Obesity and Its Effects - Essay Example

"Obesity and Its Effects" is a wonderful example of a paper on metabolic problems. Obesity, defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) equal to 30 or higher. Obesity has an extremely bad influence on the body`s health as it impairs the normal functioning of all organs and promotes the development of different medical conditions. Nowadays, increased obesity in the United States is a serious public problem and a huge challenge for all health care professionals. The overall rate of obesity in the United States has extremely increased during the last three decades. The statistic from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that approximately 78.6 million adults in the United States are obese that is 34.9%. Obesity in the United States became an epidemic and the second cause of preventable death. Also, medical treatment of obesity is highly expensive. For example, medical expenditures for obesity were 11.1 billion dollars in 2009. Appropriate preventable and controlling actions of public medical health care systems may help to decrease the rate of obese people, save hundreds of dollars and increase overall life expectancy.(CDC,2014)

Obesity is associated with serious health disorders. Obese people are at a higher risk to have different problems with cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, urinary, reproductive, and endocrine systems. The most common medical conditions that accompany obesity are coronary heart disease characterized by disorders in normal blood supplements of the heart muscle and can cause a heart attack; the stroke that associated with the development of the plaques in the arteries that decrease the blood flow into the brain; high blood pressure. Also, obesity leads to the development of type 2 diabetes that characterized by an increased level of blood sugar; abnormal blood fats. (NIH,2014)

It can provoke the development of the colon, gallbladder, and breast cancers; osteoarthritis disorders of the joints; gallstones; reproductive problems that include infertility and abnormal periods; sleep apnea, and other disorders of the respiratory system. It is not even a full list of all medical conditions associated with obesity. Therefore, control and prevention of obesity are quite necessary according to the current prevalence of obesity in the United States. (CDC,2014)

            There are several effective ways that may help to decrease the rate of obesity and prevent its further development through the population. They include the next options:

• Formation of the appropriate community environment that promotes and maintains healthy food and beverage intake. Increase the availability of healthy food that meets the requirements of communities; decrease the level of sugary beverage consumption, making clean and potable water available in different public places.
• Creation of a public environment that promotes and maintains physical activity. Development of open public places for safe physical activities.
• Increase the level of early child care will help to decrease and prevent childhood obesity.
• Increase the awareness of the population about healthy lifestyle

(Healthy New York, 2013)

Therefore, obesity is a serious medical condition that can provoke the development of different diseases. Modern sedentary and unhealthy ways of life increase the rate of overall obesity and it became a huge public problem nowadays. It is quite important to develop different preventable strategies that will help to decrease the prevalence of obesity. Changing the environmental factors that lead to the increased obesity, such as consumption of unhealthy high-energy food and decreased physical activity is quite necessary. (Mayo Clinic,2014)

 

 

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