Modern Malnutrition in the United Kingdom - Term Paper Example

 Modern Malnutrition Introduction Obesity due to malnutrition is a very common phenomenon in the modern society. Many people in the world are susceptible to several diseases because of inadequate diet. Acute malnutrition and chronic malnutrition are the two common types of malnutrition. Acute malnutrition is caused due to a sudden period of nutrients and food shortage in the body however chronic malnutrition is caused because of a prolonged period of inadequate access to micro and macro nutrients. Chronic malnutrition is thus dangerous and may have devastating effects in the health of human beings. It has been significantly observed that the western civilization is experiencing the ill effects of malnutrition. People in the United Kingdom and United States prefer to consume fast food rather than fruits and vegetables that contain important ingredients that is required for human body development. People between the age group of 28-35 gain extra fat especially in United Kingdom because of high consumption of fast food. Children who suffer from malnutrition due to insufficient food and ingredient intake are at increased risk for kidney and heart diseases. This essay discusses the current level of eating disorders and obesity in United Kingdom. Discussion Poor diet is one of the major risks for UK because several evidences have been brought forward related to the ill effects of malnutrition. It has been estimated that in the United Kingdom about 10 million people suffer from poverty. The main reason for malnutrition in children and adults in United Kingdom is because of extensive poverty. People do-not have access to proper food due to price rise of products and inability of people to buy them. Apart from poverty there is another factor that has affected health and life of people in United Kingdom (Hu, 2008, p.15). People of almost all age group have a tendency to consume junk food from restaurants. Canned food and packaged food lead to serious health problems and obesity (WHO, 2000, p.17). It has been observed and recorded that in the modern world there has been a paradigm shift in the eating habit of people. In countries like United Kingdom and United States people like consuming fast food instead of fresh vegetables and fruits. Children and teenagers have changed their trend and they prefer going to KFC, Subway and McDonald to hang out with their friends. According to a research conducted by the Department of Health (England) on Obesity and health factors, it has been reported that people who have lower income eat processed food most of the time. Processed food contains high fat and salt and is not healthy for regular consumption (Duchovny, 2011, p.79). People who live on State benefits generally do-not consume vegetables, fruits, fish and cereals that contain high-fibre. This has become a major concern for the health and safety department of United Kingdom. People even after knowing the circumstances go for easily available processed food in order to save their time and money. In the year 2011, a review was conducted regarding development of cancer due to poor diet (gay, 2006, p.22). According to the report about 10% of cancers may occur as a result of inadequate diet. Human body requires a significant proportion of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrate and fat. It has been observed that about half of the deadly stomach diseases are caused due to less consumption of fruits, vegetables and some diseases occur due to over consumption of red meat (Kelly, 2006, p.95). In the United Kingdom fast food consumption is very common. People from different age groups prefer consumption of fast food compared to regular food which has led to several complications in their mind and body. Inappropriate diet can lead to heart problems, stomach diseases, nerve problems, tooth problems and inappropriate blood circulation. It has also been observed that due to lack of access to proper food secretion of hormones do-not happen properly and these problems slowly lead to formation of incurable and complex diseases in the body. Obesity in the United Kingdom has become one of the most important concerns for government. According to a statistical analysis it has been recorded that obesity is increasing tremendously (Alvarez, 2004, p.19): It is clear that the percentage of obesity rose tremendously in the last few decades. The obesity rate in men was 13% in the year 1993. However it increased to 22% in the year 2009. Obesity in women has also increased significantly from 16% to 24% in the last few years (Figure 1). The reason behind such high rate of obesity is huge consumption of packaged and fast food. In United Kingdom most of the working class people depend on packaged food and canned drinks. In order to save time and money people consume packaged food which lack in proper nutrition required for the body (Eriksen, 2010, p.12). There are certain examples that prove that obesity is not directly proportional to poverty because most of the rich women have the tendency to become obese however most of the working class men are obese. Obesity depends on the body mass index for human beings. If the BMI of an individual is more than required that person is suffering from obesity and is likely to catch other diseases (Koplan, 2005, p.19). Obesity gives rise to other problems like severe heart diseases and breathing problems. Overweight also increases the chances of diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis and mental problems. The most important problem in front of UK is the rise of obesity in teenagers (Cameron, 2005, p.56). The future citizens are suffering from this problem on a high scale. Hence immediate steps would be needed to overcome the consequences that can be led from obesity. High obesity in people and overweight has resulted in many death reports in the past few years. The graph below shows the risk of mortality with the rise of weight or BMI. Obesity occurs in people due to several factors including gender, ethnicity, genetics and socioeconomic deprivation. Obesity also occurs due to consumption of inappropriate food as discussed. The factors are vulnerable and obesity results in high mortality rate. The graph above shows the risk of death against high body mass index. An obese man is five times more prone to have type 2 diabetes compared to a healthy man (Bagchi, 2012, p.89). Similarly an obese woman is thirteen times more prone to gain diabetes compared to a healthy woman (Figure 2). An obese man is three times more prone to gain cancer or heart disease compared to a healthy man. An obese woman is four times more prone to have cancer or heart problems than a healthy woman. The risk of death from different diseases is more because high obesity can also lead to destruction of immune system (Crawford, 2010, p.82). The chances of chronic diseases are extremely high for obese people do-not change their diet or their present standard of living. Doctors and