Obesity: A Modern Day Disease - Essay Example

Obesity- A Modern Day Disease A disease is actually made up of two words – Dis & Ease. Whenever a person or an animal is ill at ease or not able to function normally as nature had destined a living being to- the state is known as disease. Traditionally over the course of our development we have come to identify the word ‘disease’ with any ailment which is caused by an infectious agent, a toxin or metabolic disorder. Obesity superficially appears as just a condition which is self inflicted by the individual due to his or her own habits and lifestyle, hence some recommend that it should not be considered a disease. But once we consider the present state of lifestyle which the human civilization has imposed upon itself by technological and social development, we slowly begin to realize that we have become prisoners of our own making. Nature had intended an animal body to be subjected to some degree of physical duress daily in order to keep it functioning in an optimum way. Survival of the fittest is essentially known to be the Darwinian principle of life on Earth. An animal which includes human beings had to hunt for food and water, compete with other life forms for reproduction and sustain the vagaries of nature all bare and naked. The organism which was able to accomplish all these activities was the only one to survive for the genetically specified life span. But what has humanity brought upon itself? When we try to answer this question we should realize how easy our life has become with multiple developments in science and technology over the period human civilization has existed on planet Earth. We have built social cocoons for ourselves where daily needs are met in a systematic manner, and a sense of social equality we call democracy and peaceful coexistence has imposed restrictions on our true nature by making us cogs in the wheel of a huge machine we label as ‘human civilization’ over the span of history. It has become too easy to obtain food, which is a processed, refined and cooked material which satisfies our taste buds according to our cultivated desires. Any quantity is available for consumption depending upon the economic prosperity of the social structure or country one is a part of. The shelter against the weather vagaries are aplenty and we hide ourselves in man made colossal buildings which confine the movements our bodies were intended to undergo by nature. We cover ourselves up with clothes – an invention which shields our bodies from the vagaries of nature and further imprisons our true self. All this development has lead to a state which is unnatural, artificial and damaging to the human as an animal. When we consider all these facts, we come to realize why obesity is a disease which the human society has inflicted upon itself. Living in this artificial world which we call ‘developed’ has actually imprisoned us in a creation of our own making where we live as stifled individuals. Social tensions, economic prosperity and an easy life makes us indulge in excessive consumption of food, reluctance for physical exertion and depending upon machines for locomotion and other chores. The altered state of affairs the body is subjected to makes it grow in an inappropriate way until it starts damaging self by problems caused to the circulatory system, limb movement and coordination ultimately giving rise to ailments which are usually fatal in nature. This is exactly the reason why obesity should be labeled as a disease. Obesity is a man made disease which the present generation suffers from due to no fault of theirs. The lifestyle imposed and promoted by our governments, social and cultural organizations- of which we are essentially the contributors collectively is to blame for the existence of the disease called obesity. We can easily identify the countries and geographical pockets of the world where obesity has spread like an epidemic. Unfortunately it is what we call the democratic and the developed countries of the world which suffer from this malady on a large scale. The major developed regions of the world in the present era like the United States, Europe, Australia, Japan and some parts of South Africa are having increasing number of obese people with the passage of time. Health care services in these countries have to deal with increasing number of obesity related disorders like hypertension, heart ailments, diabetes, colon cancer and osteoarthritis. When we confine ourselves to the United States, the last thirty years have churned up increasing number of obese people with 65% of today’s adult population suffering from one or the other obesity related problems. The number of obese children living in the United States has quadrupled over the last fifty years. The scientific and medical fraternity attributes the occurrence of obesity to certain hormonal and the endocrine disorders. It is true that certain metabolic rhythms and patterns are decided by hormones and endogenous triggers, but the actual facilitation of hormonal impulses and activities come from the nature itself from which we have distanced ourselves. Seldom would we find obese people living in rural areas far from the effects and reach of the modern facilities. People living in farms, forests and environmentally balanced locations are most unlikely to suffer from obesity. Modern technology has give rise to such artificial activities as television viewing, video games and other means of indoor entertainment which coupled with the junk food we are forced to consume gives rise to obesity. Hectic work schedules of working parents and increasing family isolation are contributing to lifestyles with less stress as well as no means for any form of physical activity. We should realize that obesity although a creation of the modern lifestyle is inflicted on the unsuspecting future generations due to the artificial environment that we have created ourselves over the span of history and they are brought into this world accepting it as a norm. Efforts are on to inculcate programs of physical activity and exercise at school as well as workplaces in order to bring people to a more normalized system of life as proposed by nature. Obesity should therefore be considered a disease of modern times which should attract attention of the government as well health authorities to initiate programs for its eradication. Read More