The growing concern of obesity and overweighting in the usa

Obesity shown to be a pragmatic issue at hand in the last couple of years and has affected communities from schools, workplaces, families and friends. It has become an endemic disease, a plaque which has led to the misery and the demise of millions of lives in the US. But before we can dwell at the topic at hand we need to ask ourselves a fundamental question which lies at the heart of the matter and that is “ What exactly is obesity?”. According to MNT Editorial Team (2016) it can be defined as “ Obesity is a condition where a person has accumulated so much body fat that it might have a negative effect on their health.”

There are several causes which result to obesity one of them being fast foods. Food-away-from-home expenditures have increased to account for about half of total food expenditures, and fast-food restaurants (defined by the North American Industry Classification System as restaurants offering limited waitperson service) account for nearly 40 percent of the away-from-home market. Furthermore, the rising consumption of restaurant fare has coincided with an increased prepositive of obesity, and several studies have reported a positive association between the frequency of eating at fast-food restaurants and body weight. This indicates that there is a strong correlation between taking food home and away frequently and having a higher risk of being obese shows these statistics which people maybe ignorant or oblivious to see the reality.

According to the study of Thio and Taylor (2012) state that many schools do not offer physical education, the Surgeon General recommends 60 minutes of exercise per day most days of the week for young people, two-thirds of high school students fail to receive. Too many youngsters, from 8 to 18 are spending on average of seven and a half hours everyday in front of TV’s, videogames or computers. Without enough exercise on a daily base would result to a health hazard which has become disastrous amongst youth if the society will not take the moral obligation to do something about it. For example, the community providing a gym with good facilities which offer membership on a low charge. Isn’t the well being of youth a top priority knowing that they are our future or is there too much nihilism not only in the US but in the world to the point that people stopped caring and considered obesity as a norm in the society.

Gunnars (2018) suggests that genetics is also a factor in obesity Obesity has a strong genetic component. Children of obese parents are much more likely to become obese than children of lean parents. That doesn’t mean that obesity is completely predetermined. What you eat can have a major effect on which genes are expressed and which are not. This information suggests that there is no automatic correlation between parents who are obese, and their potential offspring be as well but none the less there is still that probability at hand.

There is a series of preventative measures that can be undergone by individuals that might be of obese and want to know their status. According to the study Lean, Lara, Hill (2017) state that weight gain could be prevented with small behavioral changes including walking, reduction in dietary fat or sugar. Simply task such as these can help to prevent obesity little by little in the future if done on a regularly basis and you will observe changes after a certain period.

You can also prevent obesity by simple doing the opposite of taking fast food by taking a healthy diet instead. This alternative negates fat obtained fat from fast food instead by taking fruits and vegetables which is safer pick to choose from.

There are several methods to know if a person is suffering obesity. According to NIH (2016) state that the most common way to determine if a person is overweight or obese is to calculate body mass index (BMI). BMI is an estimate of body fat based on comparing a person’s weight to his or her height. Health care providers also look at BMI, along with information about additional risk factors, to determine a person’s risk for developing weight-related diseases. Usually, the higher a person’s BMI, the higher the risk of disease. BMI is an indicator to know if a person is obese by calculating their weight and their height, but BMI has one major flaw it doesn’t take into consideration muscle proportion when it comes to weight so an individual who is a bodybuilder would be identified by the BMI as obese, so obese shouldn’t be only or major factor to know if a person is obese.

Treatment for obese individuals is available for those who want other alternatives one of them being taking medication. According Slingtham (2016) states in her study that in some cases weight loss drugs may be prescribed. These medications may cause weight loss, but most people regain the weight once they stop taking the medication. There are many herbal and over-the-counter supplements that claim to help you lose weight, but many of these claims have not been verified. This yet again proves that if a government or an organization are willing to invest in the manufacturing of drugs to combat obesity then clearly obesity is on the raise and is a concern politically, socially and economically (especially in USA since we are looking at it in this context).

There is also another disease which is like obesity but different type of obesity which is called morbid obesity. This is an extreme case of obesity which is when the body has a lot of fat in the body which can increase the rate of mortality in obese patients having atherosclerosis.

According to Begley (2012) states that using a model of population and other trends, a new report released on Tuesday by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation projects that half of U. S. adults will be obese by 2030 unless Americans change their ways. The “ F as in Fat” report highlights the current glum picture of the U. S. obesity epidemic, in which 35. 7 percent of adults and 16. 9 percent of children age 2 to 19 are obese, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported earlier this year. But for the first time, the report builds on state-by-state data from the CDC to project obesity rates. In every state, that rate will reach at least 44 percent by 2030. In 13, that number would exceed 60 percent. These results a very alarming at first sight because if the US citizen doesn’t change by implementing new ways to tackle obesity it will reach abysmal rate of obesity in the country that will affect all ages ranging from men, women, children and the elderly. Furthermore, according to Dennon (2012) states that whatever comfort that good news may bring is more than made up for by the finding that severe obesity — BMI of 40 or more — is skyrocketing. Severely obese people are at the highest risk of diabetes, heart disease, and other obesity-related conditions. Once rare, severe obesity now afflicts 1 in 20 Americans. By 2030, the study suggests, more than 1 in 10 Americans will be severely obese. Facts and figures such as these only furthermore in force the fact that obesity seems to progress and spill on dangerous territories if nothing is done. It seems to me that there are so many ideas and theories but very few answers to act on this menace.

There are symptoms which will help identify weather a person is obese or not. According to Fletcher (2017) “ The main symptom of morbid obesity is having a BMI of 35 or higher and obesity-related health problems, such as diabetes or hypertension. Other symptoms may include: excess fat buildup around the body, being easily winded, difficulty walking, trouble breathing”. These signs and symptoms are the first indicators that show obesity.

To summarize and conclude everything briefly yes obesity is a growing concern in the USA which mustn’t be overlook or taken with a grain of salt. In the US it has been abysmal in the last couple of decades, currently and even will reach critical levels in the future if the US government doesn’t do anything to deal with this cancer at the heart of the matter. There are several factors which cause obesity one of them being food which is rich in fat or in carbohydrate. Or even in the case of lacking thorough exercise. An obese patient can take drugs which can treat obesity. There are also signs and symptoms to identify obesity one of them being difficult with walking. BMI can help to identify if a person is obese though it does have it flaws and shouldn’t be used as the only variable. Obesity is truly a frightening disease which affects social, economics, politics and the very individual’s health. I don’t want to be obese now or anytime in the future nor do want I want my family and friend to be and those that are obese I do want to help them.