researchers are worried about the latest trends in the society of United Kingdom because negligence in proper consumption of food has become a threat and many people have lost their life. Children also get affected with many problems of obesity from a very small age and lose their life (Pena, 2000, p.106). In order to reduce the risks from obesity government of United Kingdom has implemented many policies. The health schemes have taken initiative to reduce the risks of pregnant women due to improper nutrition. People who do-not have access to proper food like vegetables and fruits are provided the same. Government has also taken initiative in reducing the fast food business so that people can be saved from the ill effects of fast food and canned food. Packaged food after the expiry date is not allowed by government to enter market (Wexler, 2004, p.48). Strict laws and regulations have been incorporated to reduce the challenges especially in England and Wales because of high obesity level. Government has also taken initiative to make people understand the importance of fresh food and vegetables with the help of television advertisements. In the year 2011, government of UK invested huge amount of money behind the Research and Development process (Stem, 2009, p.254). In the year 2008, 98.8 million pound was invested on obesity by NHS Bedfordshire. Almost every year huge amount of capital is invested by behind the treatment of people as well. Obesity has risen after the year 2002 and still affecting the western society. The citizens of United States of America are highly obese. About 28% of the population in US is suffering from diseases occurred from obesity (Karak, 2005, p.52). There are several attempts that have taken by government in order to protect people from the ill effects of obesity. Despite of several attempts, huge number of people consumes fast food regularly which is not a health stand. There are many fast food centres in United Kingdom; they sell their advertisements on a high scale to attract consumers (Odea, 2010, p.77). The government provided television and newspaper advertisements are very less compared to the advertisements of products. This might the main reason that people continue to consume fast food because they are unaware of the drastic ill effects of fast food in the body. Most of the fast food centres in United Kingdom advertise about their products on a very high scale. Children are prone to television advertisements and they are the worst sufferers. From a very small age children have a tendency to become obese if they consume fast food often. Adults and children consume more than 50% saturated fat which is very high. Fruits and vegetables that are recommended by doctors are not consumed in the adequate level (Ali, 2012, p.21). Poor diets also results in anti-social activities because poor nutrition leads to abnormal secretion of body fluids. The brain cells do-not work in proper manner and may lead to anger and excitement. Lack of proper nutrition in the body has affected the western society in a terrible manner and positive steps are needed to be implemented in order to overcome the consequences (Treadwill, 2009, p.21). Government of United Kingdom has already implemented many laws in order to deliver good products to people from the market. The consequences of modern malnutrition still remain a matter of concern because of high consumption of fat containing products. The barriers of healthy eating habits are poor accessibility to healthy and fresh food, poor numeracy and literacy skills, low debt and income, high advertisements of fast food restaurants and food labelling. These factors have resulted increase in obesity and other eating disorders. In order to remove the problems completely from the society people will have to understand the effects of fast food on the body (Mahmood, 2012, p.69). Lack of proper nutrition and poverty go simultaneously however eating junk food instead of fresh food should be the solution of the problem. The costing of junk food is definitely less compared to fresh fruits and vegetables in many places but consumption of junk food only leads to more expense if any health related disorder occurs (Kazaks, 2012, p.7). Conclusion Based on the above discussion it is clear that current level health disorders and obesity occurs due to consumption of junk food on a large scale. Many doctors give advice to people to have fresh food and vegetables in order to provide the body required amount of nutrients. Fruits and vegetables contain important vitamins and minerals that can help in development of physical and mental abilities. Government has definitely taken remedial steps in order to reduce the consumption of junk food by people however several other steps can be taken to preserve public health. Government can impose high taxes on junk food so that the purchasing power of people reduces and people can change their mind towards consumption of fresh food. Fruits and vegetables provide the appropriate calories that human body requires to produce energy. Excessive consumption of red meat and junk food can result in high and abnormal energy production which results in formation of extra fat in the body if not used completely. Hence it can be said that combination of diet dominated by salt, sweet and fatty food is inappropriate and it results in modern malnutrition. References Ali, N., 2012. The Obesity Reality. London: sage. Alvarez, A., 2004. Morbid Obesity. London: Routledge. Bagchi, D., 2012. Obesity. New York: McGraw-Hill. Bedford., 2014. Adult Obesity. [Online]. Available at: http://www.bedford.gov.uk/health_and_social_care/bedford_borough_jsna/living__working_well/adult_obesity.aspx. [Accessed on July 30, 2014]. Cameron, N., 2005. Childhood Obesity. London: Routledge. Crawford, D., 2010. Obesity Epidemiology. London: Sage. Duchovny, N., 2011. Fast food and obesity. London: FT Press. Eriksen, M., 2010. Cause of Obesity. London: Kogan page. Gay, K., 2006. Am I Fat? New York: Springer. Hu, F., 2008. Obesity. London: Routledge. Kazaks, A., 2012. Nutrition and Obesity. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Kelly, E., 2006. Obesity. London: Sage. Koplan, J., 2005. Preventing Childhood Obesity. Stamford: Cengage Learning. Karak, V., 2005. Preventing Childhood Obesity. New York: Springer. Mahmood, T., 2012. Obesity. New York: Oxford Business Press. Odea, J., 2010. Childhood Obesity Prevention. London: Routledge. Pena, M., 2000. Obesity and Poverty. London: Cambridge University Press. Poverty., 2010. Obesity in UK. [Online]. Available at: < http://www.poverty.org.uk/63/index.shtml>. [Accessed on July 30, 2014]. Stem, J., 2009. Obesity. Stamford: Cengage Learning. Treadwell, H., 2009. Health Issues. New jersey: Pearson. Wexler, B., 2004. Weight in America. London: Routledge. WHO., 2000. Obesity. New York: WHO Publications. Appendix Figure 1: Obesity Figure (Source: Poverty, 2010, p.1) Figure 2: Increasing Risk of Morality (Death) with Rising BMI (Source: Bedford, 2014, p.1) Read More