The Impact of Obesity on the Health of Men in the UK - Research Paper Example

Today, obesity is a major health problem at the global status. In the U.K. it is growing rapidly as well. Every year increasing number of individuals are diagnosed with several problems associated with obesity. Obesity is linked to several diseases both physiological and psychiatric. However males tend to suffer more since it not only their physical and mental health that is hampered but they also tend to lose their fertility and hamper their sexual life. To understand the prevalence of obesity associated problems among the U.K. population I used a semi-structure questionnaire to obtain qualitative and quantitative data of 22 obese male subjects. The data were analyzed and it was established that most of the obese males were afflicted with several disease such as CVD (83%) and diabetes II (45%). Problems with the psychiatric health was also established where most subjects reported depression and anxiety. Loss of sexual health was prevalent among males above the age of 35 years. I recommend the control of food habit and inclusion of activities to reduce risk of obesity associated disorders. Introduction Obesity is a growing health problem today which is growing rapidly and is likely to reach an epidemic rate in the coming years. It has the ability to affect anyone irrespective of age or gender. Obesity by itself reduces the quality of life while in addition to this obesity has a negative impact on the health of the patient. Obesity is directly related to several problems and increases the rates of morbidity and mortality rates. It causes the onset of various diseases such as osteoarthritis, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, development of gall stones etc. In the recent years, research has focused more on the negative impacts on men since male obesity especially in their reproductive age has triples in the least three decades (Palmer, 2012). It creates a problem for men especially since obesity takes a toll on the male hormones, male sexual capability and also on the prostate gland. Besides creating problems from a physiological point of view but also leads to several psychological problems such as depression. Literature review Extensive evidences exist that shows the negative impact of obesity in men on reproduction and fertilization. Nguyen et al in their study on the effect of male obesity on reproductive health of the couple have shown that the rate of reproduction is much lower for a couple where the male is obese while the female partner is normal in comparison to a couple where both he partners have normal weight (Nguyen et al,2007). Obesity is one of the most important contributing factors towards cardiovascular disorders. Obese patients runs higher risk of developing cardiovascular problems and have an increased risk of mortality as well as morbidity and decrease in average expectancy of life. In addition to directly casing development of heart diseases it also negatively impacts other risk factors hypertension, glucose tolerance, dyslipidemia and increase of adipose tissue. Hubert et al, investigated the degree of obesity and rate of cardiovascular diseases. The researchers used subjects from the original Framington Heart Study from which 5209 men and women were selected for the study. In the obese subject, disease occurrence over the age of 26 years was investigated and occurrence of disease such as coronary problems ad congestive heart failure was predicted. The results confirmed that weight gain after adolescence especially during the young adult age conveyed an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (Hubert et al, 1983). It has already been established that obesity affects the overall quality of life in those who are affected. In addition to this obesity also lowers the health-related quality of life in patients who already suffer from chronic illnesses such as cardiac problems and other physical problems and also with chronic psychiatric illnesses. The effects of obesity on the quality of life related to health condition was investigated by Katz et al in 2000. The researchers surveyed 2931 patients with chronic illnesses and psychiatric problem using a questionnaire. After analyzing the survey data, it was concluded that patients with all classes of obesity (Class I, Class II and Class III) showed lower scores of physical function when compared to other patients with chronic problems but do not suffer from obesity (Katz et al, 2000). Furthermore, obese patients also showed lower life quality perceptions as well. Research studies have shown that there exists a relation between obesity and depression. However which comes first is often debatable. Sudden increase in weight, reduction inactivity and subsequent loss of self-confidence leads to depression which again may initiate binge eating. A cohort study longitudinal study was conducted in Northern Finland to investigate the association between obesity and depression. The study was a part of the 1966 Birth Cohort Study with follow up studies at 14 years and 31 years. A total of 8154 were surveyed with prior consent. Information about their weight and depression based on certain indicators