Israel Tellez Mrs. Gottfried English III April 10, 2013 Obesity in America How you ever wondered how America became the most obese developed country in the world? All though we are not the country with the most overweight and obese people live, America still ranks high with obesity rates. Obesity is a fast-growing epidemic among most Americans of all ages due to several factors. The major factors that lead to obesity is financial situations, no exercise, bigger portion sizes. America is surely on the track to become the fattest country of the world.
Enc. 1101 Casual Analysis on Obesity in America Obesity in America is an ongoing concern that is relevant to everyone. “Obesity’s prevalence has risen steadily in both adults and children for the past several decades and is recognized as a serious, unremitting public health concern by virtually every major body concerned with public health including the National Institutes of Health, the United States Department of Agriculture, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization” (Allison, Cope). Americans are becoming more obese due to laziness and lack of exercise. Not only are Americans lacking to stay fit, they tend to over eat as opposed to watching their dieting and serving sizes.
Obesity is one of the major challenges faced by today’s society. Over the last decade, the percentage of obese and overweight people has increased significantly in all age groups. The growth in obesity rate in children is a matter of grave concern. This paper examines different factors that contribute to the obesity problem, including poor eating habits, lack of exercise, aggressive marketing tactics by junk food manufactures, lack of public awareness, and unhealthy lifestyle. The paper argues that obesity problem has reached epidemic proportions and it should be treated as a long-term threat to the nation’s health and economic stability.
Indeed, just this past March the New England Journal of Medicine presented a “Special Report,” by S. Jay Olshansky, David B. Allison and others that seemed to confirm such fears. The authors asserted that because of the obesity epidemic, “the steady rise in life expectancy during the past two centuries may soon come to an end.” Articles about the special report by the New York Times, the Washington Post and many other news outlets emphasized its forecast that obesity may shave up to five years off average life spans in coming decades. And yet an increasing number of scholars have begun accusing obesity experts, public health officials and the media of exaggerating the health effects of the epidemic of overweight and obesity. The charges appear in a recent flurry of scholarly books, including The Obesity Myth, by Paul F. Campos (Gotham Books, 2004); The Obesity Epidemic: Science, Morality and Ideology, by
A new size-health perspective Media has created an unrealistic image of the ideal weight for individuals. More people are engaging into unhealthy diets and extreme workouts either to reach the "perfect size" or to escape the criticism of being overweight. Under the new perspective of the ideal weight, obese ad overweight people are viewed to lack self discipline and self control by the society. However, they need to understand that genetics and medications contribute to a person's size. That's why the idea "healthy" weight varies from one person to another.
Diabetes usually does not develop until after the age of 40, but the age is getting younger due to high rates of obesity in African Americans. The major causes of diabetes in African Americans are: obesity, hyperinsulinemia, poor diet, and lack of exercise, smoking habits, and hereditary traits. African Americans with diabetes have a higher risk for stroke, heart disease, and other cardiovascular complications. Amputations, blindness, and kidney disease are also complications African Americans, deal with that suffer from diabetes. Hispanics are at a greater risk of developing diabetes Type 2.
There is not one part of the world left untouched by the epidemic of obesity. Though it was once just a problem in wealthy nations, obesity now affects countries from all economic levels. This new epidemic brings with it poor health and low productivity. Since 1980, the worldwide rate of obesity has almost doubled with 200 million men and 300 million women being obese (Popkin, 2011). The obesity rate in children has been on the rise as well.
Eating a lot of junk food will add pounds to your body and reduce your energy level (Barefoot & Gardner, 2012). Eating junk food lowers your energy level and caffeine makes you tired later. Exercise is an excellent stress-management technique, the best way to stay fit, and a critical element of any worthwhile weight loss program (Barefoot & Gardner, 2012). I agree with this statement because when I get stressed, I go play basketball for a while, and afterwards I feel better. Getting adequate sleep is another way to protect yourself from stress (Barefoot & Gardner, 2012).
Does sleeping too little lead to weight gain? Two common problems in today’s world are getting enough sleep and the obesity epidemic. A normal amount of sleep is around 7-8hrs these days but can vary depending on the age of the person (Horne). This amount can sometimes be hard for individuals to get because of their work and/or extracurricular activities. As the hours of sleep deprivation add up, the human body changes in various ways.
Studies have shown that a person should get seven to eight hours of sleep each night. Many people have trouble getting this amount of sleep. Between work, family responsibilities, and household chores, too often a person gets only a few hours of sleep a night. A few effects of Sleep deprivation are on your learning or reactions, exhaustion, mood and can cause you to have a unhealthy immune system. If a person is not able to get a full night's sleep after learning something new, they will not remember the new knowledge well.