how America became the fattest people in the world. Before writing this book, Cristler was told that he needed to lose forty pounds and so to do so he enlisted a competent doctor, the prescription weight-loss medication Meridia, jogs in a congenial neighborhood park, a wife who cooked him healthy food, and access to plenty of information. Cristler is quick to add that those weren’t the only factors that led to his weight loss, but money and time were a big part of it. Cristler lost the weight, but he states “the more I contemplated my success, the more I came to see it not as a triumph of the will, but as a triumph of my economic and social
doi: 10.1007/s10995-008-0340-6 Walley, A., Asher, J., & Froguel, P. (2009). The genetic contribution to non-syndromic human obesity. Nature Reviews Genetics, 10, 431-432. doi: 10.1038/nrg2594 Wolin, K., Colangelo, L., Chiu, B., & Gapstur, S. (2009).
First, there are natural causes of obesity that we cannot control such as genetic and hormonal disorders. Among the rare genetic obesity syndromes is the Prader-Willi Syndrome. It is the most common obesity syndrome due to the loss of imprinted genes. Some illnesses can lead to obesity or weight gain such as Cushing’s disease or Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (“Adult Overweight”). However, these genes do not always predict future health. Multiple genes may increase a person’s susceptibility for obesity and require other factors such as large food portions or little physical activity (“Adult Overweight”). Obesity can also be caused by common Endocrine diseases or hormonal disorders such as Hypothyroidism or the more rare ones such as Cushing’s synd...
This chapter gives various social and biological reasons for the growing world-wide health concern of obesity. Name them and views - why is the reality of weight for most people so far from the cultural or societal ideal?
Although inherited conditions have been linked to childhood obesity, they are rare. However it has been noted that children with obese or overweight parents are more than likely to be obese themselves, the reason for this as described by Heaton-Harris (2007) is because of the length of time it takes to break a bad habit. Unless the parents are correctly informed of healthy diets themselves the problem will continue from an ill-informed childhood into adult hood. Other probable causes are numerous ones. Fast food and processed foods becoming more read...
According to an article in Oxford Journals, “There is substantial evidence for the hereditability of obesity, and research in both rare and common forms of obesity has identified genes with significant roles in its etiology” (Genetics…).
2. Obesity dramatically increased in the 70’s due to a number of factors. After World War 2, lawmakers, big business and labor leaders, along with many ordinary Americans put mass consumption at the center of their plans for a successful post-war nation. The availability of frozen dinners and a variety and surplus of different foods skyrocketed. In 1977, the US dietary guidelines changed drastically, promoting our diets as mainly carbohydrate based. Over the years, the sizes of certain foods and our portions have blown up. Twenty years ago, an average bagel was 3 inches in diameter and only 140 calories. Today, the size of the average bagel has doubled, now 6 inches in diameter and over 350 calories. The health problems that stem from being overweight go way beyond the ones we usually hear about, like diabetes and heart disease. Being overweight can also affect a person's joints, breathing, sleep, mood, and energy levels. In the U.S. 68.5% of adults are overweight or obese, 34.9% falling under the obese category and 31.8% of children and adolescents are overweight or obese with 16.9% being obese (Overweight and Obesity in the U.S.). Figuratively and literarily, the obesity rate is a growing problem. The total economic cost of overweight and obese persons in the United States and Canada caused by medical costs, excess mortality and disability is approximately $300 billion per year. $80 billion of this portion is due to overweight, and approximately $220 billion is due to obesity. Approximately 90 percent of the total $300 billon comes from the United States. The Trust for America's Healt...
Obesity is now among the most prevalent medical issues affecting students, adolescents, and adults living in the United States and other countries. According to the American Obesity Association, about 15% of adolescents and children are considered obese in the United States. These numbers are increasing and are expected to continue increasing. There are many factors contributing to the increase of obesity in America, the most important factor has to do with nutrition.
Richardson, Jill. "How America Is Making the Whole World Fat and Unhealthy." Alternet. N.p., 7 Mar. 2012. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. .
Since the beginning of this great country we call the United States of America, food has been a huge part of our culture. Whether it’s at family gatherings or you’re out on the town with your friends, food always seems to be the focal point of the activity. It’s no secret that Americans love their food, but do we love it too much? Obesity has been a major issue that our country has faced in the last few years. Whether it’s children or adults, obesity can affect everyone. The question is, are fast food restaurants and junk food the cause of this problem? People tend to blame restaurants like McDonald’s and Taco Bell for their unhealthy menu options, but they don’t dig any deeper into the problem. To most, they turn a blind eye to the other
Over the past years, Americans have continued to double or even triple how much they weighed in the past two decades. Nearly two-thirds of Americans have been diagnosed as obese. “Nearly 78 million adults and 13 million children in the United States deal with the health and emotional effects of obesity every day” (American Heart Association). Millions of Americans have suffered from obesity due to portion sizes increasing in size, not getting the sufficient amount of exercise needed daily, and electronics getting in the way of people going outside and doing exercise. Type two diabetes, heart disease, bone joint disease are some of the side effects of being obese. All these reasons support why Americans, over the years, have become more obese.
Furthermore, if we over consume foods without properly assessing their nutritional value, our bodies will be unable to completely process them, ultimately leading to obesity. Since the 1980’s, obesity rates around the world have risen significantly. In the United States, current statistics indicate that one in every three people is medically obese. This statistic has placed the United States as the second most obese country in the world, next to Mexico. These increasing causes of obesity are linked to the declining national diet and nutritional profile, as well as lifestyle trends in these countries.
There are many causes of obesity. Of course some obese teens cannot help the fact that they are overweight. Genetics and s...