Kevin McKenzie Health Psychology Dr. Judge 5/13/16 Take home Project: Obesity Obesity basically means having too much body fat. Not being overweight for your height, having too much muscle, or water in your body. What exactly is obesity? “Obesity is a condition that is associated with having an excess of body fat, defined by genetic and environmental factors that are difficult to control when dieting. Obesity is classified as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or greater. BMI is a tool used to measure obesity. Obesity increases your risk of developing related conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and sleep apnea, to name a few. Many individuals are affected by obesity and are not aware of it” (O.A.C, 2016). Causes of obesity vary from person to person, but most are from the same reasons. Taking in more calories than your body can burn leads to obesity because your body stores the unused calories as fat. Typical causes are eating too much food than your body can use, drinking too much alcohol, and not getting enough exercise. Many obese people who lose large amounts of weight and gain it back think it is their fault. They blame themselves for not having the willpower to keep the weight off. Many people regain more weight than they lost. Today, we know that biology is a big reason why some people cannot keep the weight off. Some people who live in the same place and eat the same foods become obese, while others do not. Our bodies have a complex system to help keep our
“The percentage of children aged 6–12 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012” (cdc.gov). Subsequently, the obesity epidemic has continued to increase over the past few years in the United States. There are many different aspects that have contributed to the obesity epidemic. For example, many people today choose to be convenient instead of eating healthy, which results in the consummation of processed foods. Processed foods have a significant effect on the risk of obesity. With a current society always on the go, adults and children have become more susceptible to junk and fast foods. As a result this has caused an increase in the energy intake which results in storing fat thus gaining weight. In addition, having less to no physical activity is also a contributor to obesity. For example, sixty minutes of physical activity is needed for the prevention of obesity (ncbi.gov). These contributions to obesity results into the many different health risk. With this in mind, I believe as a student, schools have the influence to help prevent young students from childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is a condition where a child has unnecessary grossly fat. Many children who are overweight suffer from medical to self-esteem issues. These issues can have a big impact on a child’s educational success. Therefore, there are ways that schools can get involved to help prevent young students of becoming obese and in the process help students
Many people are unaware that more than third or 35.7 percent of adults are considered obese in America. In recent years obesity is the health topic of choice these days because obesity in America is a growing epidemic. One out of twenty people in America have extreme obesity. According to a 2009-2010 survey conducted by the National Health and Nutrition examination this data states that about one third of children and adolescents ages six to nine are considered to be overweight or obese. Adolescent obesity has more than tripled in young adults and doubled in children since the year 1980. Unless there is a cultural and behavioral change among Americans obesity will continue to spread and health problems will keep sky rocketing, but obesity can be prevented.
The United States have the highest rate of people battling obesity, with childhood obesity on the rise. Just about one-third of adults in America are obese, and about 17% of children are obese. There are many health problems associated with obesity, which are preventable. America has state and local programs to prevent obesity, which Centers for Disease control and Prevention funds in all 50 states. Obesity is considered one of the highest killers since the 1980’s, with fast food shops on the rise and the healthy prices going up it’s hard to control how we eat.
With obesity rates being much higher than they were twenty or thirty years ago, it’s no surprise that people are looking for solutions. The influence of unhealthy food choices are not only becoming greater but also leading to other sicknesses. There are multiple culprits behind the cause of obesity those include advertisements, overpriced healthy foods and desserts. The current obesity rates are egregious compared to past years due to the prevalence of unhealthy food and advertisements for such foods. Those factors play an immense role in the current obesity epidemic.
Childhood obesity is a serious problem that puts children at high risk of developing other related health issues. Obesity can lead to cardiovascular diseases, type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, sleep disorders, low self-steam, negative body image, and depression.
