Obesity in America on the Rise

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Obesity in America Today, 78.1 million American adults and 12.5 million children are obese. Obesity in America is a unstoppable epidemic. Since the 1960s, the number of obese adults have doubled and the number of obese children have tripled. Because of America’s obesity problems, Surgeon General David Satcher issued a report saying; "The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight," said that obesity "have reached epidemic proportions" in America. Obesity in America has no doubt reached epidemic proportions. Since 2001, America has been the most obese country in the world. This essay discusses what obesity is and how it is affecting today’s America by answers the following questions: 1. What is Obesity? 2. How is Obesity Affecting America? 3. How Obesity is affecting American Children? 4. Risks of Obesity in Adults? 5. Steps being took to prevent obesity Understanding how obesity is affecting American adults and American children, will help prevent future problems with obesity. What is Obesity? Obesity is when a person’s calorie intake exceeds one’s activity level. Activity burns calories and what ever calories are not burned, are stored as fat cells in the body. 19-24% is a healthy body mass index (BMI) for an individual. Mary Jo Thomas, M.D., states that “One that is obese has a body mass index of over 30. With a BMI of 30 or greater, one is at an immediate health threat.” (Thomas, 2013) Scientific evidence supports that the main causes of an obesity may include: ““increasingly sedentary lifestyle; high consumption of simple carbohydrates and fats (especially the refined sugars and greasy preparations common in junk and fast foods); and stress. To a lesser degree illnesses such as hypothyroidism (u... ... middle of paper ... ...sease, muscoleskeletal, and respiratory disease in the coming years of the individual’s life. (Obesity 2003) Research has shown that obesity increases the chances of getting cancer. Cancer linked to obesity includes uterus, cervix, ovary, breast, and gallbladder. A report by the American Cancer Society says that when a person has a BMI that is 40% or more above the normal, the risk of conducting cancer increases by 53% for women and 33% by men. A study published in the journal of the American Medical Association found that a women who gained at least 45 pounds since the age 18, were twice as likely to obtain breast cancer than a person who gained less than 5 pounds. The American Institute for Cancer Research released a report saying that 40% of all cancer cases could be avoided if they maintained a healthy diet and exercise regimen to maintain a normal body weight.

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