Illustrative Essay
April 19th, 2013
Obesity in America
Did you know statistics show that more than 30% of American citizens are overweight or obese? The United States of America is ranked at #1 for having the highest amount of obese people in a country. Surprised? I wasn’t the least bit shocked by this outcome. This is slowly starting to become a pandemic in our country that needs to be fixed. There are so many health risks when it comes to being overweight. Diabetes, heart disease, and shortening of lifespan are just a few reasons why being obese is so dangerous.
One of the top causes of diabetes in men, women, and children is obesity. When being overweight, the chance of someone developing type 2 diabetes jumps to more than 20% higher than that of a healthy weight person. Type 2 diabetes is when the body does not produce enough insulin or just ignores the insulin that your body produces itself. This is a very serious and lifelong disease that will have to be dealt with for the rest of a person’s life. I don’t think anyone would like to have to inject themselves with insulin on a daily basis just for them to survive.
Another risk that comes along is developing heart disease. More than 70% of people who are diagnosed with heart disease are obese. Heart disease can include many conditions of the heart, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, congenital heart disease, and the main one being coronary heart disease. Your heart is what help keeps your body functioning and keeps you alive. Without a healthy heart, you will have many more health problems along with it.
Unfortunately, when you are obese, you do in fact shorten your lifespan by 8 to 10 years. It is very scary knowing that just by being obese, that it can cut down the amount of time you have to live here on earth. This is all because of the health risks that come along with being overweight and the damage it can do to you body.
All of these risks can simply be helped by eating healthier and getting up and
Obesity in America
Did you know statistics show that more than 30% of American citizens are overweight or obese? The United States of America is ranked at #1 for having the highest amount of obese people in a country. Surprised? I wasn’t the least bit shocked by this outcome. This is slowly starting to become a pandemic in our country that needs to be fixed. There are so many health risks when it comes to being overweight. Diabetes, heart disease, and shortening of lifespan are just a few reasons why being obese is so dangerous.
One of the top causes of diabetes in men, women, and children is obesity. When being overweight, the chance of someone developing type 2 diabetes jumps to more than 20% higher than that of a healthy weight person. Type 2 diabetes is when the body does not produce enough insulin or just ignores the insulin that your body produces itself. This is a very serious and lifelong disease that will have to be dealt with for the rest of a person’s life. I don’t think anyone would like to have to inject themselves with insulin on a daily basis just for them to survive.
Another risk that comes along is developing heart disease. More than 70% of people who are diagnosed with heart disease are obese. Heart disease can include many conditions of the heart, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, congenital heart disease, and the main one being coronary heart disease. Your heart is what help keeps your body functioning and keeps you alive. Without a healthy heart, you will have many more health problems along with it.
Unfortunately, when you are obese, you do in fact shorten your lifespan by 8 to 10 years. It is very scary knowing that just by being obese, that it can cut down the amount of time you have to live here on earth. This is all because of the health risks that come along with being overweight and the damage it can do to you body.
All of these risks can simply be helped by eating healthier and getting up and