Obesity Epidemic in the US - Research Paper Example

The United s Suffers From An Obesity Epidemic Myth or Reality? The realities that we hold to be true are really just a set of believes that we have developed through numerous influences. What we believe to be reality is in many cases just our perception formed by personal and societal influences. An individual today is influenced by not just his personal prejudice and peers, but by an ever burgeoning media, which via its various means aims to tell the individual its version of a particular story. The media today has various mediums which include TV, Newspapers, Magazines, Internet. Which media players one remains under the influence of, determines his beliefs, and sets his version of reality. `Obesity epidemic is considered to be one of the greatest threats to the American public today, one which can be life-threatening and which warrants huge healthcare expenditure. According to a popular belief around 90 percent of the American population perceives that most of their fellow Americans are overweight. Within that a vast majority of 67 percent thinks that this is a concerning and serious issue while another 90 percent popularly believe that fellow Americans who are overweight tend to face issues such as discrimination or other ill treatment (Taylor, Funk, and Craighill 2006). Compare this to the early 1990s when hardly less than 2 to 3 percent of the public considered obesity to be one of the most important health problems existing in the country (Schlesinger 2005). This research paper aims to explore whether this change in belief has been based on a real, substantial threat, or on a non-existential, ambiguous or exaggerated threat, and if so, how this came to be. The emergence of obesity onto the political agenda was sparked by a surgeon generals report (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2001) on obesity and the extensive media coverage of the issue that followed (Barry et al, 11). In 1999, Allison, Fontaine, Manson, Stevens, VanItallie researched on annual deaths that could be attributed to obesity. They estimated annual deaths to be 280,000. Soon after, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) termed ‘obesity’ an epidemic. Ever since then there has been a conscious media effort and campaigning to convince Americans to lose weight. In 2003, the director of the CDC went so far as to claim that the health impact of obesity would be more severe than the influenza epidemic of the early twentieth century. In 2004 the campaign reached its peak when a subsequent research estimated the figure of obesity-related deaths at 400,000 (Mokdad et al. 2004). The New England Journal of Medicine published a report in 2005 which predicted a decline in life expectancy in the United States as a direct result of obesity (Olshansky, et al. 2005). Even though, a scientifically superior study conducted in 2005 by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health researchers estimated the figure for deaths caused by obesity at a much more modest 26,000 deaths per year, the previous findings were now already arousing fear and concern in public (An Epidemic of Obesity Myths, 19). Overtime other myths regarding obesity developed systematically, which will be discussed later. The myths include `65 Percent of Americans Are Overweight or Obese, `Obesity Will Shorten Life Expectancy, `You Cant Be Overweight and Healthy, `Obesity Has Made Diabetes Epidemic and Made American Public Vulnerable to Cancer. Challenges to the dominant view of overweight and obesity are expected. Overweight and obesity are not just medical facts; they are social issues that various groups, industries, and "moral entrepreneurs" vie to define (Becker 1963; Sobal 1995). The criteria for deciding whether a person in obese, overweight, normal, or underweight is decided by Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is a calculation based on an individuals weight and height, where a BMI over 30.0 indicates "obesity" and a BMI between 25.0 and 29.9 indicates "overweight." According to the CDC, a "normal" BMI is between 20.0 and 24.9. The CDC relies on the BMI because, as it claims, "for most people, it correlates with their amount of body fat." The measure has been criticized as a misleading indicator of body fat, especially for very muscular individuals and pregnant or lactating women (e.g., American Obesity Association 2002; Prentice and Jebb 2001). According to the BMI, Brad Pitt, Mel Gibson and GeorgeÿBushÿ are overweight, while Russell Crowe, GeorgeÿClooneyÿand Tom Cruise are "obese". Also a 2005 study by Flegal, Graubard, Williamson, Gail suggested that it is only after BMI reaches 35 that there is a meaningful increase in mortality, and that people in the ``overweight category (BMI between 25 and 30) actually have the lowest rate