Obesity Is Increasingly Referred to as a Global Epidemic - Essay Example

? OBESITY Number Due OBESITY INTRODUCTION Obesity is a condition where the body fats of an individual have accumulated and exceeded the normal weight. It is a health condition that puts the body at a very risky position of getting attacks from other diseases and dangerous conditions like heart attack. An obese person is therefore one who has too much fats in their body than should be, hence greatly affecting their body weight. Overweight in an individual can therefore be classified as obesity when their Body Mass Index (BMI) exceeds 30 (thirty) (Kiess, Marcus, & Wabitsch 2004). The BMI of an individual is calculated from the proportion of their body height and weight. It’s a statistical calculation that can be done even with the use of a calculator as long as you have your exact height and weight information. A BMI reading of above 25 is also an indication of overweight that if not looked at may develop into obesity. The point of accessing the information about your body weight as easily as through dialing a calculator is to help people get easy access and use the information effectively. Obesity is an epidemic that is at a very fast rate spreading throughout the world. The first study to calculate the impact on the environment of growing waistlines has estimated that the adult human population weighs in at 287 million tons, 15 million of which is due to the overweight and 3.5 million due to obesity (Gray 2012). Thus a lot of emphasis should be put in addressing this epidemic before the condition gets worse. This paper therefore examines this global epidemic; the causes and consequences, and possible solutions. CAUSES Obesity occurs when energy intake from food and drink consumption is greater than energy expenditure through the body’s metabolism and physical activity over a prolonged period, resulting in the accumulation of excess body fat (Public Health England 2013). It, just like any other condition or disease has its causes that can be looked into and avoided or precluded in our day to day lives. Such a risky health condition if not well treated and addressed can be fatal and even lead to death. Its causes are; too much eating of high calorie food, living in too much comfort with little physical exercise, medical reasons and lifestyle choice (NHS Choices 2013). This are causes that can be avoide since they involve our day to day lives and activities. They are actions that an individual can make do with or without as long they have the will and motivation to always keep fit and healthy. Eating too much food that has high callorie is a habit that is developed as people grow. Callories are the energy content that is available in a specific diet and measures its value thereof. Foods such as hamburger, fries can add a lot of calories to the body if consumed in large amounts, and it is therefore paramount that they are kept in check. The average physically active man needs 2,500 calories to maintain a healthy weight, and the average physically active woman needs 2,000 (NHS Choices 2013). The large amounts should be distributed among the different food types that have the different nutritious values, and not to just starch or protein foods alone. Lifestyle choice is also another cause of obesity and can as easily be kept in check to avoid this condition just like the others. People tend to envy and enjoy lives that are to the human eye perfect but in actual sense not balanced at all. Obesity depends of fat deposits that take quite some time to accumulate is hence it develops gradually in a person and not in one day. Living a lifestyle that is stylish of; fast food regularly, too much alcohol, too much sugary food and dessert eventually leads to increase in weight (NHS Choices 2013). This is especially if these are taken in large quantities and in almost every meal of the day. The excess that is in the body and of no nutritious value get deposited to the adipose tissues in the body and become fats that bring about overweight and then obesity. Such a lifestyle coupled with watching too much TV, no stretching of muscles hence minimum physical exercise to burn the calories down is a recipe for obesity. Obesity just like some conditions and diseases again can be genetic and maybe an inheritance that runs through the generations. It does not give anyone an excuse though not to exercise and try to cut down on weight because they inherited the traits of their parents. Impossibility is a word that only exists if you want to believe in it. While there are some rare genetic conditions that can cause obesity, such as Prader-Willi syndrome, there is no reason why most people cannot lose weight (NHS-Choices 2013). Some like slow metabolic rate are however issues that can be solved by engaging in physical activities that will catalyze the rate of calorie breakdown. CONSEQUENCES Consequences are always there for any action or no action taken thereof and any poor and wrong decisions that we make in our daily lives. Especially when the subject in question is a disease or a health condition then we should be extremely cautious in how we handle the problems. Obesity is