Obesity is a disease that involves excessive and unhealthy weight gain - Essay Example

If obesity is not prevented or treated in a timely manner, people risk developing diseases that have the potential of leading to death. The primary cause of obesity is a combination of unhealthy overeating and constant inactivity. Eating unhealthy foods tends to be a part of most diets, but the fats and copious calories from greasy and unhealthy foods can build up if the individual ceases to do anything about it. Excessive weight gain becomes all too easy when large portions of food are not met with equally high levels of activity, such as exercising or something as simple as walking.

The longer this pattern continues, the more weight that an individual puts on. Therefore, the more that a person watches what they eat and the more time they spend exercising or being active, the less chance they have at becoming obese. Diet plays a large role in the development of obesity; the worse the diet is, the more obese someone becomes. The better the diet is, the more the individual is able to control their weight. Likewise, diet also plays a large role in the prevention of obesity. However, obesity is not always caused by a poor diet and a lack of exercise, and, as such, cannot always be cured by making changes to one’s lifestyle. . Preexisting medical conditions can also trigger excessive weight gain.

Prader-Willi syndrome, for example, can cause obesity as it makes a person feel constant hunger, prompting them to constantly eat. Obesity, when not properly treated, effects many organs throughout the body, which can lead to further medical conditions. The major organ that obesity effects is the heart. The more that a person weighs, the harder the heart has to work to pump blood to the rest of the body. This can lead to heart disease and high blood pressure, but individuals with obesity have also experienced strokes and heart attacks due to obesity, many of which have led to death (Farhat et al 263).

The pancreas is also effected, which is the organ that produces insulin, and is caused by excessive weight. Type 2 diabetes is developed when the body is no longer able to produce insulin, or when the body rejects insulin. This lack of insulin causes the sugar within the body to build up in the bloodstream, making it difficult to manage one’s weight. There is not a single population in the world that is not susceptible to obesity. Adults, children, males, and females are all capable of developing obesity.

It is not so much a population that is effected, but a certain lifestyle. Inactive, listless children can develop obesity, while healthy and active children ward it off, along with the many diseases that come as a result of obesity. Although, the percentage of Americans with obesity, especially children, continue to rise at an alarming rate as parents begin to focus less on the eatings habits and physical activity of their children. While other countries face a similar threat, primarily with their younger population, Americans have prompted a movement to go above and beyond ways in which