The Problem of Obesity - Essay Example

The Problem of Obesity The term “overweight” refers to the proportionate relationship of total weight to height in an individual that “‘deviates’ from ‘standard weight (Brownell, K. and Foreyt, J. 1986: unnumbered introduction). There is an altogether different description or definition of the term obesity. Obesity is based on a set of body calculations, taking into consideration chemical balances in the body that fall within a normal, overweight, underweight, or obese range (1986: 4). Based on the data used to calculate obesity – body mass, body weight, height, body fat, “triceps plus subscapular skin fold,” adjusted to according to gender and age; obesity is thus defined when it exceeds the normal or overweight indicators (1986: 4). But it is not the definition of obesity that this paper is concerned, rather the effects of obesity on the individual and the extended groups of the individual, to include family, friends and work; and the impact of obesity on certain sectors of the economy, specifically healthcare, insurance and industry. The Individual and Obesity Hilde Bruch says that the claim that obesity runs in the family is one that researchers think may a basis in fact (1973: 26). There would be distinct patterns in behavior that would be handed down from generation to generation as family traditions; such as the preparation of food and eating behaviors (1973: 26). In fact, Bruch points out, if a child comes from a family with two obese parents, a seventy percent incidence in obesity is found among the offspring (1973: 26). Indicating that eating behavior is also a family behavior. Although Bruch is quick to point out that “Such studies are based on the often unreliable statements of patients, and the ability to record the potentially obese and the actually obese phenotypes makes interpretation of their significance even more difficult…(1973: 26).” That was in 1973; today we have more extensive research and testing and even genetic tracking information that builds on what Bruch has posited and demonstrate that in some cases – certainly not all – that obesity is in fact an inherited trait. In 1998, Robert Pool writes, researchers in Europe conducting tests on obesity found that with regard to a certain patients, and study of the family, a DNA mutation existed that prevented the brain from detecting leptin, a condition associated with diabetes, which is a hereditary condition; that sent the message to the patient’s brain that the patient’s body was starving (1998: 5). “Thus, in both humans and mice the diabetes mutation produces an obesity almost identical to that produced in the obese mutation (1998: 5). However, it has also been determined that each time the aforementioned appears it has been in “highly inbred families (1998: 5).” The pattern of first cousins intermarrying is a common one in many developing nations (1998: 5). Thus, Bruch may be correct in suggesting that the incidence of obesity is more one of behavior that, if related to anything at all, is related to family traditions and behaviors that are passed on from one generation to the next. Social Implications of Obesity When it comes to the psychological problems associated with obesity, they do, of course, reveal themselves in both sexes. However, the problem of obesity and its impact on women in lieu of society’s overall perception of the woman’s body is a contributing factor to the condition of obesity. There is a lack of empathy towards obese people, but there is an expectation of how a woman should keep her body and how it should appear (Gard, M. and Wright, J. 2004: 154). “’Standards of beauty describe in precise terms the relationship that an individual will have to her own body. They describe her motility, spontaneity, posture, gait, the uses to which she can put her body. They define precisely the dimensions of her physical freedom . . . In our culture not one part of a woman’s body is left untouched, unaltered (2004: 154).” It grows from there the psychological repercussions that obese women suffer. If there is a national symbol in the US for the woman who suffers the conditions society puts on her body as described above, it has to be the actress Kirstie Alley. The actress, who became famous for her role on the television sitcom Cheers, was at that time a svelte and beautiful young woman who, in her personal life, went on to marry, have children, divorce and gain a hundred pounds (reportedly). The public pressure on this actress and the constant photographs that appeared in tabloids on supermarket shelves was such that she was adopted as the national spokesperson for a weight loss company (Adato, A and Stonyoff, N. 2005: 70-74). The “supermodel” Tyra Banks, as a test for material for her new television show, was cosmetically altered from her “supermodel” physique of tall, slim and sexy; to a 350 pound, albeit beautiful, woman (Banks, T. 2005: 116-117). “Banks experienced such disdain first-hand when she went on a series of blind dates in her disguise – and became the first Victoria’s Secret model to be rejected by not one, not two, but three guys (2005: 117).” Banks put on the disguise to get a sense of how obese women feel. “The cruelty,” she says, “of people hurt so much (2005: 117).” Other female stars have done the Tyra Banks disguise during the course of their careers, such as Gwyneth Paltrow, in Shallow Hal (DVD 2001). “On-set, I felt like no sexual energy from men. (In public) people wouldn’t make eye contact with me at all. It was awful,” the star said of her experience (Banks, T. 2005: 117). Julia Robert, too, donned the “fat suit,” for her role in America’s Sweethearts (DVD 2001) (Banks, T. 2005: 117). “The make-up people offered to (let) me sleep through the process. Absolutely not,” the star says, adding, “I didn’t want to wake up fat. I might never want to sleep again (2005: 117).” Such are the sentiments of and response to obese women, not just in America, but around the world today. Life and Health Insurance and Obesity It probably comes as no great surprise to anyone that a condition that mitigates the normal range of life expectancy would be subject to scrutiny when applying for something as mundane as life insurance. Not fair, some may cry, and cite the story – everyone has read it – of the fifty-something year-old daily jogger who had achieved near perfect body mass, weight and height proportion, with a next to zero body fat count, who had supplemented the protein of red meats with other nutritional alternatives; and he/she dropped dead while pulling on those tiny