Obesity in Anglophone Countries

IB Diploma Programme, english hl | Obesity in anglophone countries | Kaja Pavlinić, 3.IB | | Prva gimnazija Varaždin | 2.2.2013. |

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Table of contents

I. Introduction 2 II. Obesity in the USA 3 III. Obesity in the UK 4 IV. Obesity in Australia 5 V. Conclusion 6 VI. Sources 7

I. Introduction

Obesity can be defined as an excess proportion of total body fat that presents a risk to health. It is a major risk factor for various health issues, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases or even cancer. In today’s modern world, it represents a big threat to population due to its high increase rate. Also, it is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide.
Picture 1. BMI chart
Picture 1. BMI chart
Obesity can be measured in many ways, but the most common measure is BMI (Body Mass Index). A person is considered obese if his or her BMI exceeds 30, while range of BMI for a normal and healthy person is around 18-24, depending on height (WHO, 2013). BMI can be calculated with a BMI chart (Picture 1).
It mostly occurs when a person takes in more calories than he or she burns. This is caused by lack of exercise and unhealthy modern lifestyle which includes sitting at work, school or home without enough exercise. Of course, there are other factors that can also play a role in obesity. Younger people have a higher metabolic rate and therefore burn more calories throughout the day than older people. Hence, older people have a higher risk of weight gain and developing obesity. Men have a higher percentage of muscles in their body than women, and they burn more calories. Women tend to be more overweight than men, especially after their menopause when their metabolic rate decreases. Researchers also found that obesity tends to run in the families. Hence, a person is more likely to develop obesity if his or her ancestors were obese. However, these people only need to be more careful about their eating and exercising habits to avoid getting obese. Some illnesses and medications, like the ones for hormone problems, depression (or some other psychological issues) and brain diseases can cause obesity which is hard to control.
Apart from health issues caused by obesity, one of the most painful aspects of obesity is emotional suffering it can cause. People who are obese become insecure and have a low self-esteem. They often develop depression and start eating even more, causing them to get stuck in an infinite cycle. More and more obese people face problems with discrimination and social isolation in school, work or other situations and places (WebMD, 2013). II. Obesity in the USA

Picture 2: Obesity over time
Picture 2: Obesity over time In the United States of America, obesity rates are among the highest in the whole world (Picture 2). Obesity has been cited as a major health issue in the USA. It is predicted that, by 2030, it could affect 42% of Americans (Nancy Hellmich, 2012). Also, obesity has been a contributing factor of around 100.000-400.000 deaths per year. Current statistics show that more than one third of adult U.S. citizens are obese. Statistics also show that almost 31% percent of preschool children are obese. Except large obesity rate growth pattern that concerns doctors and scientists, medical costs associated with obesity were estimated at 147 billion dollars, which affects the economical state of the country (Wikipedia, 2013). Until 1980, obesity rate vas relatively stable. After that, obesity rate doubled among the adults and children and tripled among the adolescents due to raised life standards and change of lifestyle (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). Numbers of obese are higher for African-American and Hispanic women than for Caucasian women, while numbers of obese are higher for Hispanic men than for African-American and Caucasian men (Food Research and Action Center, 2012). Growing number of obese citizens in the USA is also consequence of fast food chains all over the country. Some famous fast-food chains like Burger King, McDonald’s, KFC, Taco Bell or Wendy’s keep expanding their menus with unhealthy food filled with unhealthy ingredients and calories. Some fast-food chains even claim to have some healthy menus, but they are still filled with artificial ingredients and lots of calories, while lacking minerals and vitamins. McDonald’s was even involved in lawsuits for making people overweight and unhealthy, but this suits were dismissed because it is considered that each citizen is responsible for his or hers own health. More and more doctors and scientists are working to solve the problem of obese Americans. They are trying to raise awareness about obesity by raising campaigns and carrying out statistics in public. Some schools and workplaces are working on development of healthy lunch menus for children and employees. Famous American trainers and nutritionists are making special DVDs, eating plans and offers to attract citizens to live healthier.

III. Obesity in the UK Picture 3: How England weighs up
Picture 3: How England weighs up While problem of obesity in the UK is not as critical as in the USA, it is still a growing health concern. According to Forbes, UK has the most overweight population in Europe, and is in upper-top of the 50 most overweight countries. Obesity rates in adults have quadrupled in the last 25 years, at the same time as in the USA (Wikipedia, 2013).
According to the newest statistics, currently 22% of citizens are now obese, while percentage of 16.3% children is even more worrying. When converted, numbers show that approximately one of four adults is obese (Picture 3). Obesity takes around 70.000 deaths each year. It is predicted that, if the trend doesn’t change, there will be 40% obese citizens in 2030. Number of obese is twice bigger among women than men. Levels of obesity were the highest within the age group of 45-54, but it is also noticed that the number of obese adolescents is increasing (The Guardian, 2013).
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) started a strong action against obesity. They were doing a research and concluded that different age groups and determinants need to be targeted in order to provide effective and affordable solutions to protect citizens. Priority has been given to children and adolescents of school-age and changes in physical activity, school meals and vending machines have been applied. There is a campaign called “Change4Life” that was started in order to raise awareness about healthy lifestyle. It encourages people to eat healthy, move more, drink and smoke less, find local activities (OECD, 2012).
Recently, there has been debate about a tax on sugary drinks which was proposed by health charities and organisations. The goal is to encourage citizens to make healthier drinking choices. Also, money raised from taxes would be invested in health-promoting initiatives and funding healthier lunches. However, organisations that promote freedom of customer choice are against adaptation of the tax and they don’t think it would decrease level of obesity (Sophie Sportiche, 2013).

