Essay On Obesity In America

Obesity is a health epidemic that has taken over America and will progressively get worse if we don’t fight back. It is the buildup of excess fat causing you to become severely overweight increasing the risk to your health. More than one out of every three U.S adults are obese and one out of every six children. Body Mass Index (BMI) is used to measure obesity. Determining how tall and heavy one is it correlates with the amount of fat on ones body. For an adult there are four classifications from normal weight, to overweight, to obese, to extremely obese. Obesity is a worldwide problem that does not discriminate affecting poor and rich countries. Although America has the highest obesity rate other nations are increasing and not following far

behind. What puts America at the top of the list is the lifestyle we obtain. Americans lack nutrition in their diets because we are always on the move living a faster pace lifestyle. A lot of people base their meals of off convenience instead of nutritional value. Many cities were built during the automobile era resulting in less walkable communities unlike France and Italy. This causes Americans to use their cars more receiving less physical activity. A few decades ago the problem was not nearly as prevalent as it is now. Children obtained different lifestyles. Many childrens walked to school, played at recess, and played outside when arriving home from school. They had less snacks and more home cooked meals. Going out to eat was a rare treat for them. In todays generation many children take school buses or their parents drive them to school. Many sports teams have been cut from the budget and you find more children spending time using entertainment media instead of playing outside. For children 8-18 they spend an average of 7.5 hours a day consuming their time with video games, computers, cell phones, television, and movies. Parents are busier and we have becoming a fasted paced more on the go generation. In the result to that there are fewer home cooked meals and more trips to fast food restaurants. Portion sizes have increased causing Americans to eat 31% more calories than they did 40 years ago. This also includes the increasing intake of 56% more fats and 14% percent more sugar. With all the excess calories and lack of physical activity we have created a world where obesity is a serious issue. When someone is overweight or obese this expands the risk of contracting heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, asthma, and sleep apnea, just to name a few of the 60 chronic diseases.

Obese people spend 42% more on healthcare cost than healthy weight people. Treating someone with obesity or their health related problems that correlate with obesity costs the United States spends billions of dollars. Employers pay higher life insurance premiums for those who are obese compared to a worker who is of normal weight. Obesity can be reversed and actions can be made to fight back against this major health crisis. For children and adults a lifestyle change needs to be made. Incorporating physical activity 5 days a week and eating healthy portion controlled meals differences can be made. Bariatric surgery is also a way to help weight loss by restricting the amount of food the stomach can contain. Not all health insurances will cover the cost of this surgery or any complications that may occur after the surgery. Although the weight loss surgery is not a cure for obesity it can be a great success for patients how are highly motivated to make a lifestyle change. The most efficient way to limit the growth of obesity is to educate people to prevent them from ever becoming overweight or

obese.

Jessica- Obesity is a disease that can be influenced by genetics, hormones, and the persons environmental factors. Just because a person is obese or overweight does not mean that this is their fault. Health insurance companies punish obese people by making them spend higher premiums. This only adds to the problem of obesity. Not having weight loss programs or bariatric surgery covered under health insurance only pushes the idea of an obese person becoming a healthy weight farther away. Genes can play a role in whether you will live your life battling obesity. The risk of becoming overweight is two to eight times higher for a person that has family history of obesity. Monogenic obesity, although rare, is a mutation in single genes. Having this mutation in your gene can cause you to become obese because it lacks the control you have over your appetite and the amount of food you consume. The genes that cause “common obesity” can be found in our genetic makeup as well, but it is caused by the mutation of several genes. People may look at someone obese and claim that they are lazy and have no willpower. They believe the solution is diet and exercise and they are cured. It’s people like this that don’t understand how food affects your brain. Foods that contain high amounts of fats and sugar can easily be overeaten. Junk food has become an addiction and the result of this addiction has led to an obesity epidemic. Leptin is a hormone produced in the bodies fat cells that acts in the hypothalamus and in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). In the hypothalamus leptin indicts when the body has stored enough energy and when to stop eating. In the VTA leptin controls your brains rewards system. Whether you ingest food and drugs the part of the brain containing dopamine is triggered leaving the person with a feeling of pleasure. A study was conducted on rats by separating them into three groups all with different diets. The first group ate normal rat food, the second group was allowed to consume food with high fats and sugar for only one hour a day, and the third group could eat unlimited amounts of junk food throughout the day. By doing this experiment they were able to find that the rats in group three not only became obese, but had built a tolerance to their dopamine receptors. Because they were less sensitive they had to consume more to reach the level of pleasure they used to receive. This is similar to someone with a drug addiction always craving more.