Obesity - Symptoms and Causes - Outline Example

Obesity is an epidemic in the USA in general and Ohio in particular.

Source info: Quote: “Over two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese, and one in three Americans is obese” (MedicineNet, 2012, p. 1).
Source info: An obesity report published by the Middletown Journal has declared the state of Ohio as the 10th fattest state in the U.S (Latta, 2009).

1. Source info: Quote: “33.3 percent of youth in Ohio aged 10 to 17 are overweight” (Latta, 2009).
2. Thesis Statement: Obesity is an epidemic in the USA in general and Ohio in particular, which can be reduced by adopting radical but effective solutions such as increasing the health insurance premium rates of obese individuals, increase in taxes, surgery, and mandatory employee fitness tests are necessary.
3. Causes of Obesity

Causes of obesity are both genetic and habitual/behavioral.

1. Genetic causes of obesity

Families with family members having similar kinds of looks, e.g. chubby or skinny are very common to be found. The tendency of an individual to become overweight or obese is significantly determined by the physique of the parents.

1. Source info: Quote: “Genetic studies have shown that the particular set of weight-regulating genes that a person has is by far the most important factor in determining how much that person will weigh” (The Daily Beast, 2009, p. 1).
2. Source info: Quote: “Common forms of obesity have a strong hereditary component” (Lyon and Hirschhorn, 2005).
3. Source info: Quote: “Our genes and our environment both affect the setting of this ‘weight thermostat’ and can cause a calorie imbalance” (info.cancerresearchuk.org, 2009).
4. Habitual/behavioral causes of obesity

Obesity is also a result of the activities and habits of an individual. Factors like the type of food one like and the amount of exercise one does burn the fat have an important role in determining one’s body-mass-index. Eating junk food is a common cause of obesity.
Obesity exposes an individual to a myriad of problems of personal health and relationships and socioeconomic risks. Foremost, obese people are vulnerable to potentially life-threatening diseases owing to a low immune system. These include insulin resistance, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke, high cholesterol, heart attack, gallstones, gout, osteoarthritis, and cancer. Moreover, obese individuals face a number of challenges such as the risk of losing their jobs. Obesity affects the productivity of an individual as they find it harder to cope with the strenuous workload.
Surgery is an effective and better but costlier option of getting rid of obesity for chronic obese patients than drug treatment, but obese people can afford it if health insurance premiums for them are raised.
a. Quote info: “some employers have opened fitness centers, conducted health education programs, and even have provided incentives for employees who participate in proven weight loss programs” (Ceniceros 2).
Obesity is growing in the USA and is the cause of many health and socioeconomic risks for the people. To fight obesity, several ways can be adopted some of which include raising the insurance premiums for obese people and taxing obese people more. These measures are demotivating and discouraging factors for people to gain weight. In addition, surgery can be used to remove fat. Employers must provide their employees with subsidized gyms whose use should be made obligatory upon all employees. Read More