Obesity

Each year obesity causes one in five deaths. Obesity is a serious epidemic that affects about 40% of the population in the United States (Fryar, 2022, p. 1). Being obese is defined as a person having too much body fat (Pruthi, 2023, p. 1). It is a serious problem that can lead to many health problems that could even result in death. You can check if you are obese by finding out what your body mass index is, also known as a BMI. A BMI of 30 or higher can result in a diagnosis of obesity. Obesity can be avoided by eating healthy or by making sure that you are being active throughout the day.

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People who are overweight are at a higher risk of developing major health problems, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, sleep disorders, high cholesterol, etc. With its rapid increase across the country, obesity is an epidemic that should be taken seriously. It was first recognized in theory as a disease by the world health organization in 1948, and was finally declared as an epidemic in 1997 (James, 2009, p. 1). In the early 90’s and 2000’s, being overweight, or just having a bigger body in general was considered a bad thing. Now, there is a social movement that has been going around called body positivity, where there is a positive view of everyone's body. Although this is a good thing, it disregards the major risks of obesity. 

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A solution to help combat this epidemic is to start making healthier food choices. An important factor that contributes to weight gain is the quality of the food someone is consuming. Most people find it hard to buy healthy food choices since grocery stores are mostly filled with processed foods that are full of sugar, saturated fat, artificial additives and preservatives. There was a study done in 2010 that indicated the increased consumption of processed foods increased the risk of obesity ( Monteiro, 2010, p. 1). Having a healthy diet might be harder for some people based on their income since organic foods are on the more expensive side. Since the “unhealthy” foods being sold in grocery stores are cheaper than “healthy” foods, it would be more convenient for people to buy the cheaper food. For example, someone's diet that is high in fruit, vegetables, and high quality meat is typically healthier and more cost effective since these items cost more than ultra processed foods .That is why obesity is most commonly found in lower income areas (Templin, 2019, p. 1). Anyone can be obese, it really isn’t up to how high their income is, but the food choices that they make.

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The quality of your diet isn’t the only thing that could contribute to weight gain, the quantity of food someone consumes throughout the day could also be the reason why they are overweight.  The University of California did a study of pre-westernized Japan and Mediterranean diets and found that the diets in Japan were high in carbs and low in fat, and mediterranean diets were high in fat. Although their diets were high in carbs and fat, “ They did not eat more food than they needed” (Nestle, 2012, p. 4). The estimated amount of calories a person should be consuming in one day should be based on their size, as well as how much physical movement they make. For example, someone who is 5’2 and 98 lbs should consume about 1,500 calories in one day. Most people aren’t aware of how many calories they should be consuming, so no wonder why the risk of obesity is slowly increasing among American citizens.  It isn’t hard for someone to go over their required calories since the consumption of calorie dense foods is necessarily easy. For example, a small bag of chips has about 1,000 calories. That is nearly the total amount of calories someone should eat in one day. If you look at the nutrition labels, most of the time they are on the back label on an item, and it tells you the serving size as well as the total amount of calories in one package. 

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Most of the time, people who are obese are aware that they have a problem but can't seem to control it. Someone's trauma or psychological problems are usually the root of their overeating problem. It is also common for people recovering from restrictive eating disorders to fall into a binge eating disorder. A study done by a group of scientists shows that “ Binge eating is a core diagnostic feature of bulimia nervosa and is frequently endorsed by individuals with anorexia nervosa” ( Sztainer, 2015, p.1). Since they spent so much time restricting, they find it hard to feel satiated, and this causes them to over eat typically calorie dense foods. People who are looking to gain weight usually go into a calorie surplus, which is going over their recommended caloric intake, whereas people who want to lose weight go into a calorie deficit, which is consuming less than their recommended calorie intake. People who are obese are usually in a calorie surplus without knowing it, which is causing them to rapidly gain weight. So, with that being said, if they were to go into a calorie deficit, they would be able lose that weight at a rapid pace without even having to exercise. 

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Another great option to help combat obesity would be to exercise. People usually burn about 300 calories when they exercise. It isn’t just about how many calories are burned but it is a great way to be active throughout the day. Although exercising is a great form of losing weight or just being active, there are a few cons to this solution. Exercising might be hard for someone who is overweight. When someone exercises, they should be eating enough food to fuel their body. Also, some people might feel hungry after a workout. So, if an overweight person works out and doesn’t eat their recommended calorie intake, this could cause them to over eat even more since they are burning more calories than they usually do. Exercising is usually hard for a beginner, and a lot of the time most people quit before they become used to their workouts. 

This is why it would be less complicated for someone who is obese to just simply go into a calorie deficit if they are looking for an easy way to lose weight and go back to being their recommended weight for their height, age, and gender. Research states that “Obesity isn’t just a cosmetic concern. It is a medical problem that increases the risk of many other diseases and health problems” (Pruthi, 2023, p. 1). Most people who are obese aren’t aware that they have a serious problem. 

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Obesity causes many health issues and even death throughout the years. It is important for obesity to be taken seriously because it is a serious health epidemic that affects people all across the world. This epidemic can be solved through being more active throughout the day and going into a caloric deficit.

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Works Cited

Barak, R., Sztainer, M., Goldschmidt, A., Crow, S., Peterson, C., Hill, L., Crosby, R., & Grange, D. (2015, June 10). Dietary restriction behaviors and binge eating in anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder:

 

Trans-diagnostic examination of the restraint model. Eating Behaviors. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1471015315000653 

 

Fryar, C. D. (2022, May 17). Childhood obesity facts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html 

 

James, W P T. (2009). “Who Recognition of the Global Obesity Epidemic.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 12 Jan. 2009, www.nature.com/articles/ijo2008247. 

 

Monteiro, C. A., Levy, R. B., Claro, R. M., Castro, I. R. R. de, & Cannon, G. (2010, December 20). Increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods and likely impact on human health: Evidence from Brazil: Public health nutrition. Cambridge Core. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/increasing-consumption-of-ultraprocessed-foods-and-likely-impact-on-human-health-evidence-from-brazil/C36BB4F83B90629DA15CB0A3CBEBF6FA 

 

Nestle, M. (2012). Why calories count. Google Books. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ZaioR5Ac5fQC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=how%2Bmany%2Bcalories%2Bshould%2Bi%2Beat&ots=fHl6hw5Bwo&sig=pqxalhpCs2hoQdok4hlpQeE5bbE 

 

Pruthi, S. (2023, July 22). Obesity. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obesity/symptoms-causes/syc-20375742 

 

Templin, T., Hashiguchi, T. C. O., Thomson, B., Dieleman, J., & Bendavid, E. (2019, November 27). The overweight and obesity transition from the wealthy to the poor in low- and middle-income countries: A survey of household data from 103 countries. PLOS Medicine. https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1002968

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