little spandex running shorts. The point remains, that story should never serve as the basis for anyone’s argument as to their own healthy but obese state, and that it is the exception rather than the rule when being considered for something as important as life insurance. The number of stories about the healthy jogger dying (usually of some genetic defect) still is less prevalent than the number of deaths that occur each year that are in fact directly related to obesity. In 1991, a study conducted by St. Lukes/Roosevelt Hospital in New York concluded that “obesity killed 325,000 Americans a year – eight times the number who die of AIDS, and more than the combined deaths of alcoholism, firearms and motor vehicles (Cohen, C and Farley, T 2001: 1).” There are indications that obesity is a condition that is fast approaching, and perhaps will exceed, the annual death rates associated with smoking (2001: 1). For individuals who are applying for life insurance – which seems logical to have for an obese person who has a family and has a higher probability of dying of condition related to obesity while his or her family is still young; getting life insurance that is not through a group benefit plan can be a problem. That fact the people who buy life insurance in America “may not represent the American population. They earn above average income, are Caucasian, are free of serious medical diseases, and are usually engaged in ‘safe occupations (Brownell, K and Foreyt, J 1986: 6).” Cohen and Farley write that “Everything the medical community has prescribed to fight obesity has failed (2001: 1).” Their research also concluded that the burden of individual obesity is shared beyond the obese person’s family and social circle, but that it is shared, too, by the entire American taxpaying population (2001: 1). “The cost of caring for sickened with entirely preventable obesity-related illnesses tops seventy billion dollars per year, about half of which is paid by government (2001: 1).” Meaning government related programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. The Journal of Physical Education reports that certain medical conditions, including cardiovascular disease, are found today in children suffering from obesity (2005: 1). The Journal reports, too, that a study conducted in relation to medical conditions associated with obesity, Type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease, offered shocking results. “Of the 375 second and third grade students in the study, half had none of the risk factors and forty-five percent had one or two of the risk factors (elevated blood pressure being the most common) and five percent had the metabolic syndrome (2005: 1).” Alarming results that further indicate that children living in rural areas are at greater risk than those living in urban areas (2001: 1). The economic burden of adding the numbers of children to healthcare groups requiring medical treatments and interventions that have in the past been dominated by adult groups could be staggering. Those Americans who consider obesity a personal problem should rethink that position as it becomes increasingly clear that obesity is fast becoming an epidemic medical and economic social problem. Obesity as a Billion Dollar Industry “It is difficult to get precise figures, but Americans spend a staggering amount of money and effort each year on attempts to lose some of their extra flesh (Pool 2001: 6).” According to published reports, as of 1995 Americans were devoting more than thirty-three billion dollars a year to losing weight (2001: 6). The result has been a complete lack of success, and in 1999 reports indicated that between 1991 and 1998 there was a fifty percent increase in obesity in America (2001: 6). Obesity has given rise to flourishing cottage industries that have produced no result in curving the increase in the condition that they were created to offset. This really has give rise to the question of whether or not, in an industry with these staggering figures representing the dollars devoted to the problem, if enough effort is being put forth to give the American consumer the most for their dollar. Certainly the increase in the number of obese people in America would indicate not. Conclusion The conclusion rendered here is one that health care professionals have been putting out to the American public since the 1950s (Brownell and Foreyt 1986: 1). That is, that Americans must find a way to alter behaviorally their approaches to diet, exercise and Americans must examine the social trends that contribute to obesity; especially those associated with women’s bodies (1986: 501-529). There might, too, be programs to help train and educate parents that can be included as part of their during pregnancy education that focuses on nutrition and healthy children. The government, which bears the burden in part for the effects of obesity in healthcare, should be encouraged to participate in early childhood programs, especially in rural areas, that focus on early childhood nutrition and good health. The fact is, Americans must confront the problem of obesity, and do it in a way such that it does not give rise to an increase in related eating disorders, like anorexia. The first step towards doing that is education, then, behavior modification. Americans must accept individual responsibility for maintaining and improving their health and eliminating obesity. Works Cited Adato, A. and Stoynoff, N. (2005) ‘Slimmer & Wiser’, People September, 2005: 70-74 Banks, T. (2005) ‘Fat Like Me’ People November, 2005: 116-117 Bray, G. A. (1986). 1 Effects of Obesity on Health and Happiness. In Handbook of Eating Disorders: Physiology, Psychology, and Treatment of Obesity, Anorexia, and Bulimia, Brownell, K. D. & Foreyt, J. P. (Eds.) (pp. null11-44). New York: Basic Books. Retrieved March 8, 2006, from Questia database: Brownell, K. D. & Foreyt, J. P. (Eds.). (1986). Handbook of Eating Disorders: Physiology, Psychology, and Treatment of Obesity, Anorexia, and Bulimia. New York: Basic Books. Retrieved March 8, 2006, from Questia database: Bruch, H. (1973). Eating Disorders: Obesity, Anorexia Nervosa, and the Person Within. New York: Basic Books. Retrieved March 4, 2006, from Questia database: Farley, T., & Cohen, D. (2001, December). Fixing a Fat Nation: Why Diets and Gyms Wont Save the Obesity Epidemic. Washington Monthly, 33, 23+. Retrieved March 8, 2006, from Questia database: Pool, R. (2001). Fat: Fighting the Obesity Epidemic. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved March 2, 2006, from Questia database: Read More