Obesity and Its Many Health Concerns - Research Paper Example

? Obesity and Its Many Health Concerns Obesity and Its Many Health Concerns The human knowledge has expanded and individuals have started to analyze issues that may not have been considered important previously. The awareness with regard to health issues has greatly increased over the years and people have started to realize the importance of a healthy living. This knowledge has led to the analysis of the issue of obesity. Obesity is a condition which has become a subject of global concern owing to the rise in the statistics of the condition. The condition was marked as an epidemic by the World Health Organization in the year 1997. This was owing to the alarming increase in the number of people suffering from this problem as well as the serious health risks that an individual is exposed to owing to this health condition. Obesity is a life hampering condition which tends to affect the living of an individual and this issue needs to be dealt with in the best possible manner to control the rise in the number of people suffering from this problem (McCambridge 2006). . The statistics of obesity have been increasing at a very fast pace in the United States of America. The situation has become very grave owing to the fact that it has been analyzed that United States has the highest rates of obesity in comparison to the other countries across the globe. In the year 2010, it was seen that one out of every five people in the United States suffered from the problem of increased weight. This showed a substantial increase in comparison to the year 1991 when one out of every eight individuals had weight above the normal limits. Furthermore, it has been highlighted that the rate of obesity has increased by more than three times in comparison to the year 1961. Dr. Michael Fuemento analyzed the situation in his book, The Fat of the Land (1997) and claimed that unlike other serious health issues like AIDS, there was no down way trend observed in the statistics of obesity. Obesity is a condition which affects not only the adults but the condition is also known to persist amongst children. In the year 1991, it was found out that one quarter of the children in the country were suffering from the issue of increased weight. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the year 2011, there are 9 million adolescents and children who have increased weight. According to the similar report the number of adults who have weight above normal limits and are obese ranges to about 130 million (Bass III 2011; Huber 2010; McCambridge 2006). It has been highlighted that obesity is a pathological condition that poses many risks for the human health. The Department of Health and Human Services indicated the fact that the obese individuals laid a greater burden on the healthcare system of the country and hundred billion dollars have to be diverted every year towards the healthcare costs on the obese individuals. It has also been analyzed that obesity related pathologies are responsible for the death of 300,000 people in the United States (Bass III 2011; Huber 2010). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have set standards to check for the individuals who suffer from obesity. The Body Mass Index is the widely used calculation for checking obesity. This index utilizes the height and the weight of the person to calculate the results of the amount of fat present in a person’s body. The result is compared with a standard chart which has the different BMI values according to the sex and the age of the individuals. This indicates the fact that the BMI values differ from one person to owing to different BMI values for different ages and sexes. The CDC has laid guidelines that all individuals who have a BMI ranging from 25 to 29.9 suffer from increased weight and those individuals who have a BMI above 30 suffer from obesity (Bass III 2011; McCambridge 2006). There has been great emphasis laid upon childhood obesity and obesity amongst the younger age groups. This is owing to the fact that forty percent of the children and seventy percent of the youths who have weight above normal limits tend to suffer from obesity in their adulthood. Therefore, the condition needs to be tackled from an early age. It has also been highlighted by experts that the life expectancy of these children may tend to be lowered owing to being obese. According to “The National Poll on Children’s Health” that was conducted by the University of Michigan in the year 2008, childhood obesity was marked to be the most important health problem amongst children. The survey included twenty different serious health issues and thirty five percent of the adults labeled childhood obesity to be more serious than other issues like smoking and drug abuse. Another important difference that was indicated by this research was that the low socioeconomic groups considered smoking, drug abuse and teen pregnancy to be greater issues. But this trend was different amongst the high socioeconomic groups that considered obesity to be the most important health problem amongst the children. The overall results of the poll also upheld the same conclusion that majority of the adults marked obesity to be an issue of greatest concern amongst the children (Bass III 2011; Huber 2010; Science Daily 2008). Obesity is led to by many underlying causes. It has been put forward that children of obese parents have a very high risk of suffering from obesity. This has been upheld by the fact that there may be a genetic predisposition for obesity. It has been indicated that children who had family members suffering from obesity had a very high probability of becoming obese themselves. Genetics have been considered to play a role ranging from 25 percent to 85 percent in the causation of obesity. Pathological conditions amongst children may also predispose them towards becoming obese and certain medications play a similar role. Genetic pathologies in children like Down, Prader-Willi and Bardet-Biedle syndrome also result in leading to obesity. Dietary causes are also marked to be a leading cause of obesity amongst children. Lack of breastfeeding during infancy is also a causative factor along with a diet that lacks healthy foods like vegetables, fruits and cereals. An unhealthy diet which comprises mainly of junk food and cold drinks is also held accountable for the causation of obesity amongst children. Technological innovations like television, video games and computers have led the children to lead an inactive life and this is also considered to be a factor that has led to a rise in the cases of obesity. These activities have become the favorite past time activities of children