Obesity Essay

741 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Effect of obesity

Obesity is a growing health problem that affects people around the world, but do you know what obesity really is? Or do you distinguish the difference between overweight and obesity? Obesity is an excessive body weight that develops over time when people consume excess calories that are accumulated in the body. As result, people first become overweight, and then obese. This problem has been affecting many people around the world and continues growing through the years. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) “obesity will be the single biggest killer on the planet by the year 2020”.Although many people know about the causes of obesity, some people don’t realize that the effects of obesity are complex and include: psychological and emotional disorders, physical diseases, and a negative impact to the person’s economy, each of which affects considerably the well-being and health of an obese person.
Obese people are more likely to experience psychological and emotional disorders compared with those who are not obese. First, obese people can experience depression because they don’t accept themselves due to their weight; they don’t see themselves as fit as other people. Consequently, it causes poor self-image and low self-esteem; each of them contributes to depression. In addition, obese people might feel discrimination and loneliness based on their weight. They might be told by other people that being obese is their own fault, or might be called by other names such as fatty or bacon. In fact, they could be exposed to teasing and bullying. Their friends could evade them, or they could have trouble making new friends; all these are reasons why an obese person could feel discriminated and solitary. Finally, anxiety is another em...

... middle of paper ...

...ecause they will have more expensive medical bills for medication and also will have more visits to the doctor. Obesity affects in many ways even the economy of a person, so people should be thinking about losing weight instead of paying higher costs.
In conclusion, obesity can be reduced, if society focuses on the effects that it has on the people. Most people don’t realize how damaging obesity can be to the personal life, the personal economy, and overall to the health. Actually, obesity is a big problem, and it could be bigger in a near future because people are not conscious about the importance of maintain a healthy lifestyle that includes a healthy diet and exercise at least three times every week. There are many emotional, physical and economical strains that obesity can put on your life, so don’t let obesity run your life, take charge and make a life change!

Show More
Related

  • The Globalisation of Obesity

    3548 Words  | 8 Pages

    Interest in the social aspects of obesity is nothing new. Jeffrey Sobal has written extensively about the social and psychological consequences of obesity , including the stigmatisation and discrimination of obese and even overweight individuals (Sobal 2004).

    Read More

  • A Proposal to Reverse Obesity Rates

    1830 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Mark Bittman's Article: Is Obesity A Disease?

    1123 Words  | 3 Pages

    Is obesity a disease? This is question many people have asked. Yes, obesity is a disease; but one essential question many people tend to forget to ask is, “Can obesity be prevented or how could obesity be prevented?” Prevention does not put an end to obesity, but in fact it can decrease a person’s risk of becoming obese. There are many challengers towards the decision to why obesity rates are increasing; many say it just refers back to the person’s lifestyle, eating habits, and environment. Obesity should be prevented in a childhood versus being corrected later in life, but in order for obesity to be prevented people must first be aware of the causes then conclude by learning the fundamental factors that play into prevention.

    Read More

  • Obesity

    1249 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Is the Government Doing Enough About Obesity

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    About 2.8 billion adults every year die of obesity (Diet). Rachel Epstein wrote the book “Eating Habits and Disorders” which talks about obesity being a disease. Obesity is a condition with extra body fat which often starts to form in childhood (Epstein 25). While obesity for some adults can be life-threatening (Epstein 25). It can also form psychosocial problems (Epstein 25). Being obese causes a risk in diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, kidney trouble and more (Epstein 25). Being obese during pregnancy can cause many problems for the mom, and for the baby (Epstein 25). Any of these things could cause many problems either in the future, or in the present (Epstein 25). The worse the eating habits, the harder it is to cure (Epstein 25). The government needs to do more about obesity because obesity rates are rising, many kids are being victims of obesity and they don’t even know it, also Medical Care is taking a big part with the growing obesity rates.

    Read More

  • Childhood Obesity in Monroe County, Kentucky

    1894 Words  | 4 Pages

    Obesity has been identified as one of the risk factors affecting directly and indirectly the health outcome of the population. Even though many approaches and programs have been conducted in order to reduce the obesity rate, this health issue is still a big headache and keeps being put on the table. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overweight and obesity rate have been increasing significantly in the past two decades in the United States with more than 35.7% of adults and almost 17% of children and adolescents from 2-19 years olds being obese ("Overweight and obesity," 2013). As Healthy People 2020 indicated, in the period from 1988-1994 to 2009-2010, the age adjusted obesity rate among U.S adults aged 20 and over increased from 22.8% to 35.7%, which means increased by 57% while the obesity rate among children and teenagers from 2 to 19 years old increased from 10% to approximately 17%, witnessing the increase of 69% ("Nutrition, physical activity," 2013). Obesity has impact both on economic and health of the nation. Obesity is the risk factor of serious chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes, certain kinds of cancer, and other leading causes of preventable deaths ("Overweight and obesity," 2013). Moreover, obesity continues to be economic burden in terms of medical costs for either public or private payers up to $147 billion per year which increased from 6.5% to 9.1% (Finkelstein et al, 2009). In 2008, medical spending per capita for the obese or obesity related health issues is $1,429 per year, as 42% higher than “those of normal weight” (Finkelstein et al, 2009, p.8).

