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The causes and effects of obesity
Society and effects of obesity
Health problems related to obesity assignment
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Obesity
Obesity is a growing issue in many countries around the world, and it has grown significantly in recent years. There are many health issues related to obesity, and there are many who believe that something needs to be done by the government to stop this epidemic. According to “Obesity crisis risks making Britain 'fat man of Europe ', warns report”, an article in The Telegraph from 2013 written by Hayley Dixon, something needs to be done before Britain becomes the fat man of Europe. It is said that by 2050 more than half of adults will be overweight, and something needs to be done before this situation gets worse. Doctors want the government, NHS, councils, food firms and parents to step in and do something about this situation before more people become sick or even worse, die from complication caused by overweight or obesity.
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Another plan is for NHS staff to discuss eating habits with patients, and for the organization to invest £300million over the next three years in weight management programs. Doctors also want to see some changes, they want to see an increase in bariatric surgery for those at risk of death, they want hospitals to adopt nutritional standards, and they also believe that fast food and vending machines should be banned in hospitals. Also they want health visitors to give nutritional advice to new parents, and they also want all schools in the country to serve healthy food in their
It is natural for a society to be concerned for the future generations. With the rate of obesity growing in adults and children, many begin to see it as an issue that needs to be addressed. New reports show “ childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years” (cdc.gov). Overweight and obese are not actually the same. Overweight is defined as “having excess body weight for a particular height from fat,” and obesity is defined as “having excess body fat” (cdc.gov). With obesity comes the chance for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Both can be
Obesity is a huge problem that needs to be resolved because it affects all people, unlike most issues. People of every gender, every age, and every race are at risk of being obese. Obesity rates in America have nearly doubled within the last twenty years. Something must be done not only to prevent obesity rates continuous rising, but also to dramatically increase the percentage of obese people in America altogether.
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 reduce life expectancy and/or increased health problems. Obesity has been a health problem ever since infectious disease had began in the first half of the 20th Century. The 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. 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 psychological and social issues.
In the UK as well as in other developed countries, obesity is becoming a growing problem this puts pressure on health services and affects individuals’ ability to work, and contribute to the economy. The government feels the pressure to act by taxing unhealthy foods and drinks, and by setting up educational campaigns, (Stephen Adams, 2011).
The obesity epidemic is one of the most pressing issues at this point in both American society and U.S. public policy initiatives. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention 35.9% of U.S. adults over the age of twenty are obese (CDC, 2013). The CDC further notes that 69.2% of U.S. adults twenty years of age and over are overweight (this percentage includes those who are obese). The obesity problem is not exclusive to the adults in the U.S. The CDC notes that 18.4% of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 are currently obese (CDC, 2013). These statistics illustrate the severity of the obesity epidemic in this country, but what can be done to address or even correct this problem? Many people have proposed solutions, but few are as radical as the proposal from Michael Bloomberg (the New York City Mayor) in 2012.
Social attitudes of today’s society have changed the way people live, people now are working longer hours to sustain the financial demand that is needed in-order to keep up a higher standard of living, “One quarter of working men and 11% of working women in the UK now work more than 50 hours per week” . This is a social problem because it encourages people to eat ‘fast food’ type products such as pasties, sausage rolls, pre-packaged sandwiches and microwavable take-away items such as burgers & hot dogs etc, which all have high percentages of saturated fats, sugars and salts. These ‘fast foods’ are eaten because of their convenience and due to time shortages from working longer hours these food are the easy option. This implicates less healthy diets and obesity in the UK population. Tesco’s have and still currently sell these items but to combat this problem in 2000 Tesco launched their ‘Healthy Living’ brand of foods which are lower in fat, no added sugar and low in sodium, and in 2004 launched their ‘Healthy Living Club’, which has over 350, 000 members and offer over 500 ‘Healthy Living’ Products. The club offers customers information on diets, weight loss and other health issues.
The obesity in the US has drastically increased in the last few decades due to an increase in the consumption of unhealthy foods and reduced physical activity levels. Nearly 78 million adults and 13 million children in the United States are dealing with the health and the emotional effects of obesity every day. Because obesity has massive implications in regards to the health of our society, this issue is cited almost daily in the news, on radio and televisions, journals and magazines. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (CDC) more than thirty percent of our adult population is diagnosed as obese, and there are several hundred of thousands of deaths each year that are associated with diseases caused by obesity as a primary contributing factor.
The obesity epidemic is a globally acknowledged serious population-level public health issue. Obesity is the number two cause of mortality behind smoking in ...
This public health issue does not only effect individuals but the national as a whole in regards to the health care system costs. Obesity in children "costs the health care system $14 billion per year, much which comes from public funds" (Glanz, 2008). Also, obesity is expected to cause 112,000 deaths per year in the United States(Gollust, 2014). In addition, many changes seen in the health care sy...
The government must have a say in our diets. Because the issues of obesity have already reached national scales, because the costs of obesity and related health issues have gone far beyond reasonable limits, and because fighting nutritional issues is impossible without fighting poverty and other social issues, the government should control the range and the amount of available foods. The cost of healthier foods should decrease. The access to harmful foods should be limited. In this way, the government will be able to initiate a major shift in nutritional behaviors and attitudes in society.
The following statistic helps to depict the current situation in regards to obesity levels in the UK. According to The Health Survey for England: Adult Reference Tables (1997, cited in The Department of Health) “Obesity has risen dramatically over the last five years - 17 per cent of men are now obese, compared with 13 per cent in 1993, and almost 20 per cent of women are now obese compared with 16 per cent in 1993.
Outline of policy issue and desired outcome: The 1996 World Food Summit goal to halve the number of hungry people in the world by 2015 looks out of reach. The World Bank People predicts that over 1 billion people will be chronically hungry by the end of 2011. Around two billion people suffer from ‘hidden hunger’ and are deficient in essential micronutrients due to lack of an adequate diet, this often is overlooked as a minor issue. On the other hand, the biggest problem is that more than one billion people are overweight, this is a major problem problem in itself.
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.
“More than one third of America’s population is obese, which is about 35.4% including: men, women, and children” (www.cdc.gov). Unfortunately, this statistic is 100% true. America is hungry, constantly. This definitely shows that the land of liberty is growing in the midsection; no, not the Midwest, on the bellies of the people who live throughout the nation. America has a typical hierarchy of factors who rule the over the obese population. Junk food, lack of mobility, and undereducated knowledge of a healthy lifestyle, often contradict the fate of an obese person.
Obesity occurs in all countries and it is one of the gravest problems in modern society. Obesity problems have become one matter of concern for individuals all around the world. What is more is that Obesity rates continue to rise all around the world. One of the chief causes is unhealthy diets. Obesity is also due to lack of exercise and lack of education and awareness. Therefore obesity has various effects including the risk of suffering from a range of health conditions, increased expenditure on health care and lack of self-esteem.