Obesity - Exemplification

Hungry? Why waste time preparing a meal when you can drive down the street and order from the dollar menu? Or you can visit the all-you-can-eat buffet and take advantage of the dinner special. How about that Chinese restaurant that delivers for free? Surely there is no need for Mom’s recipes when you can find “home-style” cooking in the freezer aisle at the grocery store! With so many fast food choices out there, it is no wonder why Americans are overweight. In our society, convenience trumps health-consciousness. As a result, the battle against obesity and heart disease is a losing one, and we have the blue “first prize” ribbon for most obese country in the world to show for it. The key to physical fitness is diet and exercise, which follows a basic system: calories in, i.e. foods and beverages, and calories out, i.e. physical activity. In order to lose weight, calories out must be greater than calories in. Unfortunately, with the American diet becoming fattier each year and daily physical activity declining, obese Americans are quickly becoming the norm. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 33% of American adults are obese. In the past year, adult obesity rates have increased in 16 states and decreased in none (“Obesity and Overweight”). There are a few ways to determine obesity. The most common method is to measure weight and height in order to calculate a Body Mass Index. Adults with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 are considered overweight, adults with a BMI of over 30 are considered obese, and adults with a BMI of 40 or greater are considered morbidly obese (“What is Obesity?”). To further track the rate of obesity, numbers have been divided up into multiple categories: region, race, education, and income. Obesity is most prevalent in the Southern states. Mississippi has had the highest adult obesity rate in the country for seven consecutive years. In 2000, no state had an obesity rate exceeding 30%. In 2011, twelve states have an obesity rate of 30% or more. “Today, the state with the lowest obesity rate would have had the highest rate in 1995. There was a clear tipping point in our national weight gain over the last twenty years, and we can 't afford to ignore the impact obesity has on our health and corresponding health care spending,” said Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for American’s Health (“F as in Fat”). If we divide those numbers amongst different racial groups, it will show that the Black community is hit hardest by obesity, reaching up to 40% in some states. The Latino community peaks at 35%, and the White community tops at of 32% (“F as in Fat”). The figures given by different researchers differ quite a bit when calculating obesity rates among social and economic classes; however, the common denominator in those studies is the fact that the rates have risen across the board over the years. Judging by the rate at which the numbers are growing, it is safe to say that obesity is an epidemic. Obesity leads to a laundry list of other illnesses and health risks. As obesity rates increase, so do the number of people suffering from diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, to name a few. In 1995, four states reported diabetes rates of over 6%. Now, 43 states have reached 7%; 32 of those exceeding 8% (“F as in Fat”). A direct result of rising illnesses is an increase of medical costs. In 2008, $147 billion was spent for medical costs related to obesity (“What Is Obese?”). Obesity has a profound negative effect on health as well as the economy. It can also have a dangerous effect on one’s emotional health. The obesity stigma is extremely negative, seen as socially unacceptable, and often leads to discrimination. Discrimination is everywhere – school, work, the doctor’s office, among peers and in the media. It stems from the perception that obese people are lazy, have poor hygiene, lack of self-control, unintelligent, and unsuccessful (“Obesity Stigma”). The growing trend of bad habits and dismissal of healthy practices are being handed down to the next generation, setting them up for failure, and will continue to worsen if actions are not taken to stop it.
How can we win the battle against the bulge? "Creating healthy environments is key to reversing the obesity epidemic…" stated Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation president and CEO. "…It 's the same with healthy food: when communities have access to healthy affordable foods, families eat better (“F as in Fat”)." What we eat is equally as important as how much we eat. Portion control is a factor in healthy eating. Portions that are considered “normal” in America are significantly larger than meal portions in Japan, the least obese country in the world with a rate of only 3.6% . However, “calories in” is only half of the battle. Living a more active lifestyle is the finishing touch. For example, walking or riding a bicycle short distances will help to burn a large amount of calories as opposed to driving. Passing this knowledge and working to develop such habits to children will help those alarming numbers to decline. As much as America loves being #1, obesity is one category in which we should strive to be ranked last.

Works Cited
“F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2011.” Trust for America’s Health.
TFAH, 2011. Web. Jul. 2011.
“Obesity and Overweight for Professionals: Defining Overweight and Obesity.” Center for
Disease Control and Prevention. CDC, 2010. Web. 21 Jun. 2010. “Obesity Stigma.” Obesity Action Coalition. OAC, 2011. Web.
“What is Obesity?” The Obesity Society. The Obesity Society, 2010. Web.

Cited: “F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2011.” Trust for America’s Health. TFAH, 2011. Web. Jul. 2011. “Obesity and Overweight for Professionals: Defining Overweight and Obesity.” Center for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC, 2010. Web. 21 Jun. 2010. “Obesity Stigma.” Obesity Action Coalition. OAC, 2011. Web. “What is Obesity?” The Obesity Society. The Obesity Society, 2010. Web.