Child and Adult Obesity - Essay Example

Child and Adult Obesity In the past few decades, the world experienced a drastic change in life style due to globalization. The tremendous development in the field of science and technology has completely altered the way humans eat, work, communicate and travel. In the name of a more luxurious and comfortable life, human beings have reduced physical activity and subjugated themselves to machines. The degrading environmental factor also plays a significant role in determining our health status and affects our choice of nutritious diets. It may not be over exaggerating to call the contemporary human civilization as the laziest of all with a diet intake, which is essentially deprived off nutrients found naturally. One such outcome of this less nutritious diet is Obesity. The World Heath Organization (WHO) defines obesity as “as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health” (who.com). The Body Mass Index (BMI) scale considers a person obese when BMI is greater than or equal to 30. This scale is applicable to all irrespective of gender or age differences. Data collected from National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES) reveals that “about one-third of U.S. adults (33.8%) are obese. Approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years are obese” (CDC, 2010)) and this trend has been increasing exponentially for past few years in United States. But it would be a grave mistake if we associate this problem with only high income developed countries. This growing trend has been observed over a large no of middle and low income countries mainly because of rapid industrialization and urbanization in the recent years. The following figure shows the Adult obesity percentage in various states of US: Percent of Obese (BMI greater than or equal to 30) in U.S Adults Fig (1) Source: CDCs Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) It is evident from Fig (1) that in 2010 almost none of U.S states had an obesity rate of less than 20 percent. Now that we have statistically analyzed the problem of “Obesity”, this paper will redirect its approach and study the social aspects of obesity from a sociological point of view. The tools of structural functionalism, Social conflict theory and Symbolic Interactionism will be applied to critically analyze “Obesity” and the implications of various institutions of society i.e. social class, race, and gender on it. Structure Functionalism is a sociological perspective that perceives society as a whole structure, body or a living organism whose stability is solely dependent upon the proper functioning of its constituent parts or organs. The constituent parts are various institutions of the society such as family, culture, norms, and traditions. Thus, a functionalist perspective defines the role of an individual in a particular society in relation to a particular institution. Consider for example kinship as an institution in which paternal and maternal roles are defined for proper performance of this institution which in turn provides stability to the whole society. It is in this regard that child obesity is considered a social problem occurring as a result of poor performance on behalf of parents. Children adapt eating habits from their parents and thus a family that prefers a particular kind of diet may affect the health status of a child in long run. In a case study it was revealed that: “children having one parent who habitually ate foods with high total fat content were likely twice as likely to eat similar foods that were children whose parents had low total fat intakes. But when both parents consumed high fat foods, the probability of their children having high fat intakes was 3 to 6 times greater than in children whose parents had normal intakes). Childhood obesity is caused by developing dysfunctional behaviors from a society that promotes excessive food intake and discourages physical activity” (/ivythesis.typepad.com) Other parental control mechanisms also affect the health of a child. If the parents themselves are obese, there is a greater possibility that the children will also become obese. Similar if the parents or society discourages physical activity and the children spend most of the time watching television or playing computer games, they are more likely to have health disorders in future as a result of excessive fat accumulation in their bodies. On the other hand, parents who exercise daily themselves and keep a close check on the nutritional needs of children may help a child grow healthy. Social Conflict Theory addresses the social, political or economic alienation of a particular social group based upon the dominant ideologies or perceptions. The commodification of beauty as a result of globalization has led to the formation of a social status quo or dominant perception where thin, smart and fit individuals are preferred. Since Obesity conflicts with such a social status quo, it is regarded as highly problematic by the society. An obese person usually suffers at the hands of society which attaches obesity with laziness. This feeling of contempt is more obvious in case of females which suffer a lot due to predetermined standard of beauty set by society. It severely affects self-esteem, courage, and confidence of both adults and children and reduce normal physical and mental growth. “In dealing with obesity many physicians like to view the social impact that obesity presents in the sufferers. Usually the person will suffer with issues of weight preoccupation and roller coaster dieting that is accompanied by feeling of regret, remorse and failure” (HoodiaGordoniiPure.com). A more pragmatic approach for combating obesity will be to ignore negative feelings about one’s own body image and think positively. Herbert Blumer defined Social Interactionsim as “people act toward things based on the meaning those things have for them; and these meanings are derived from social interaction and modified through interpretation” (colorado.edu). The interaction of children with other members of the society particularly their parents and the meanings they attribute to such interactions, plays a significant role in determining obesity as a problem or not. In this regard the initial development phase of a child, where he/she interacts with the society is critical for the development of certain behaviors in the personality of the child. If the child grows in an environment that prefers unhealthy diet habits and promotes a life style that encourages less physical activity than the child is surely going to adapt these behaviors. “In attacking disease epidemics, public health workers look for three components: the host, the agent, and the environment. In the childhood obesity epidemic, the home harbors all three – the host is the child, the agent is excess calories from food and drink, and the environment encompasses the behavior, lifestyle, and surroundings that promote excess eating and sufficient activity”( ivythesis.typepad.com). As the child grows up, other social influences in the form of advertising, friends and culture play an important role in the development of child’s taste and preference of foods. Other social factors such as family daily dinner, home cooked food and positive meal experiences also plays a contributive role in shaping child eating habits. Recent research also concluded that parent-child relationship may result in development of poor eating habits in children to counter emotional stress arising from physical and mental abuse. “As children get older and move into adolescence, they may begin turning to food for reasons having more to do with their psychological needs than with their appetite” (ivythesis.typepad.com) This paper concludes with the following remarks. For centuries obesity was considered as a medical problem arising from excessive foot intake that was poor in terms of nutrients. Recent sociological approach to the study of obesity has resulted in the discovery of several other social actors that may cause or arise as a result of obesity. Family plays a significant role in shaping individual eating patterns. Apart from medical disorders, obesity results in social disorders that should be addressed to counter this problem in the long run. WORKS CITED "WHO | Obesity." World Health Organization. Web. 01 Aug. 2011. . "Obesity and Overweight for Professionals: Data and Statistics: U.S. Obesity Trends | DNPAO | CDC." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web. 01 Aug. 2011. . "Critical Analysis of Childhood Obesity in UK Using Two Sociological Approaches Read More: Http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/09/critical-analysis-of-childhood-obesity-in-uk-using-two-sociological-approaches." "The Social Impact of Obesity." Reviews on Hoodia Gordonii Pills. HoodiaGordoniiPure.com. Web. 01 Aug. 2011. http://www.hoodiagordoniipure.com/social_impact_obesity.htm "Herbert Blumers Symbolic Interactionism." University of Colorado Boulder. Web. 01 Aug. 2011. . Read More