and they do not indulge in other physical activities. Thus, the intake is not balanced with the output owing to the lack of burning of calories due to physical exercises. This serves to promote the problem of obesity amongst children. Media is also considered to play a role owing to the fact that they target the young audience with the attractive advertisements of junk food which make the children opt for unhealthy eating patterns (Bass III 2011; McCambridge 2006). The major cause of obesity amongst adolescents is the lack of physical activity programs amongst these age groups. There are many groups who are at a higher risk of low indulgence in physical activity. These include the minority groups, females, and people belonging to the low socioeconomic groups, physically handicapped children as well as children who do not have proper facilities in their surroundings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also indicated the fact that girls are less physically active in comparison to boys. The lack of support and advice from the elders is also a reason for obesity. Adults who are obese owing to lesser involvement in physical activity and unhealthy food consumption tend to promote a similar behavior amongst the younger age groups. The non-implementation of physical education programs by the schools is also a major factor. A study was conducted in the schools in the United States in the year 2000 to analyze the implementation of physical education programs. The study concluded that just 8 percent of the elementary schools, 6.4% of middle schools, and 5.8% of high schools in the country followed and implemented physical education programs for the children. This study indicates a lack of motivational factors on the part of the authorities to overcome the problem of obesity (McCambridge 2006). Obesity is marked to be a serious issue because it can serve to be a predisposing factor for many other health conditions. Children and youths who suffer from obesity have a higher predisposition towards the development of diabetes mellitus type two and other serious conditions like cardiovascular diseases, stroke, cancer and raised blood pressure. They may also have nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and respiratory problems like obstructive sleep apnea. Psychiatric problems may also develop in these children as they may consider themselves to be inferior to other children and have a decreased self-worth. The adults who suffer from obesity have a higher susceptibility of having raised blood pressures, altered body lipids and they may as well develop insulin resistance. These adults are more prone towards the development of serious cardiovascular issues. Obesity is also associated with other life hampering conditions like arthritis (Bass III 2011; Huber 2010; McCambridge 2006). The health risks that obesity poses and the effect that it lays on the quality of life has led to the requirement of the initiation of nationwide programs to counter the problem of obesity. A research highlighted the fact that intervention for the pediatric age groups showed significant improvement owing to interventional measures. It was seen that a healthy and balanced diet along with proper physical activities meant for their age worked very well in the reduction of their weight. This was to be accompanied with the assistance and enthusiasm showed by the family towards the children. Thus, it can be seen that obesity amongst the pediatric age group can be corrected with the help of proper diet, exercise and assistance from the family. The American Academy of Pediatrics also highlighted another factor that restricting the exposure to television for less than two hours could also be helpful for the children above the age of two years (McCambridge 2006). There are many other steps that need to be taken by the state and the individuals to assist in decreasing the statistics of obesity amongst the older children and the adolescents. The exposure to television should be reduced in children to less than three hours every day and the facility of a separate television in the bedroom of the children should not be provided to reduce the exposure to advertisements as well as to promote an active lifestyle. Children should be encouraged to have food with the family and healthy food should be cooked at home to promote healthy eating patterns. The state should also impose directives for the availability of healthy foods in the schools and the advertisement of unhealthy foods in schools should be prohibited. Programs should also be launched to increase the availability of healthy foods in the market in comparison to the junk foods. Physical education and indulgence in physical activities should be promoted in schools so that the children have proper access to opportunities. Awareness programs should be launched and parents should also provide support to their children for engaging in a healthy lifestyle (CDC 2011; McCambridge 2006). Obesity is a very serious issue owing to the fact that there has been a tremendous increase in the number of individuals who suffer from obesity. The condition is known to affect a large number of people in the United States. Obesity is known to affect individuals of all age groups. An improper diet accompanied with a lack of physical activities leads to result in obesity. It may also be led to by pathological states. Obesity can pose serious health concerns as it can result in many life hampering medical problems which include diabetes, stroke and raised blood pressure. It tends to decrease the life expectancy of individuals. It is for this purpose that healthy eating habits and indulgence in physical activities should be promoted so that the nation can face and overcome this epidemic. References Bass III, P.F. (2011), Obesity in America, Health, MSN, retrieved on October 2, 2011 from: http://health.msn.com/healthy-living/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100140084 CDC (2011), Children’s Food Environment State Indicator Report, Retrieved on October 2, 2011 from: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/downloads/ChildrensFoodEnvironment.pdf Huber, J. (2010), The Obesity Epidemic – America’s Most Pressing Health Concern, Healthy People, retrieved on October 2, 2011 from: http://webhost.bridgew.edu/jhuber/readings/the_obesity_epidemic_americas_most.html McCambridge, T.M. (2006), Active Healthy Living: Prevention of Childhood Obesity Through Increased Physical Activity, Pediatrics, 117 (5), pp. 1834-1842. Science Daily (2008), Obesity is Number one Health Concern for Kids in 2008, Science Daily, retrieved on October 2, 2011 from: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080714170957.htm Read More