Life Styles and Food Habits: Major Causative Elements for Obesity in Canada - Research Paper Example

 Life Styles and Food Habits: Major Causative Elements for Obesity in Canada Argumentative Research Paper Introduction: In the modern day, with changing lifestyles and eating habits, humans encounter a variety of health problems. Studies conducted across the world indicate that obesity has now become a significant public health concern not only in developed countries but also in developing nations. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that over “1.4 billion” people of age 20 and above are overweight in 2008, out of which more than “200 million” males and about “300 million” females are found to be obese (Adhikari, 2014, p.35). On the other hand, the situation in Canada is also equally alarming where obesity has been a “growing concern” in recent years and the Public Health Agency as well as the Canadian Institute for Health Information confirm a tremendous increase in the rate of obesity in the country from “13.8 to 25.4%” in the adult population of age 18 and above (p.35). Studies find that sedentary lifestyle (Tremblay et al, 2010 & Al Nakeeb et al, 2012) and unhealthy eating habits (Janssen et al, 2004; Garriguet, 2007 & Deshpandey, Basil and Basil, 2009) as the major causative elements for obesity. Nations across the world have been focusing on encouraging physical activity and healthy eating habits as the major initiatives for countering the problem. The government of Canada, as well as other stakeholders such as healthcare organizations, has also been taking similar efforts to contain this major public health issue. However, despite these initiatives for intervention, the problem still continues unabated and, therefore, it transpires that more focused research into better measures need to be undertaken to address this issue. Definition and Overview of the Problem: The terms overweight and obesity refer to the accumulation of an “excess of body fat” and the most popular method of determining obesity is by calculating the Body Mass Index (BMI) (Statistics on Obesity, 2014, p.9). BMI is measured by dividing an individual’s weight in kilograms by the “square” of his or her “height” in meters (p.9). In adult populations, a BMI of “25kg/m² to 29.9kg/m²” will be treated as overweight whereas a BMI of “30kg/m²” constitutes obesity (p.9). This public health issue is a major concern for both the scientific community as well as governments across the world as it not only brings negative impacts on the lives of the citizens but also has “excessive financial implications” (Maria & Evagelia, 2009, p.132). Thus, nations across the world are initiating intensive intervention action for curbing the problem of obesity among their citizens, especially children and young adults, with a focus on encouraging physical activity and healthy eating habits in the population. The Major Causative Elements for Obesity: With the unprecedented advancement in technology in the recent past, motorization as well as mechanization has increased exponentially, which has made people less physically active as they depend on cars or other modes of transportation rather walking. Studies suggest that the problem of obesity especially prevails as a major problem in nations across the world because of the low levels of physical activity and “sedentary behavior” (Al Nakeeb et al, 2012, p.1492). On the other hand, with the emergence of computers and internet as popular media, people rather tend to spend more time engaging in online communications, social networking and computer games, which again promote sedentary lifestyle. Similarly, with the profound improvements in digital technology, television also offers an exciting platform for people to watch entertainment, sports and news channels with amazing clarity and sound quality. Thus, the modern humans are becoming more and more sedentary, which contributes to the accumulation of body fats and increases their BMI. Similarly, with the overall improvement in the quality of life, people in the present day have ample money at their disposal and they indulge in heavy eating of especially junk food and other high energy content diet. This also contributes to accumulation of extra fat in their bodies, thus making them overweight or obese. The problem has high significance in the context of children as they are most vulnerable to engaging in the consumption of unhealthy food items that are hazardous to their health. Definition of Sedentary Lifestyle and Its Impact on Human Lives: Sedentary lifestyle means a state where individuals are not physically active or they are sitting idle. A 1999 Youth Risk Behavior survey classifies people as leading sedentary lifestyle if they do not participate in “sufficient moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA)” so as to maintain their physical health (Tremblay et al, 2010, p.727). On the other hand, exercise science field, defines sedentary lifestyle as the “lack of MPVA” and thus activities such as viewing TV, talking on phone, playing games on computer or lying down on a couch etc are considered as sedentary state (p.727). Many studies substantiate the notion that sedentary lifestyle causes “metabolic dysfunction” besides increasing the levels of cholesterol and glucose in human body apart from contributing to the accumulation of body fat (p.730). Thus, it transpires that sedentary behavior can entail in a lot of physical health problems for people, and result in overweight or obesity conditions. A research study comprising 19811 men and 22801 women, which represent 19.6 million Canadians in the age range of 20-64 years, finds strong evidence of a “positive association” between hours spent viewing TV and obesity both in the male and female populations (Shields & Tremblay, 2008, p.24). This, the authors argue, establishes the fact that obesity in Canada has “increased substantially” across the population of all ages in both genders (p.19). On the other hand, this study, based on multivariate models, also confirm the prevalence of a “modest association” between obesity and computer use in both sexes but it finds no relationship between