    Read More

  • Essay On Public Health

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    (Jonas Minet, Stephen morris 2010). The prevalence of obesity has increased more than twofold in the last 25 years. In 2014, world health organisation (WHO) estimates that 1.9 billions of world’s adult populations are overweight, of which at least 600 million were obese, representing 13% of adult’s population (obesity WHO, 2014). Obesity is no longer a rich country’s problem, but also affects the poor and emerging countries which make it a major public health challenge. ( )

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Living With Obesity

    735 Words  | 2 Pages

    Without recognizing the reality of and suffering the results of living with obesity, together with the feeling of losing control with a continually growing weight and avoiding acknowledging the reality of being obese, a desire for change will not foster. The aspiration and willpower to make a change is initially conveyed in several failed efforts to lose weight and is supported by the wanting to take back control and to reverse the issues stemming from the excess weight. A journey of gathering information follows, that ultimately guides the overweight individual to information about gastric bypass surgery. Sometimes this will happen due to chance, but in most cases it is consequence of endlessly seeking for aid outside the conventional methods

    Read More

  • The Cause of Obesity in the United States

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    Obesity has increased rapidly throughout the years, especially in the United States. As of today, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of adults in the U.S are considered to be obese. We all know that obesity is becoming a serious issue in the lives Americans. The effects of obesity can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and in serious cases, death. So the question we can all ask is, “What is the cause?” The cause of obesity can come from, but is not limited to, some of these things: eating habits, lack of exercise, or a medical condition.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Childhood Obesity

    1239 Words  | 3 Pages

    Children that are obese tend to have lower social skills, according to an article based on children with obesity and their mental health called, “Psychological Aspects of Childhood Obesity: A Controlled Study in a Clinical and Nonclinical Sample”. The author’s of this article, Caroline Braet, Ivan Mervielde, and Walter Vandereycken, conducted a study that uncovered the amount of children that are obese and lacking social skills. Most of the obese children involved, ranging in ages from nine to twelve, proved to have a problem conducting themselves socially and were more dependent on their parents to do things for them. In an article called “Childhood Obesity: Public-Health Crisis, Common Sense Cure”, the authors showed a model that directed twelve different countries and roughly the number of kids that are struggling with being over weight or obese. The final article, “Risks and Consequences of childhood and Adolescent Obesity”, showed the different risk factors that are involved with childhood obesity. Thought this article did not have any real research or experiments involved with it, it had good information and facts on the

    Read More

  • Obesity as a Disease

    1337 Words  | 3 Pages

    As a health care professional it is our position statement that obesity should be considered as a disease. Overweight and obese adults are considered at risk for developing diseases such as type II diabetes, hypertension, high blood cholesterol, coronary heart disease, and certain type of cancers. An average of 300,000 deaths is associated with obesity and the total economic cost of obesity in U.S. was about $ 117 billion in 2000. As health care professionals it is our responsibility to increase public awareness of health consequences of over weight and obesity. Obesity as a disease: Obesity fits all the definitions of ‘disease’, that is, interruption in bodily function.

    Read More

  • Obesity is NOT a Disease

    1863 Words  | 4 Pages

    Obesity is a physiological condition characterised by an excessive accumulation of body fat, specifically the build-up of adipose tissue beneath the skin. In recent years, the number of people diagnosed with clinical obesity has increased dramatically, with governments desperately trying to tackle the obesity epidemic and its associated consequences (McLannahan and Clifton, 2008). Studies have found that the prevalence of obesity once stood at an estimated 9.8% (Kelly, Yang, Chen, Reynolds & He, 2008), a considerable figure representing almost 400 million individuals worldwide. Even though obesity has now been recognised as a major problem the number of people affected is increasing rapidly, with almost 300,000 deaths attributable to obesity in the USA each year (Allison, Fontaine, Manson, Stevens, & VanItallie, 1999). Excessive amounts of fat can prove dangerous as the condition has a very high comorbidity rate with other long term health issues such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and cancer (Pi-Sunyer, 1993). Numerous examples of media, medical journals and educational literature concerning obesity refer to the condition as a disease, with an increasing use of the word ‘Epidemic’ to describe the somewhat recent surge of obesity cases in western societies (Boero, 2007), however there is little material available that offers evidence for obesity meeting specification for disease. Instead it has been proposed that obesity is alternatively a risk factor for developing other potentially harmful diseases, influenced by a variety of other factors i.e. genetics, cultural ideals and biological impairments.

    Read More

  • Is Obesity a Disease?

    730 Words  | 2 Pages

    Obesity is a serious condition that has generated a discussion on whether or not to be classified as a disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), obesity is the body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, which is calculated based on the person’s height and weight. For years, our society has been facing the obesity challenge, which can be extremely costly once it leads to several diseases. Thus, because of the constant increase of percentage of people with obesity, the American Medical Association (AMA) proposed in June 18, 2013 to classify obesity as a disease. Their argument was that obesity increases the risks of countless health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension etc. Moreover, it increases morbidity and mortality. By considering obesity as a disease, their aim was to maximize researches and funding, which will focus on obesity from different medical and health approach levels. Their idea of classifying obesity as a disease was in accordance with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s declaration of 1995. The institute declared, “ Obesity is a complex multifactorial chronic disease developing from multiple interactive influences of numerous factors.” In 2012, the CDC data showed 34.9% of adults obese and 17% of obese children. These numbers are very alarming especially since the struggle to deter certain factors contributing into this condition is still a challenge. Among the struggles, there are the people’s rights versus health regulations to keep them as healthy as possible like the former mayor Bloomberg regulation on soft drinks size cut. During CNN’s show GPS of Sunday 2, 2014, the host Zacharia...

    Read More

  • Obesity and How to Solve it

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    With a little help and determination America can solve the problem of obesity and prevent future health problems by: eating healthier, encouraging physical activity, and setting limits on the consumption fast food, to provide better nutrition for the people of America.

    Read More

  • Cause and Effects of Obesity

    936 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Obesity Essay

Open Document