Obesity Epidemic and Legislative Responses - Research Paper Example

Obesity can be perceived as an “excess of body fat” that may often lead to serious health impairments and also affects the longevity of a person’s life (Obesity, 2004, p.11). Body fat, measured in terms of body mass index (BMI), can be calculated by dividing the body weight of an individual in kilograms by his or her “height in meters squared” (p.12). On the other hand, the Royal College of Physicians defines obesity as a “disorder” entailing the accumulation of excess body fat due to which their health can be “adversely affected” (Waumsley & Mutrie, 2011, p.5). Obesity occurs when people’s “energy intake exceeds” the amount of energy they expend over some time and it also depends on other aspects such as “biopsychosocial and environmental factors” (p.5). Long periods of “inactivity,” coupled with these factors, and indiscriminate eating habits enhance the chances of a person becoming obese (p.5). On the other hand, heredity or the “characteristic traits” transmitted from parents to children can also be a contributing factor to the occurrence of obesity (Andersson & Walley, 2011, p.25). The World Health Organisation recognizes obesity as a “global epidemic” and their estimates show that by the year 2015 nearly “2.3 billion adults” will be overweight while another “700 million” will be obese worldwide (Clinical Commissioning Policy, 2013, p.5). The evidence further suggests that obesity mainly affects three areas of people’s life such as physical domain in terms of the weight and size of the body, psychological problems based on poor body image, and “metabolic effects” entailing a variety of co-morbidities (Sorensen, 2011, p.91). Thus, it transpires that this epidemic has far-reaching consequences in human life in terms of their physical and mental well-being as well as mortality.

Research studies also find that the problem of obesity has become a “population-level” issue as food security has increased in modern times (Ulijaszek & Lofink, 2006, p.337). They further attribute the emergence of obesity as a global problem to economic, social, and technological changes as well as the transformation in “diet and physical activity patterns” (p.338).