IV. Obesity in Australia

Obesity in Australia can be described as epidemic, due to rapid increase in the last five years. It has been compared to rapid increase rate in USA. The most comprehensive study of the health of Australians released by The Australian Bureau of Statistics brought out some details about obesity in the country (Picture 4).
Picture 4. Predictions about obese people in Australia in 2025
Picture 4. Predictions about obese people in Australia in 2025 Statistics have shown that around 63% of adult citizens are overweight or obese, out of which 28% are obese. The average man has gained 3.9 kilograms and the average woman has gained 4.1 kilograms since last statistics in 1995. It was also found out that more men are obese than women. Childhood obesity has been stabilized and number of obese children didn’t increase, so a quarter of children are overweight or obese (Kate Hagan, 2012). Immigrants to Australia are more obese than Australians that have been in Australia for more than two generations. This increased number of obese citizens is caused by adoption of a Western lifestyle and diet. Researches show that around 31% of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders were obese and diagnosed with a diabetes type 2. Diabetes Australia, the national body for diabetes awareness and prevention, brought out that costs of obesity were estimated around 20 billion dollars. Government was encouraged to make healthier food more affordable and to work with food industry in order to lower sugar levels and minimize the usage of other harmful and unhealthy ingredients in processed foods. The National Preventative Health Taskforce is working on banning commercials for processed and junk food during daytime when children watch their favorite programs on TV. Government is also considering paying weight loss surgery to morbidly obese people (Wikipedia, 2012).

V. Conclusion

Obesity can be considered a serious problem worldwide, especially in large developed countries. In anglophone countries, obesity is the biggest problem in the USA, followed up by New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada and Ireland. Picture 5: Prevalence of overweight people in the Anglosphere
Picture 5: Prevalence of overweight people in the Anglosphere

Although governments and different organizations try to raise awareness about healthy life, fast increase in rate of obese people is very concerning due to lifestyle adults have developed (Picture 5). Nowadays, people are having mostly sedentary jobs. When they finish their job, they feel exhausted, want to rest and avoid any additional activities, which is very bad for their health. In fact, a lot of companies started to encourage their employees to exercise before or after work. Regular exercise not only improves health and reduces the risk of getting overweight, but it also helps the brain to work better, increases productivity and improves the mood due to endorphins.
Along with regular exercise, healthy diet is also very important. People should eat as much fresh food and meals prepared with fresh ingredients as possible. Processed food should be avoided because it contains unnecessary calories and artificial ingredients. Eating at fast food restaurants should also be brought to minimal level because, in most cases, even meals that are claimed to be healthy have a lot of unhealthy ingredients.
Parents should take care of their children’s health, too. They must teach their children that it is important to eat healthy and to work out since early age. Fast food may be more appealing to little children than fresh and healthy meals, but there are a lot of healthy meals that they will like, so fast food can be replaced.
With a power of will and persistence, along with proper education about health, each individual can improve his or hers lifestyle and statistics about obesity will be more positive.

VI. Sources 1. WHO, 2013. Obesity [online] Available at: <http://www.who.int/topics/obesity/en/> [Accessed 2 February 2013] 2. WebMD, 2013. Obesity [online] Available at: <http://www.webmd.com/diet/what-is-obesity> [Accessed 2 February 2013] 3. Nancy Hellmich, 2012. Obesity could affect 42% of Americans by 2030 [online] Available at: <http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-05-07/obesity-projections-adults/54791430/1> [Accessed 2 February 2013] 4. Wikipedia, 2013. Obesity in the United States [online] Available at: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_the_United_States> [Accessed 2 February 2013] 5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010. Facts About Obesity in the United States [online] Available at: <http://www.cdc.gov/pdf/facts_about_obesity_in_the_united_states.pdf> [Accessed 2 February 2013] 6. Food Research and Action Center, 2012. Overweight and Obesity in the US [online] Available at: <http://frac.org/initiatives/hunger-and-obesity/obesity-in-the-us/> [Accessed 2 February 2013] 7. Wikipedia, 2013. Obesity in the United Kingdom [online] Available at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_the_United_Kingdom> [Accessed 2 February 2013] 8. The Guardian, 2013. By 2020, 80% men will be overweight, study shows [online] Available at <http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/feb/16/adult-obesity-rises> [Accessed 2 February 2013] 9. OECD, 2012. OECD Obesity Update [online] Available at <http://www.aso.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/02/120223-OECD-Obesity-Update.pdf> [Accessed 2 February 2013] 10. Sophie Sportiche, 2013. Debate on soda tax bubbles up in UK [online] Available at <http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/02/2013221044528263.html> [Accessed 2 February 2013] 11. Kate Hagan, 2012. Nation’s number of obese growing [online] Available at <http://www.smh.com.au/national/nations-number-of-obese-growing-20121029-28f6t.html> [Accessed 2 February 2013] 12. Wikipedia, 2012. Obesity in Australia [online] Available at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_Australia> [Accessed 2 February 2013]

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[ 1 ]. http://www.freebmicalculator.net/bmi-chart.jpg
[ 2 ]. http://i.usatoday.net/news/graphics/2012/0507-obesity-trend/obesity-over-time.gif
[ 3 ]. http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/04/health_obesity_uk/img/2.jpg
[ 4 ]. http://images.smh.com.au/2011/01/23/2147829/obese-420x0.jpg
[ 5 ]. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Anglosphere_2007_overweight_rate.png