Obesity - Essay Example

These reckless eating habits make the modern younger generation obese or chubby that they cannot attain the desired heights of their life and thereby pulling down the nation to its ruin. The modern youngsters are not attentive to maintain their physical health which is very essential for attaining mental health. They very often forget the simple lesson that a sound mind in a sound body.
Therefore, the study of obesity deserves greater significance both as an attempt to reduce the body weight of younger generation and as an endeavor to save the country from having a great number of lazy obese children who are incapable of creating a better nation. The various studies conducted overtime have undoubtedly proved the no fewer roles of the adults in promoting obesity. Thus one can infer that obesity is an issue that seeks grave attention from the part of youngsters and the adults alike. Different studies acknowledge the threat of obesity as a disease that acts as a slow poison which kills many in this world.
Obesity has often been viewed as causing for various health problems that craves the attention of not only the doctors but also the general public. The obese people often express some serious medical complications like respiratory problems, diabetes, trouble sleeping and depression. Here one should note the fact that “Excess body weight poses one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century for the WHO European Region, where the prevalence of obesity has tripled in the last two decades and has now reached epidemic proportions” (Branca, Nikogosian & Lobstein, 2007, p.1). This underlines the former comment that obesity causes for various physical problems. When defining obesity, as many studies define, one can see that it is the excess accumulation of fat in the body. “Obesity is generally defined as the abnormal or excessive accumulation of fat in adipose tissue to the extent that health may be impaired” (Kiess, Marcus & Wabitsch, 2004, p.1). However, one cannot ignore the general truth that two people who eat the same amount may have different weights, but obese people usually eat more than normal weight people (Brannon & Feist 383). Therefore, it proposes the view that overeating endorses obesity. WHO (World Health Organization) has clearly identified this problem in one of their studies conducted in U.S. It is said by WHO that in a study conducted in the USA when it says, “over half (53%) of all deaths in women with a BMI >29 kg/m2 could be directly attributed to their obesity” (WHO technical report series, 2002, p.61-62). This is also supportive to the argument that obesity is a slow poison. Media has a negative impact among the public through the broad advertisements appearing in televisions and internet. They telecast various advertisements supporting the fast-food culture create a bad food habit among the public. The words of Kathleen Keller makes it clear when she commented, “However, widespread media and computer may also represent a new channel for communicating health information to reduce obesity through the development of media products that encourage physical, activity and healthful eating behaviours” (Keller, 2008, p.161). Analyzing the reasons for obesity, one can identify some other reasons also. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in their online article entitled, Obesity in Children and Teens makes a clear assessment about the causes of obesity. Read More