a disease that can be fatal and is also one that can lead to the development of other complications and defects. Example would be; 44% of the diabetes burden, 23% of the ischemic heart disease burden and between 7% and 41% of certain cancer burdens are attributable to overweight and obesity (World Health Organization 2013). Such diseases are always very life threatening and we should always endeavor to be healthy to preclude them and reduce the chance of being affected. Heart disease and stroke are cardiovascular diseases that have been among the leading world’s leading causes of death (World Health Organization 2013). They are also complications that are developed when too much fats accumulate in the body to the level of overweight and obesity. When the fats line the breathing system of the body, passage of air is thus minimized reducing the amount of air reaching the lungs to oxidate the blood each time we inhale. This will effect make the heart strain when pumping blood to the whole body and therefore we end up developing health problems that we could have ptherwise eliminated. Not only does it affect the body on its own and coming together with such dangerous accompanying diseases, obesity is an epidemic that should be addressed and fast. Overweight and obese people are at a considerable social disadvantage because of the stereotypical images society has created about them (Chambers & Wakley 2002). Their huge images make them feel out of shape and may sometimes be discriminated against by the slimmer people. School children who are obese tend to grow up without friends in some situations ending up being lone rangers and miss out on the social fun. Some even tend to have low self esteem due to their huge body structures which they may feel cannot cope with those of their slimmer friends. It therefore does not only complicate health and physical being but may also affect emotionally, socially and that most often than not causes trouble. These are consequences that if we put our lives and diet on a tight check and balance then we are able to avoid experiencing. Musculoskeletal disorders (especially osteoarthritis - a highly disabling degenerative disease of the joints) (World Health Organization 2013) is also another disorder that comes through obesity. This will in the long run affect the body since with the too much body fats causing difficulty in movement and disorder to the joints movement eventually gets to be a problem. The body at such a time should not be rigid but flexible to enable slow progress in and during physical exercising. Obesity therefore is a serious disorder and disease that has grown to be an epidemic and a at a global level for that matter and should be researched and precluded at early stages to avoid the many severe complications. SOLUTIONS Obesity is a communicable disease and one that we can preclude from our lives if each and every individual takes responsibility. Actions like; limiting fats and sugar intake, increase fruits and vegetable consumptions, engage in physical activities (World Health Organization 2013). These actions all depend on the personal initiative of everyone in ensuring ttha they intake only the amount that the body requires. In the long run again saving resources is a world initiative since most of them are limited and are even stretchd nearing their limits. The body needs food for body functions to be effective and efficient but not in excess because they will be deposited and form fatty layers tha lead to overweight and obesity. In the case of reducing the intake of fatty food and very sugary foods, we can achieve this by for one reducing the appetite for fast foods. These are food that contain a lot of callories in just a small portion of it, sometimes even more than a normal body needs in one day. By cconsuming more of these foods without balancing the nutritious value of a meal for example by including fruits, vegetables and others can be dangerous. A balancing act is therefore necessary with small but equal portions and all the nutritions included in one meal. These, coupled with constant physical exercise and body training will ensure that any excess callories are burnt and a good speed. Very clear and precise guidelines that if followed to the latter then the epidemic of obesity will have been addressed. References Chambers, R, & Wakley, G, 2002, Obesity and Overweight Matters in Primary Care, Abingdon U.K: Radcliffe Publishing. Gray, L., 2012, British population is getting too fat for the planet, Retrieved April 8, 2013, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/9338023/British-population-is-getting-too-fat-for-the-planet.html Kiess, W, Marcus, C, & Wabitsch, M, 2004, Obesity in childhood and adolescence. Basel : Karger Publishers. NHS-Choices, 2013, Causes of obesity, Retrieved April 8, 2013, from http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Obesity/Pages/Causes.aspx Public-Health-England, 2013, Causes of Obesity. Retrieved April 8, 2013, from http://www.noo.org.uk/NOO_about_obesity/causes World-Health-Organization, 2013, Obesity and overweight, Retrieved April 8, 2013, from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/ Read More