reading and obesity (p.24). The authors propose “reduced leisure-time physical activity” as the main reason for the trend of increasing obesity, as people are spending more time watching TV than doing exercises (p.24). Definition of Healthy Eating Habits and Its Impacts on Human Lives: Healthy eating habit can be defined as the meaning, understanding, “views, attitudes and beliefs” that the healthcare professionals and general public associate with healthy food and eating healthy (Paquette, 2005, p.S15). A study by Janssen et al, while identifying obesity as a rising trend in Canada, contends that “high fat and sugar foods” increase the prevalence of obesity (Janssen et al, 2004, p.366). Another study by Deshpande, Basil and Basil (2009) identifies the lack of nutrition and obesity as two of the most significant health challenges confronting the Canadian society today not only in the context of health problems but also in terms of “health care expenses” (p.145). It also transpires that “food selection” and consumption of healthy foods including vegetables and fruit can help control the problem of obesity and other ailments such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes (p.146). Similarly, the study by Ma et al (2003) finds that eating pattern has a strong relationship with obesity and, therefore, unhealthy eating habits may increase the chance of growth in body weight. The researchers further suggest that future research may be conducted to “explore the frequency of eating” as well as the location to establish their association with the development of obesity (p.91). As stated earlier, media in the modern day is one of the most favorite pastimes for adults as well as youngsters and children. In this context, it becomes relevant that media such as TV and the internet offers a wide variety of food ads that promote an interest about junk food in children, which can contribute to the spread of wrong notions about healthy food in them. Thus, the media cultivates the wrong sort of food culture in the country and makes children to accept unhealthy junk food items as a part of their culinary culture. Current Initiatives to Address the Problem: Since the lack of physical activity and unhealthy eating habits have been identified as the major causative elements for the development of overweight and obesity, any efforts to counter the problem need to focus on avoiding sedentary lifestyle and encouraging healthy eating habits in the population. Physical activity, especially in children and young adults, fetch a lot of “health benefits” particularly to those who fall in the risk group of having obesity, diabetes and similar health problems (p.13). On the other hand, unhealthy eating habit in the present day has become another major challenge to public health across the world. Studies find that creating awareness about nutritional food and imbibing “healthier eating habits” are significant steps in attaining health objectives of the youth (Ganasegeran et al, 2012, p.6). Thus, it transpires that concerted efforts on the part of governments as well as healthcare organizations and citizens are called for to curb the rising trend of obesity in the modern day. The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) contends that in order to achieve optimal health, children in the age group of 5-11 years and youth between 12-17 years need to do 60 minutes of physical activity of “moderate to vigorous intensity” (Health Implications of a Sedentary Life, 2011, p.1). Sedentary habits such as prolonged TV viewing, especially in children, can “increase the risk” of becoming overweight or obese (p.2). Similarly, the study by Adhikari (2014) finds that body weight increases as age goes up and, therefore, people need to embrace an “active life style” for controlling the problem of obesity (p.38). In order to combat this public problem, it is necessary the habit of active life style right from the early stages so that people will continue with physical activities even after they age. Most of the research studies recommend that children of all age groups need to engage in active physical exercises to “promote health and well being” so that they will not accumulate excess weight as they grow up (Hodges et al, 2013, p.16). The authors further argue that indoor as well as outdoor physical activities have similar impact in children and they carry their lifestyle behaviors into their “adolescence and adulthood” (p.17). Thus, when school authorities as well as parents encourage children to engage in active physical activities, they will continue this habit when they become adults. In addition, there is also a need to create awareness in children about the negative impact of sedentary life so that they will avoid such habits. Regulatory measures such as compulsory physical activity hours in schools and colleges can be another effective way of ensuring the youngsters engage in exercises to maintain their physical health. Parents should also discourage children from using cars and instead encourage them to use bicycles. Sustained efforts from parents and schools apart from voluntary organizations will go a long way in the promotion of healthy behavior and thus help control the menace of obesity. Many researchers argue that encouraging healthy eating habits is a prerequisite for the improvement of public health across the world, including Canada, and the “current epidemic” of obesity is a major problem caused by changing dietary trends (Raine, 2005, p.S8). Healthy eating can be perceived as the “understanding, attitudes and beliefs” of the general public towards what constitutes healthy eating behavior and healthy food (p.S9). The advancement of technology and consequent contamination of the environment has decreased the “availability of traditional food” and thus people turn to market foods that are rich in energy content but lacking in nutrition (p.S10). Thus, any effort to combat unhealthy eating habits needs to focus on encouraging the use of traditional food and discouraging marketing foods. Reduced taxes and transportation costs on organic fruits and vegetables will also go a long way in promoting the use of such food articles. Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Current Intervention Strategies: Mushtaq et al (2011) contend that obesity, as an epidemic that affects the children worst, is a global challenge and find that “ten per cent” of children across the world are overweight while another 25% are still obese (p.2). They further argue that childhood obesity on a global level is attributable to “growing obesogenic environment” including the inhibition of physical activities requiring high energy exhaustion and adoption of sedentary lifestyles (p.13). A research study by Al-Nakeeb et al (2012), conducted among a sample population of 2290 from both genders in the age group of 15-17 years, highlights “potential health gains” of physical activity, especially in younger people (p.1491). The study concludes that physical activity has reduced as a result of sedentary lifestyle, especially in developed nations, and this in turn has contributed to the “high rate of obesity” in general and youngsters in particular (p.1502). Another study by Colley et al (2012) finds that sedentary behavior, which results in low energy expenditure, entails “adverse health” outcomes including obesity, cardio vascular diseases and diabetes (p.1). Thus, most of the research studies tend to suggest that sedentary lifestyle still prevails despite the efforts to encourage intense physical activities. The CSEP has suggested the minimum of 60 minutes of PA of “moderate to vigorous intensity” for children in the age group of 5-11 years and youth between 12-17 years for attaining optimal health. However, the study by CSEP paints a discouraging picture where only 7% of the children and youth in Canada attain this target, which is necessary to “reap the associated health benefits” (p.1). This finding emphasizes the validity of the notion that current intervention strategies somehow lack the effectiveness in encouraging intense physical activity to encounter the problem of obesity. Though the Canadian Food Guide stipulates “5-10 servings” of vegetables and fruit a day, most of the youngsters appears to take these items only once in a day (p.366). This view has further been substantiated by another study conducted by Garriguet (2007), which finds that the “majority of Canadians” do not consume the stipulated minimum five servings of vegetables or fruit (p.27). Evidence also points to a trend in Canada, where the consumption of food items that are not healthy is at an “all time high” due to rampant use of high energy content food apart from the presence of a large number of fast food joints in the country (p.24). Trends also suggest that the rate of consumption of fruit and vegetables among low income groups is low and, therefore, they have a “higher risk for obesity” (p.24). On the other hand, evidence suggests that children lack the knowledge about nutrition and eating habits and parents, schools, and the media have “disseminated insufficient” information to them (Triches & Giugliani, 2005, p.6). All these evidences point to the fact that people do not possess adequate awareness about healthy food and nutrition. Thus, the present strategies, while having marginal impact on reducing obesity, are not fully effective in preventing the spread of obesity. Therefore, more focused research on people’s perception of healthy eating needs to be undertaken so that based on the general notions and understanding of the population the government can initiate awareness campaigns to encourage healthy eating. Conclusion/Suggestions for the Future Direction of Intervention Strategies: Evidence examined during this study reveals that despite the efforts of government as well as other stakeholders such as healthcare organizations, obesity still remains a problem in the world and especially in Canada. Though many initiatives have been undertaken to encourage physical activities and healthy eating habits, these measures are yet to fetch the intended results among all populations. Evidence points to a want of understanding of “public’s perception” on healthy eating so as to evaluate whether people interpret the health promotion methods correctly (Paquette, 2005, p.S15). Therefore, in order to tailor the strategies of intervention and make them effective among different segments of the population, it is necessary to research the perception of individual groups based on their characteristics “gender, age, SES,” culture and race (p.S19). On the other hand, as suggested by Triches & Giugliani (2005), in addition to “promoting nutritional knowledge,” concerted efforts from parents, schools and media are also necessary to ensure that children eat healthy food only including fruits and vegetable (p.6). Similarly, local and national authorities need to organize campaigns that can create awareness in people about the dangers of unhealthy eating and educate them on the need for eating healthy foods. Young people, on their transition from school to college life, become free to make independent choices relating to the food they eat and it is natural that they choose junk food, which they consider as trendy instead of deciding to buy nutritious food. Thus, the study by Deshpande, Basil and Basil (2004) recommends “social marketing” to promote tasty and healthy foods on and off college campuses (p.159). By using the strategies, healthy eating habits can be encourages on students and thus the nation will be able to contain the problem of obesity and other diseases associated with eating habits. References Adhikari, A. (2014). Prevalence of Obesity among Immigrants Living in Canada. American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. Vol. 2(1). pp. 35-39. Al-Nakeeb, Y. et al. (2012). Obesity, Physical Activity, and Sedentary Behavior amongst British and Saudi Youth: A Cross-Cultural Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol.9: pp.1490-1506 Colley, R. C. et al. (2012). Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior and Sleep in Canadian Children: Parent-Reports versus Direct Measures and Relative Associations with Health Risk. Health Reports, Vol. 23 (2): pp.1-8. Deshpande, S., Basil, M. D. & Basil, D. Z. 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