Argumentative Essay: Is Obesity A Disease?
Avreena Gill
Professor Lynn Hovde
English-103
18 October 2014
Is Obesity a Disease? More than two-thirds of U.S. adults, and about one third of school aged children are overweight or obese. Obesity rates have more than doubled in adults and children since the 1970s. Becoming obese is based on ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and diet. Obesity is a way of life that is determined by one 's decisions, obesity is not a disease and is 100% preventable. There are many factors that contribute to obesity, including larger portion sizes, more fast food, technological advances, limited time for physical education and reliance on automobiles. The U.S. has the largest portion sizes throughout the world, this doesn 't include having seconds …show more content…
and third rounds of a meal. Fast food restaurants are around every corner, they have different size meals although they are all extremely close in price. Most people living in the United States have the mindset of "why not get more out of what I am buying and pay the extra .35?" With this thought, it makes consuming unhealthy food a money saver. With technological advances, children and adults spend more time on a computer, cell phone, tablet, and watching television rather than exercising, playing sports and going out. Nowadays, most adults rely on automobiles to get around town, to work, to school, wherever it may be. Adults have decreased their amount of walking to and from places or riding their bikes. This is everyday exercise that can prevent obesity and is an easy option. Low income and food insecure people are vulnerable to being overweight. These people usually have limited access to affordable, unhealthy food. When they do have access to healthy food, it is likely that the food is more expensive than junk food being sold. Due to this, it is more likely to buy unhealthy food especially being on such a tight budget. Also, fast food is a major contributor to obesity in children and adults. There are little to no healthy fast food restaurants. Fast food is usually unhealthy, cheap and easy to get. Because of this, people will go through fast food restaurants instead of buying healthy food and going home to cook it. Low income neighborhoods have a lot fewer physical activities sources like parks or tracks than higher income neighborhoods. When sources are available, they are usually unsafe areas for children and even adults. For 16 years, I lived on farm land where my grandfather owned orchards. Around me there were absolutely no physical activity sources, no where to play, and really no where to go. When I moved a couple years ago, we live five minutes away from one park and two minutes away from another. The neighborhood I live in now, there are a lot bigger houses and is more of a higher income neighborhood. I never realized this until researching obesity. Families who are low income sometimes stretch their food budgets by skipping a meal or two. This is especially common in mothers of low income families. Because of this, when their body does get food, it stores the food as fat because it doesn 't know the next time food will come. This leads to obesity in most cases. Low income families usually have high levels of stress due to financial and emotional pressure. Some of the main causes of obesity are stress, anxiety and depression. I personally have experienced weight gain as a cause of stress and anxiety. For the longest time, I kept gaining weight which made me more anxious and even more stressed. I got medical treatment and was given medication to control my anxiety. After taking the medication I was immediately seeing weight loss and was no longer threatened by obesity. There are many more consequences of obesity than only stress and anxiety. Diabetes is a main factor contributing to obesity. Others are high blood pressure, iron deficiency, early puberty, premature death, low self esteem, depression, asthma, and many more. These are some factors that although are mostly caused by obesity, are preventable. Obesity may lead to substance abuse, peer victimization, poor academic performance, and behavior problems. The definition of a disease is 1. a condition of abnormal vital function involving an structure, part or system of an organism. 2. A specific illness or disorder characterized by a recognizable set of signs and symptoms attributable to heredity, infection, diet, or environment. Obesity fits the definition entirely, although there are ways to prevent it including lower calorie intake, smaller portions, more physical activity and better food choices. Some people may say diets and exercise fail due to their body mass index (BMI). This is misleading. BMI is based on a calculation of height and weight combined. So, for example, Arnold Schwarzengger has a very high BMI although it is all contained of muscles. One can also find people with a low BMI that have a high percentage of body fat. According to webmd.com, a child 's total diet and activity determines a child 's weight.
This can include computer and video game time. On average, a typical child spends four hours a day watching television. This is not including video game or computer time. As technology becomes more common, the level of physical inactivity will keep increasing. A child 's weight, in my opinion is soley based on their parents or guardians decisions. This including the amount of time being spent playing video games, watching television, and being on the computer. Two major factor for parents or guardians to prevent their child from becoming obese is to control portion sizes, and to maintain at least two hours of physical activity. This can easily be done by signing up for a school sport or even taking a walk around the neighborhood. From previous observation, child obesity is caused by a parent or guardians ignorance, or failure to be there for their child. I have seen in some cases where a permissive parent will give their child what ever they please in order to keep them happy and busy while the parent gets things done like house work, cooking, cleaning, etc. This not only gives the child an idea that they 're in charge and what ever they say goes, but it shows neglect and carelessness of the parent or guardian. This may contribute to a major problem as the child gets older. Modeling is one of the major ways for a child to learn. If young children see their parents or guardians eating …show more content…
fruits and vegetables, it is extremely likely they will too. It may take a few times but recent studies show that after the third or fourth time seeing their parent eating healthy, the decision for the child to also eat healthy will be made themselves with their parent being a positive influence. Although, when a child sees their parent or guardian eating fast, or unhealthy food while lying around watching television, it sends the child a negative influence to maintain that same behavior. This will make it harder in the long run to change a child 's eating habits.