were procured. It was seen that people who were obese at 14 years i.e. in their growing years were more likely to be depressed at the age of 31 years. Thus the authors concluded that obesity during the adolescence or the growing years of one’s life is associated with development of depression later life. The results of the study also confirmed that abdominal obesity especially in the male subjects was closely related to concomitant depression cases (Herva et al, 2006) Methodology A questionnaire based survey was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire consisting of twenty questions. The questions had been included for procuring both qualitative and quantitative dataset for further analysis. Open ended question had been included to help us know our subject better and also identify any new phenomena associated with the disease that could be of importance for out anaylsis.35 male subject between the age group of 20 to 60 were selected. They were selected if they looked visually fat or obese to me. Inclusion of subjects from several age groups assured a uniform representation of the country in the selected sample. It would also help us obtain an idea about the prevalence of the diseases between different age groups. The subjects included both smokers, non-smokers, drinkers and non-drinkers. All the subjects selected were from different educational backgrounds, economic class and professions. After proper calculation using the BMI and height of each participant, the subjects who were obese were selected. The final number of subjects that we used for our analysis was 22. 13 were smokers and 9 were non-smokers. 12 of the subject were alcoholics, 3 drank occasionally while 7 were non-drinkers. Analysis The analysis was done using both qualitative and quantitative approach. Qualitative approach was used to describe the various factors linked to the problem. Factors such as economy, social factor, genetic diseases, medical conditions and education were mostly a part of this qualitative description. Statistical analysis was done using the quantitative dataset to acquire more accurate knowledge about the prevalence of the problem among the male population in UK. R software was used to generate some of the graphs that showed association and comparison between the selected data. The statistical analysis results were also utilized to understand the relation of one factor to another in disease causation and to compare the contribution of different factors in causing the problem. Objectives The prime objectives of conducting the survey and analyzing the acquired data is to associate obesity and health problems among the male population in U.K. Other objective that I wish to meet are: 1. Understand the prevalence of obesity among the males and understand the age-related prevalence of the problem. 2. Gain an understanding of the affect obesity has on different health problems. 3. Identify the potential risk factors which may initiate obesity and subsequently affect the health of the male subject. 4. Determine the link between psychological problems and obesity. RESULTS The 22 data set that had been selected were thoroughly analyzed. The quantitative datasets were used for statistical analysis using both Excel and R software. It was seen that 86% of the population has medical problems of some kind or the other. These were mostly heart related problems along with other physiological problems such as diabetes, arthritis. 73% of the male subjects showed occurrence of cardiovascular problems compared to a mere 27% who did not have any problems with their heart. 45% of the subjects suffered from diabetes. Most of the subjects suffering from diabetes were aged above 35 years while occurrence of heart problems was uniform between all the ages. Upon analyzing the existence of problems with sexual activity it was established that most obese men within the age group of 30-50 years faced problems with their sexual life. The psychological wellbeing of the subjects was also measured and analyzed. 82% of the subjects talked about being depressed most of the times. Discussion Upon completion of analyzation of botht he quantitative and qualitative data we may conclude that obesity and medical conditions associated with obeisty is well prevalent among the male popualtion in U.K. The Reuslts show that several kinds of medical conditions associated with obeisty is present among the subjects. The main contributors towrads the obesity is anot only chidlhood obesity where most of the respoindent sin the survey have confirmed that theyw ere either overweight or obese during their teenage years, but also because eof their sendentary lifestyle. It is known that an active lifestyle ha sthe potential to reduce risks of both obeisty and diabtees II (Hu, 2003). Most of the repsondents have a sedentary lifestyle owing to their profession and spend too much time siitng at just one place and working. This form of inactivity combined with eating leads to weight increase. Furthremroe,r the sedentary lifestyle of the subjects could also be one of the major factors of the high percnetage of CVD rates among them since inactivity reduces the ability fo the heart to cope up with stress and makes