of mortality (Flegal et al., 2005). The use of the arbitrary ranges for BMI thus has its opponents who argue that they need to be more reasonable in order to be more reflective of the truer picture. Thus it is no surprise that most of the Americans fall either in the obese or in the overweight category due to impractical ranges. Furthermore, a study published in 2010 in the Journal of the American Medical Association on obesity in children and adolescents, and the other about adult obesity - also disputes with the claim of an obesity epidemic. Both studies are based on information from the National Health Examination Survey which fairly represents American population. The researchers had 3,281 children and adolescents and 219 infants and toddlers, in addition to 5,555 adult women and men in their study. The study of children and adolescents looked at their body mass index (BMI) at five intervals between 1999 and 2008, the same decade during which child obesity was widely described as Americas foremost public health problem. The results indicate that during none of the five periods was there a statistically significant relation. The researchers were of the view that obesity levels may have settled down. Research Reporting: Medical research is done by scientists, who even if at times are not thorough enough in their researchs sample size, are at least experts in their field and report findings professionally. However, these findings are reported ahead by journalists, who lack the training to fully comprehend the findings and accurately report to the public, while at the same time selling them at best possible rates. "The cultural authority of the scientific enterprise is based on its stance of objectivity and rationality, but as patients become more likely to seek medical information directly (Schlesinger, 2002), they are more likely to get their information from news sources than from scientific studies" (Carlsson, 2000; Nelkin, 1987). Thus we will discuss how medias reporting of scientific research can distort findings. Perceptions can be altered by framing. Framing is the selection and emphasis of ``some aspects of a perceived reality, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition (Entman, 1993:52). When reporting on science, journalists have been shown to favor imagery over content, cover research as a series of dramatic events, and report on provocative theory as if it were fact (Gieryn and Figert, 1990; Nelkin, 1987:30). "News also tends to simplify complex social processes in ways that emphasize melodrama, that turn a complex set of phenomenon into a morality tale (Schudson, 2003:48). Science reporting is expected to be especially uncritical and reliant on scientists due to reverence for science, complexity of materials, and lack of scientific training (Nelkin, 1987). By referring to extreme examples as illustrative of the larger category of ``overweight or ``obese, the news media magnify the perceived extent and scope of the ``obesity epidemic. The news media are more likely than science to ascribe individual blame for weight. Saguy and Almeling research sample shows that these patterns are partly due to the reporters selective attention to studies that lend themselves most readily to dramatization and a focus on individual blame. At times, scientists may also use drama to attract public attention. As Edgley and Brissett have argued: "Few scientific studies accompany their cassandras with a sense of perspective-a gentle reminder that there is a difference between statistical and personal risk. Perhaps we do this because the language of crisis and imminent doom seem in a mass society to be the only way to get anyones attention." (Edgley and Brissett, 1990:268) Thus there can be a tendency for claims makers to exaggerate urgency in the early stages of social problem formation when the competition for scarce public attention is fierce (Downs, 1972; see also Glassner, 2000). However, chances of dramatization are much less in scientific studies than in news reports. Saguy and Almelings research analyzed samples of news reports and scientific studies of 1999 and 2003. In neither year did the scientific articles use war metaphors. Yet, 46% of the 1999 news sample and 27% of 2003 news reporting used war metaphors such as `time bomb to describe obesity. In many instances, the press used poetic license to paint a picture of sloth and gluttony. ``Americans are gobbling down more calories than ever, resulting in a 50 percent increase in the nations obesity rate." This led them to conclude that the dramatization was being done by journalists. Research supports the contention that scientists work as ``parajournalists (Schudson, 2003), writing their studies keeping the journalists in mind. They then frame their research via press releases and interviews with journalists. A