Citations
"Overweight and Obesity in the U.S. « Food Research & Action Center." Food Research Action Center Overweight and Obesity in the US Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2014. <http://frac.org/initiatives/hunger-and-obesity/obesity-in-the-us/>.
"Is Obesity A Disease?" Prevention. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
"Preventing Obesity in Children, Causes of Child Obesity, and More." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.
Widom, Cathy S., and Tyrone Bentley. "A 30-year Follow-up of the Effects of Child Abuse and Neglect on Obesity." - Bentley. N.p., 6 Sept. 2012. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
Annotated Bibliography
"Overweight and Obesity in the U.S.
« Food Research & Action Center." Food Research Action Center Overweight and Obesity in the US Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2014. <http://frac.org/initiatives/hunger-and-obesity/obesity-in-the-us/>. The Food Research and Action Center website tells facts and statistics about obesity in adults and children. This website also tells State and local data, the consequences of child obesity, and factors contributing to being obese, it tells a great deal about being overweight and obese.
"Is Obesity A Disease?" Prevention. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2014. This website talks about obesity being a disease. I found arguments that found obesity as a disease and not something that can be preventable. I used this site to contribute to counterarguments.
"Preventing Obesity in Children, Causes of Child Obesity, and More." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2014. Preventing Obesity in children states different causes of child obesity and the ways to prevent them. I used this website to show that obesity is preventable and not a disease.
Widom, Cathy S., and Tyrone Bentley. "A 30-year Follow-up of the Effects of Child Abuse and Neglect on Obesity." - Bentley. N.p., 6 Sept. 2012. Web. 19 Oct.
2014. This website shows the causes of childhood neglect leading to obesity in children and also adults.
Professor Lynn Hovde
English-103
18 October 2014
Is Obesity a Disease? More than two-thirds of U.S. adults, and about one third of school aged children are overweight or obese. Obesity rates have more than doubled in adults and children since the 1970s. Becoming obese is based on ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and diet. Obesity is a way of life that is determined by one 's decisions, obesity is not a disease and is 100% preventable. There are many factors that contribute to obesity, including larger portion sizes, more fast food, technological advances, limited time for physical education and reliance on automobiles. The U.S. has the largest portion sizes throughout the world, this doesn 't include having seconds …show more content…
and third rounds of a meal. Fast food restaurants are around every corner, they have different size meals although they are all extremely close in price. Most people living in the United States have the mindset of "why not get more out of what I am buying and pay the extra .35?" With this thought, it makes consuming unhealthy food a money saver. With technological advances, children and adults spend more time on a computer, cell phone, tablet, and watching television rather than exercising, playing sports and going out. Nowadays, most adults rely on automobiles to get around town, to work, to school, wherever it may be. Adults have decreased their amount of walking to and from places or riding their bikes. This is everyday exercise that can prevent obesity and is an easy option. Low income and food insecure people are vulnerable to being overweight. These people usually have limited access to affordable, unhealthy food. When they do have access to healthy food, it is likely that the food is more expensive than junk food being sold. Due to this, it is more likely to buy unhealthy food especially being on such a tight budget. Also, fast food is a major contributor to obesity in children and adults. There are little to no healthy fast food restaurants. Fast food is usually unhealthy, cheap and easy to get. Because of this, people will go through fast food restaurants instead of buying healthy food and going home to cook it. Low income neighborhoods have a lot fewer physical activities sources like parks or tracks than higher income neighborhoods. When sources are available, they are usually unsafe areas for children and even adults. For 16 years, I lived on farm land where my grandfather owned orchards. Around me there were absolutely no physical activity sources, no where to play, and really no where to go. When I moved a couple years ago, we live five minutes away from one park and two minutes away from another. The neighborhood I live in now, there are a lot bigger houses and is more of a higher income neighborhood. I never realized this until researching obesity. Families who are low income sometimes stretch their food budgets by skipping a meal or two. This is especially common in mothers of low income families. Because of this, when their body does get food, it stores the food as fat because it doesn 't know the next time food will come. This leads to obesity in most cases. Low income families usually have high levels of stress due to financial and emotional pressure. Some of the main causes of obesity are stress, anxiety and depression. I personally have experienced weight gain as a cause of stress and anxiety. For the longest time, I kept gaining weight which made me more anxious and even more stressed. I got medical treatment and was given medication to control my anxiety. After taking the medication I was immediately seeing weight loss and was no longer threatened by obesity. There are many more consequences of obesity than only stress and anxiety. Diabetes is a main factor contributing to obesity. Others are high blood pressure, iron deficiency, early puberty, premature death, low self esteem, depression, asthma, and many more. These are some factors that although are mostly caused by obesity, are preventable. Obesity may lead to substance abuse, peer victimization, poor academic performance, and behavior problems. The definition of a disease is 1. a condition of abnormal vital function involving an structure, part or system of an organism. 