The United States is the second most obese country in the world. Obesity is accounted for 10 percent of all deaths in the U.S. Obesity is becoming so sever that people are beginning to believe that it is a disease. The definition of disease is “ Disease decreases life expectancy and impairs the normal functioning of the body.” Obesity is reported as an “epidemic” because of the continuous increase in rates each year. Obesity is argued to be a preventable risk factor for other diseases and conditions, but in reality it is a disease. (ProCon)
Everyday, the amount of Americans that become obese increase astronomically. Because of the obesity rate in America, the country became the top fattest nation in the entire world. Because of the high obesity rate in America, many organizations created statistical websites to inform the public of the amount of overweight people in the country. Many clinical websites were established by doctors to inform people about the risk factors of obesity and how to treat obesity. There are many reasons why Americans are overweight, but the main reasons why Americans are so obese because of the amount of fast food restaurants that are around in every corner in America, the misleading information that companies advertise to the public about food products, the lack of healthy diets, food addictions that most people possess from eating junk foods, the amount of sugar that is in unhealthy foods, and the medication that make people overweight. First of all, there are too many fast food restaurants that serve rich, greasy food that is unhealthy to eat. As recent studies show, many fast food restaurants such as McDonald 's and Burger King, serve fast food for many people to eat daily. However, there are many chemicals and unhealthy materials present such as corn derivatives, sugars, leavening agents, and completely synthetic ingredients in those unhealthy foods. Although, fast food restaurants continue to grow across the country, but people are unaware of the risks that come
A study focused on obesity published by Navaneelan and Janz (2014) concluded that, “Obesity has become one of the world’s greatest health concerns and threatens to undo gains made in life expectancy during the 20th century” (p. 1). “Obesity is defined as abnormal excessive fat accumulation that may impair health” (World Health Organization, 2015). In order to tackle the concerns of obesity, nurses should develop an understanding of the family’s needs and goals in order to determine family nursing roles. The nurse’s role of communicator, educator, and advocator may be helpful towards families dealing with obesity. The Primary health care setting may facilitate these nursing roles due to its accessibility and familiarity among families. This setting provides nurses with the opportunity to address obesity management given the frequent contact between the nurse and the families. The nurse develops a better understanding of the family’s needs and wants which in turn allows the nurse to develop nursing diagnosis, prevention and treatment interventions regarding obesity (Gordie and Brown, 2012, p.15). The purpose of this paper will emphasise the role of nurses as communicators, educators and advocators along with role challenges in supporting families with the lifestyle and conditions of obesity.
There is no hiding this secret, America is overweight. As we remain the title of land of the free, we are looked upon by the rest of the world as “The fat country”. A label that you or I are not proud of and each day more and more people are becoming aware of the new epidemic called Obesity. Obesity is not only a major health issue in the United States but also the world. Over the past 30 years, The World Health Organization has considered increasing Obesity’s prevalence to epidemic levels. One result as to why, is that Obesity is putting more worldwide people to risk of death from obesity rather than underweight. (Cowie, 2014)
There are more than 1.5 billion people that are overweight worldwide (2). There are more than 280 million people around the world that have been diagnosed with diabetes, resulting in at least 1 in 20 adults (2,8). Currently, diabetes is ranked as the seventh overall cause of death in the United States (9). In 2010, on 69,071 death certificates in the United States, diabetes was listed as the underlying cause, and in 234,051 death certificates, diabetes was mentioned as a cause of death (6). The Centers for Disease Control refers to “twin epidemics of diabetes and obesity, because obesity greatly increases the risk of diabetes, and the number of Americans who are obese has been increasing rapidly” (9). A newly developed term, “diabesity,” is commonly used to represent the close relationship between obesity and diabetes (8).
The very fact that we are having a national conversation about what we should eat, that we are struggling with the question about what the best diet is, is symptomatic of how far we have strayed from the natural conditions that gave rise to our species, from the simple act of eating real, whole, fresh food. When it becomes a revolutionary act to eat real food, we are in trouble (Hyman).
Obesity is a huge issue in today 's society. Not only is obesity affecting society’s men AND women, it has spread throughout the children of America; this is a problem worth our undivided attention. Obesity in children should be something that everyone is concerned with. One can argue that genetics are causing obesity in children however this is not the leading factor. Obesity in children is primarily caused by the actions of their parents. Obese children grow up to become obese adults. America does not need heightened obesity rates therefore the issue of obesity needs to end here and now.
“More than one third of adults and 17% of youth in the United States are obese.” (Carroll et al, 2014) The JAMA study reported that 31.8% of young people were overweight or obese. (Carroll et al, 2014) According to the map from the CDC, the most concentrated region of obesity is in the South. (CDC, September 2014) With the rise of obesity come questions as to why Americans are so unhealthy. What exactly classifies a person as obese? A person is considered obese when they attain a body mass index of 30 to 40. (CNN, 2014) Now that the classification of a person being obese is known, how did they get there? According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, “A lack of energy balance most often causes overweight and obesity. Energy
The percentage of children with obesity in the United States has more than tripled since the 1970s (CDC, 2017). Doctors define “overweight” as a condition in which a person’s weight is 10%-20% higher than “normal” on a standard height/weight chart. One can also be characterized as overweight if they have a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 30. Obesity, however, is defined as a condition in which a person’s weight is 20%-40% or more above normal weight, or has a BMI of 30 or above. The most serious case of obesity is “Morbid obesity.” A person is defined as morbidly obese if he or she is 50%-100% over normal weight, exceeds 100 pounds over normal weight, or sufficiently overweight that interferes with health or normal functioning (Are, 2013).
Although it is well known that junk food leads to health risks and obesity, people are still putting unhealthy food into their body daily. The United States has the highest obesity rate in the world by 6% and the government should be helping to lower that percentage (http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Health/Obesity). The best for the United States to help the obesity rate is by implementing a fat tax. A fat tax is a tax on foods that are considered unhealthy and are believed to lead people to obesity. The main way fat taxes can help the United States is by declining youth obesity, helping the economy, and declining junk food addiction.