What's the effects of obesity (debating) - Research Paper Example

The effects of obesity are not limited to the affected persons but affect the entire country as a whole. On an individual level, obesity has several health implications. First, Diabetes has been found to contribute to the occurrence of diabetes Mellitus. It is argued that since obesity affects the distribution of body fat, this has an effect on the metabolism of glucose. This leads to the body developing a resistance towards obesity. Secondly, obesity has been observed to cause cardiovascular problems.

With the increase in body fat and tissue, the oxygen demands of the body increase. This leads to high cardiac output which in turn leads to changes in the structure of the heart to cope with the increase demand. This causes a sharp increase in blood pressure. In addition, congestive heart failure (CHF) is also caused by obesity (National Institutes of Health, 16). Thirdly, persons suffering from obesity have been observed to have sleep-breathing difficulties. It is argued that the increase in the amount of fat on the chest wall as well as the abdomen has a great impact on the functioning of the chest and diaphragm, thereby affecting the mechanisms of breathing.

Fifth, a number of studies have shown that there is a strong link between obesity and colon and breast cancers. Diabetes has been found to cause colon cancer in men but less in women while at the causing breast cancer in women. Finally, on an economic scale, obesity has been found to have great economic effects. Specifically, the costs associated with treating diabetes and resulting complications are very high. For example, according to the National Institutes of Health (1995), the direct and indirect medical costs associated with obesity in America in 1995 were estimated to be $99.

2 billion and $47.6 billion respectively. In addition, the costs associated with loss of productive