2. A specific illness or disorder characterized by a recognizable set of signs and symptoms attributable to heredity, infection, diet, or environment. Obesity fits the definition entirely, although there are ways to prevent it including lower calorie intake, smaller portions, more physical activity and better food choices. Some people may say diets and exercise fail due to their body mass index (BMI). This is misleading. BMI is based on a calculation of height and weight combined. So, for example, Arnold Schwarzengger has a very high BMI although it is all contained of muscles. One can also find people with a low BMI that have a high percentage of body fat. According to webmd.com, a child 's total diet and activity determines a child 's weight.
This can include computer and video game time. On average, a typical child spends four hours a day watching television. This is not including video game or computer time. As technology becomes more common, the level of physical inactivity will keep increasing. A child 's weight, in my opinion is soley based on their parents or guardians decisions. This including the amount of time being spent playing video games, watching television, and being on the computer. Two major factor for parents or guardians to prevent their child from becoming obese is to control portion sizes, and to maintain at least two hours of physical activity. This can easily be done by signing up for a school sport or even taking a walk around the neighborhood. From previous observation, child obesity is caused by a parent or guardians ignorance, or failure to be there for their child. I have seen in some cases where a permissive parent will give their child what ever they please in order to keep them happy and busy while the parent gets things done like house work, cooking, cleaning, etc. This not only gives the child an idea that they 're in charge and what ever they say goes, but it shows neglect and carelessness of the parent or guardian. This may contribute to a major problem as the child gets older. Modeling is one of the major ways for a child to learn. If young children see their parents or guardians eating …show more content…
fruits and vegetables, it is extremely likely they will too. It may take a few times but recent studies show that after the third or fourth time seeing their parent eating healthy, the decision for the child to also eat healthy will be made themselves with their parent being a positive influence. Although, when a child sees their parent or guardian eating fast, or unhealthy food while lying around watching television, it sends the child a negative influence to maintain that same behavior. This will make it harder in the long run to change a child 's eating habits.
Citations
"Overweight and Obesity in the U.S. « Food Research & Action Center." Food Research Action Center Overweight and Obesity in the US Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2014. <http://frac.org/initiatives/hunger-and-obesity/obesity-in-the-us/>.
"Is Obesity A Disease?" Prevention. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
"Preventing Obesity in Children, Causes of Child Obesity, and More." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.
Widom, Cathy S., and Tyrone Bentley. "A 30-year Follow-up of the Effects of Child Abuse and Neglect on Obesity." - Bentley. N.p., 6 Sept. 2012. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
Annotated Bibliography
"Overweight and Obesity in the U.S.
« Food Research & Action Center." Food Research Action Center Overweight and Obesity in the US Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2014. <http://frac.org/initiatives/hunger-and-obesity/obesity-in-the-us/>. The Food Research and Action Center website tells facts and statistics about obesity in adults and children. This website also tells State and local data, the consequences of child obesity, and factors contributing to being obese, it tells a great deal about being overweight and obese.
"Is Obesity A Disease?" Prevention. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2014. This website talks about obesity being a disease. I found arguments that found obesity as a disease and not something that can be preventable. I used this site to contribute to counterarguments.
"Preventing Obesity in Children, Causes of Child Obesity, and More." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2014. Preventing Obesity in children states different causes of child obesity and the ways to prevent them. I used this website to show that obesity is preventable and not a disease.
Widom, Cathy S., and Tyrone Bentley. "A 30-year Follow-up of the Effects of Child Abuse and Neglect on Obesity." - Bentley. N.p., 6 Sept. 2012. Web. 19 Oct.
2014. This website shows the causes of childhood neglect leading to obesity in children and also adults.