it weaker (Barnes, 2012). Another rmajor contributing factor is smoking and drinking, both of which contributed significantly to weight increase. However, the nature of association between these activites and obesity is really complex (Gatineau and Mathrani, 2012). Sexual dysfuntion especially among the middle aged men is highly established by the data. Research has shown that obese males tend to have erectile dysfunction and have low levels of male hormones such as testosterone (Esposito et al, 2008). All of this, lowers the sexual capability of males with obesity problems and cause problems in their sex lives. Obesity is known to cause other problems such as psychiatric and behavioral problems.Most of the subjects surveyed have confirmed feelings of depression and anxiety and research has already established a well recorded relation between obesity and mental disorders. Feeling sof depression and anxiety occur in the subjects mainly owing to low self-confidence, feelings of rejection and guilt and being discrimated (Lykouras and Michopoulas, 2011). Gain, lower sexuality also hamper stheir mental state and contribute to the depressive mood. From the qualitative data, it is confirmed that most of the obeisty subjects are educated and are well aware of the the various problems associate diwth obesity, so we cannot say that lack of awareness is the cause at all. It is possible that eating habits and lifestyle problesm are the major contrubtors to obeisty and subsequently to obeisty related diseases. Recommendation After analyzaing the data, we get a general idea about the prevalence of various obesity associated problems among the U.K. male obese population. Analyzing the qualitative data I conclude that it is not the lack of awareness or education that leads to a obese health status sinc emost of the subject already were aware of the negative implications of obeisty. Therefore, it must be bad food habits and a sedentary lifestyle that are primarily responsible for obesity. Secondly, I recommende that obese people need to go for a annual helath check up to help in detection and diagnosis of helath problems at their earliest and ensure proper medical attention. Next, since most of the middle aged males tend tolose their sexual functionality, I would recommend that obese men above 35 years should seek consultation of physician and check their fertilcity. Latly, since reasaech has shown a positive association between alcohol, smoking and obesity, I would advice obese males to abstain from alcohol and smoking in order to reduce risk of obesity associate dpronlems and also reduce risk of cancer. Appendix 1 SURVEY SHEET 1. Name: 2. Age: 3. Weight: 4. Height: 5. Education level: 6. Occupation: 7. Marital Status: Married/ Unmarried 8. Approximate annual income- 9. Do you Smoke? Y/N If yes : Since: Number of cigarettes per day: 10. Do you drink? Y/N If yes: Since: Number Cigarettes per day: 11. How would you describe you day? Do you think it’s more active or on the sedentary side? 12. Do you think or feel you’re obese? Y/N 13. Can you remember how much you might have weighed when you were 12-16 years? 14. Was anyone in your family obese? Y/N If yes, who? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 15. Do you think it is necessary to eat healthy? Why? 16. Do you think weight creates a problem in life? If so, how? 17. Did you know obesity is linked to many diseases? Y/N 18. Do you suffer from any medical problems now? Y/N 19. What kind of medical problems do you suffer from? 20. Do you have feeling of depression or anxiousness? Y/N If yes, under what circumstances? 21. Do you what is binge eating? Have you indulged in it? Y/N If yes, under what circumstances 22. Do you have any history of being diagnosed with any psychological problem, like mild depression? Y/N If Yes, then what: 23. Have you had any problems with your sex life? References Barnes,A.S. (2012). Obesity and Sedentary Lifestyles. Texas Heart institute Journal, 39 (2): 224-227. Esposito, K. et al (2008). Obesity and sexual dysfunction, male and female. International Journal of Impotence Research20 :358-265. Gatineau M and Mathrani S. (2012). Obesity and alcohol: an overview. Oxford: National Obesity Observatory. Herva,A et al. (2006). Obesity and depression: results from the longitudinal Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort Study. International, 30 :520-527. Hubert,H.B. et al (1983). Obesity as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease: a 26- year follow-up of participants in the Framingham Heart Study. Circulation, 67: 968-977. Hu,F.B. (2003). Sedentary lifestyle and risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Lipids, 38(2): 103- 108. Katz, D.A. et al .(2000).” Impact of Obesity on Health-related Quality of Life in Patients with Chronic Illness.” Journal of General Internal Medicine, 15 (11): 789-796. L, Lykouras and J, Michopoulas.(2011). Anxiety disorders and obesity. Psychiatriki, 22 (4): 307- 313. Nguyen,R.H. et al .(2007).”Men’s Body Mass Index and Infertility.” Human Reproduction, 22 (9): 2488-293. Palmer,N.O. et al .(2012). Impact of obesity on male fertility, sperm function and molecular composition.Spermatogenesis, 2 (4): 253-262. Read More