reward structure is in place whereby alarmist studies are more likely to get media coverage, thereby making scientists encouraged to present their findings in as dramatic light as possible. Metaphors Barry, Brescoll, Brownell, and Schlesinger have pointed out in their research that the use of metaphors may be primarily significant in determining public opinion and public policy as a consequence (10). Some of the comparisons that may be drawn for obesity could be, likening obesity to other "sinful" behaviors that evoke the opprobrium of the biblical injunctions against sloth and gluttony (Kersh and Morone 2002); in which obesity is treated as a form of disability, which triggered the usual norms of protection against discrimination prevailing in the society (Saguy and Riley 2005). Barry et.al also discussed that the metaphors that people recognize to understand why in the United States obesity rates were constantly rising have turned into powerful predictors of existing support for the national and public policies that are directly aimed at curbing obesity within the country(38). As it was inferred, the political ideology and partisan affiliation were less important predictors of policy support in the obesity domain compared with other more ideologically charged (e.g., abortion policy) domains. Their research findings were also consistent with work by Oliver and Lee (2005) which highlighted the fact that those respondents who believed obesity to be a direct result of one’s personal choices were more reluctant to support government intervention when it came to affecting their private behavior. These individuals do not usually like government campaigns which affect particular individuals specifically. They believe in taking responsibility for themselves and their healthcare. However, with United States having an increased public healthcare system, more people would be concerned how their taxes are spent, and if it is being excessively spent on particular individuals. Paul Campos discusses in his book `The Obesity Myth, that the obesity epidemic in the United States is more of a cultural hysteria and moral panic. Campos points towards the government and the health establishment of deceiving people into believing that losing weight makes you healthy, where as this is far from the truth. He also establishes that the research being conducted on obesity is most often sponsored by the diet and drug industry and that its a cycle that funds itself. Thus by creating a false or at the very least an exaggerated sense of reality of an `obesity epidemic, the government agencies campaign to cut down on obesity business for the multi-billion dollar drug industry, and the drug industry channeling funds to sponsor particular researches which reinforce the false reality, the American public has been led to believe into a myth that doesnt exist, but has been propagated successfully by instrumental tools such as the media. The widespread social, economic and political consequences of this are instrumental as this false perception is now part of the American social fabric and is also influencing consumer behavior. It is also discussed that by the use of more investigative and professional journalism, publics quest for truth and constant probing, the effect of propaganda can be contained. Works Cited Basham, Luik. Four Fat Myths About Obesity And Cancer, Spiked Saguy, Almeling. Fat in the Fire? Science, the News Media, and the “Obesity Epidemic”. Sociological Forum, Vol. 23, No. 1, March 2008 Kwan, Framing the Fat Body: Contested Meanings between Government, Activists, and Industry. University of Houston Barry, Brescoll, Brownell, Schlesinger. Obesity Metaphors: How Beliefs about the Causes of Obesity Affect Support for Public Policy. The Milbank Quarterly, Vol. 87, No. 1, 2009 (pp. 7–47) Campos. The Obesity Myth: Why America’s Obsession with Weight is Hazardous to Your Health. New York: Gotham Books, 2004. The New England Journal of Medicine, May 24 1990. Volume . 332, Number 21 Katz. Obesity…Be Dammed!: What It Will Take to Turn the Tide. Harvard Health Policy Review. Vol. 7, No. 2, Fall 2006 Lawrence, Framing Obesity: The Evolution of News Discourse on a Public Health Issue. The Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy Balko. Government Gets Fat Fighting Obesity. Cato Institute Basham, Luik. The Myth of an "Obesity Tsunami”. Cato Institute Sobal, Jeffery. 1995. ‘‘The Medicalization and Demedicalization of Obesity,’’ In Donna Maurer and Jeffery Sobal (eds), Eating Agendas: pp. 67–90. New York: Aldine de Gruyter Nelkin, Dorothy. 1987. Selling Science: How the Press Covers Science and Technology. New York: Freeman. Edgley, Charles, and Dennis Brissett. 1990. ‘‘Health Nazis and the Cult of the Perfect Body: Some Polemic Observations,’’ Symbolic Interaction 13: 2: 257–279. Read More