Obesity as a Disease - Essay Example

Obesity The problem to be described here is obesity. It is an interesting topic because it is a social issue that is causing alarming effects on themental and physical health of children. The biggest reason of obesity is unhealthy food which is increasingly becoming an all-American choice, especially for children. The use of exaggerated statements and images manipulate children’s minds into buying junk food. People get impressed by the attractive advertisements and convincing messages, and go out to buy junk food. Moreover, decrease in physical activity is also a reason. With increased viewing of TV and computer today, the energy generated by the flight of the imagination keeps the physical responses from getting expressed. This increases aggression and lethargy in children as well as making them obese. This paper aims to accomplish an understanding about what hazards obesity brings with it. The paper argues that obesity is a disease both for children and for adults. Let’s first ponder upon the reasons why adults and children are getting more and more obese these days. The biggest reason is unhealthy food. People have got busier lives in this competitive world, so they have less time to spend in the grocery store buying cheap but healthy food and in the kitchen over lengthy cooking processes. Thus, they prefer looking for a quick and easy, already prepared, meal that they can grab at a nearby fast food corner. Fast food, also known as junk food, is increasingly becoming an all-American choice, both for adult and for children. When we compare expensive fast food with cheap healthy food, all nutritionists agree on the fact that healthy food is not only cheap but also gives the body all essential nutrients that it needs to stay healthy and active; while, junk food is not only expensive but also deprives the body of important nutrients, thus making people frail, fatigued, inactive, and obese because of empty calories. Another problem is the use of exaggerated statements and images. For example, when an advertisement says: “XYZ Fried Chicken, the tastiest and healthiest meal you ever ate!”, it means a lot for children as they are going to believe that the junk food is the healthiest food in the world. Hence, they consume unhealthy food and become obese, which leads to many problems in their later lives such as high blood pressure, diabetes, lethargy, increased cholesterol, and heart diseases. Han, Lawlor and Kimm (2010, p. 1737-1748) assert that disastrous impacts of childhood obesity include type 2 diabetes and other obesity syndromes, which need rectification through proper assessment of calorie intake of children. Sedentary lifestyles of children have resulted in many obesity disorders which include glucose intolerance, hypertension, and increased rates of premature death. This shows that obesity can become a cause of cardiovascular diseases and premature deaths. All of these diseases show that obesity is a disease. The definition of disease with regard to obesity does not only include physical malfunctioning, but also includes lethargy and sluggishness that it brings with it. No matter what may be the reason behind obesity, the “sedentary lifestyle of children” (Han, Lawlor & Kimm, 2010, p.1737) has resulted in children being inactive and exhausted in their daily routine activities. And, obesity is behind this. Obesity results in an increased in BMI, a statistical measurement between height and weight of the body. If the BMI is between 25 and 29.9, the person is overweight; and, if BMI crosses 30, then the person is obese. BMI only gives a measurement about the accurate ratio of body height and weight, but does not calculate the percentage of fat. Hence, BMI is the measurement that can be used for average persons to get an idea about body fat. Fig. 1 is the BMI table for calculating the accurate BMI if a person knows his actual weight and height. For example, if the body weight is 50 pounds and the height is 5’5’’, then the BMI is 25, which is just okay or the person is just at the verge of being considered as overweight. However, for the same height of 5’5’’, if the body weight is 190 pounds, then the BMI would be 32, which is in the range of obesity. Hence, every person should calculate his or her BMI to know what BMI he holds, so that he may be able to bring changes to his lifestyle and eating habits accordingly. Pregnant women are excluded for this category, of course. Moreover, obesity must be considered as a disease because there are certain criteria that decide whether a condition should be called a disease or not. According to Mechanick, Garber & Garvey (2012, p.644), the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) has already declared obesity as a disease based on the criteria put forward by the American Medical Association. They (p.644) write that obesity is a disease based on these criteria: 1) An impairment of the normal functioning of some aspect of the body; 2) Characteristic signs or symptoms; and 3) Harm or morbidity. The authors state that obesity is a disease because it results in malfunctioning of various parts of the body. Also, the increased BMI is the sign or symptom that indicates obesity. Obesity is also linked with morbidity and mortality, and hence, it fits all of the three criteria given above. This shows that obesity is a disease and not merely a risk factor. However, there are counter-arguments which claim that obesity cannot be considered as a disease. Michael Tanner (2014) a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and a researcher, states that it is illogical to consider obesity as a disease by merely considering a person’s body mass index. Detailed histories of individual patients lead the physicians to decide what might have been individual eating habits and food preferences that would have caused obesity. So, obesity is a condition in which body weight crosses a certain limit, and can be considered as a disease-inviting condition or a risk factor, but not a disease itself, just like smoking is a not a disease in itself but it invites diseases. It is a matter of choice, a decision, and self-indulgence, because the person knows about all the physical hazards linked to it, and still he does not change his sedentary lifestyle. Hence, it is not medically logical to call obesity a disease. The argument presented by Tanner (2014) tries to convince the audience that obesity cannot be compared to heart disease or breast cancer which are proper diseases. Heart disease or breast cancer is not a choice or decision or a self-indulgent condition; instead, they are diseases based on the signs and symptoms that have been agreed upon since ages. Tanner has failed in convincing the audience how a condition cannot be called as a disease when it has certain signs and symptoms, and when it results in malfunctioning of various body parts, of which heart is at the forefront. Obesity has symptoms, and it has effects on the body. For example, a symptom is increased fat (BMI) and an effect is lethargy. Hence, it seems out of common sense whey obesity may not be considered as a proper disease. According to American Heart Association (n.d., par.1): “Once primarily seen as a behavioral and environmental problem, obesity is now viewed as a complex disorder and a major health risk factor linked to increased cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and early death.” It is also important to discuss how to spread awareness about the seriousness of the hazard of obesity. People must know that obesity is a disease which needs treatment and medical consideration. Schools play an important role in creating awareness among children and parents. They should arrange special seminars and meetings in which children and parents should be made aware of the hazards of junk food and obesity. Schools should also apply proper checks on children’s meals that they bring from homes to eat at lunch time. Media plays an important role in shaping the beliefs and practices of people. Media must convey to people that there is no match to healthy food, and that people must adopt healthy life styles in order to avoid obesity. This way, children and parents would learn the healthy way of eating and living. To conclude, children and adults, both are at risk because of the modern day sedentary life style. Obesity is a serious disease because it has many signs and symptoms; it is linked to malfunctioning of the body; and, it brings on harm and negative effects on the body. Hence, obesity is to be considered as a disease by all manners. Opponents claim that obesity is not a disease but only a risk factor because it is a matter of choice. However, this claim is illogical as obesity fits all the criteria put forward by the American Medical Association for a condition to be called a disease. Hence, this paper concludes that obesity is a proper disease that needs serious consideration. Fig 1: BMI Table (http://www.health.harvard.edu/topic/BMI-Calculator) References Han, J.C., Lawlor, D.A., & Kimm, S.Y. (2010). Childhood obesity. The Lancet, 375(9727), pp. 1737-1748. Retrieved abstract from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673610601717 Mechanick, J.I., Garber, A.J., & Garvey, W.T. (2012). AACE obesity position statement. Endocr Pract., 18(5), pp. 642-648. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from https://www.aace.com/files/position-statements/obesity.pdf Tanner, M. (2014). Obesity is not a disease. National Review Online. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://www.nationalreview.com/article/352626/obesity-not-disease-michael-tanner/page/0/1 Read More