The effects of obesity on our society
Obesity is a terrible thing to have in life. People often assume overweight is the same thing as obesity but that in entirely wrong. “The United States is already one of the most obese countries on this earth and is quickly rising ever so higher on the list” (American 1). Obesity negatively affects society by insurance cost, health, Quality of life. Obesity affects your everyday life in many ways even with the simple things like tying your shoes and standing up by yourself.
Obesity affects your insurance cost drastically:
Over the past two decades, the adult population in the United States has, on average, become much heavier. From 1987 to 2007, the fraction of adults who were overweight or obese increased
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According to Reuters Health people who are obese have a greater risk of falling into depression another health concern of this country. People who are obese suffer from low self-esteem and can estrange themselves from others because of their weight. Women who are normally very self-conscious of their personal image and can have low self-esteem tend to even have lower views of themselves when they are overweight. This can lead to them turning to anorexia or bulimia just so that they can slim down. (American …show more content…
Fast food and unhealthy living are all problems with today’s society. We need to hunker down on obesity or it will drastically decrease our quality of life, increase our insurance costs, and our nation’s overall health.
“How Obesity is affecting the World around YOU.” American Adult Obesity, 8 May 2011, americanadultobesity.wordpress.com/mark-public-argument/.
“How Does Obesity in Adults Affect Spending on Health Care?” Congressional Budget Office, 4 Aug. 2015, www.cbo.gov/publication/21772.
“Overweight & Obesity Statistics.” National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1 Aug. 2017, www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity.
“Healthy Weight.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29 Aug. 2017, www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/.
Daily, The Alternative. “8 Ways Being Overweight Interferes With Your Quality of Life.” The Alternative Daily, 28 Mar. 2016,
Most people have an opinion about overweight people and often jump to conclusion about the reasons a person may be overweight. My personal beliefs about obesity and weight issues may be a bit different than most people as I have suffered with weight issues for most of my adult life. I feel strongly that people and especially healthcare workers should never judge others for any reason and especially not because of someone’s appearance. I value the human body and what it is capable of and I was brought up to believe that we should take care of our bodies and live a healthy lifestyle. Not everyone that is overweight is unhealthy and there are many factors that lead to a person gaining weight.
OBESITY: Overweight and Obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat throughout the body that may affect health. While it could lead to other diseases it can also impact mental health, as well as social and economic engagement. Overweight and obesity affects many Australians. It starts in the early years and increases with age.
The high demand for medical care also increases the financial burden on the families and therefore the community as well. As one can see the community health is greatly effected by the high rates of obesity among its individuals. Children in particular have a massive effect because not only are they the future of that community, but they also influence the schools in that region. Healthy People 2020 regard obesity in America as a very serious problem especially among children. It is such a major issue because childhood obesity easily leads to obesity in adulthood that increases the risks for heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, stroke, and cancer (Nutrition).
Obesity has been a major problem in America for a long time every since junk food and fast food came into play. Now in America there is 78.6 million obese adults and counting (CDC). Obesity can lead to heart disease, stroke and even type 2 diabetes if worse enough. The estimated obesity medical bill was over 147 billion dollars in United States this shows that when you get obesity that is why you should stay active and eat more healthy foods. Obesity can be prevented by being active and getting enough exercise, eat healthy foods and try to stay away from junk food, finally reduce screen time and find other things to do than watching television.
Behavior and environment has a big role to play in obesity too. Studies show that less than 50% of adults in America get a healthy amount physical activity. This means that grownups cannot get enough calories out and end up gaining weight because they choose not to live healthy or they have a disease. Also modern technology influences obesity because it makes labor easier. Computers and televisions keep Americans on the couch all day.
Preventing obesity educating individuals and families through the proper eating practices to prevent childhood and adult obesity. The study of sociology regarding obesity could use the theory of structural functionalism that analyzes obesity in the United States. However, millions of Americans remain obese and overweight which affect the whole body through fatty tissue that causes many conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and many types of cancer. Nevertheless, obesity in the United States leads to indirect costs of higher medical and psychological costs of around
Obesity kills lots of people with other diseases like heart diseases, diabetes, and some cancers. Obesity is a condition where a person has accumulated so much body fat that it might hurt their health. If a person's body weight is at least 20% higher than it should be, he or she is considered obese. Junk food is one reason people get overweight and have diseases that kill them. There are things people can do to get rid of obesity in America.
(2012). Overweight and obesity: Adult obesity facts. Retrieved August 8, 2012, from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). FastStats: Overweight and obesity.
Take Off of The Obesity Crisis Being overweight has been a concern of the US government and citizens for a while now. Many people have been debating about how the obesity crisis has been affecting people and businesses. Who's fault is it and how can we solve the problem are questions often asked by concerned citizens, the government and most importantly overweight people.
In “What You Eat Is Your Business,” Radley Balko tackles the issue of who is responsible for fighting obesity. Balko argues that the controversy of obesity should make the individual consumers culpable for their own health and not the government (467). As health insurers refrain from increasing premiums for obese and overweight patients, there is a decrease in motivation to keep a healthy lifestyle (Balko 467). As a result, Balko claims these manipulations make the public accountable for everyone else 's health rather than their own (467). Balko continues to discuss the ways to fix the issue such as insurance companies penalizing consumers who make unhealthy food choices and rewarding good ones (468).
Obesity has gained a lot of attention in the recent years especially in the 21st century. Right now in America, there is an ongoing epidemic. The cause is not by viruses or bacteria, but by human nature. There is no one way to solve this serious problem. With growing body sizes and serious medical problems associated with obesity, it is a problem that needs to be addressed and changed.
It can cause certain cancers, heart problems and diabetes (World Health Organization, n.d.). The thing to know is that obesity is ranked second only to smoking as a preventable cause of death (Flegal, Williamson, Pamuk, &
Obesity is becoming more prominent over the years in the U.S., so far more than half of the population is considered obese. Although being overweight is common in the United States people have been weight shamed for a long time. Exclusion against overweight people is evident when hiring in the workplace, working out at the gym, and when receiving medical care. Treatment of overweight people when interviewing for a job or simply just working everyday at the office for larger individuals can be more difficult than one would think.
There are many social consequences from being overweight or obese. These consequences can make a serious impact on the quality of lifestyle that an overweight person can live and usually have long lasting effects. Often obese people are viewed as social outcasts and become the targets of bias and discrimination. These prejudices can make an obese person vulnerable to discrimination in multiple aspects of their lives. It can affect their choices of education, employment, medical treatment and personal relationships.
should be separated from those who do not follow a healthy lifestyle or do not care about their body concerning the costs of insurance and other medical care systems. In fact, making thin people pay less will benefit both obese and thin people, because it will encourage obese people to follow a diet and lose weight, reduce suffering and prevent social embarrassment. “In the spirit of a mutually supportive community, the task of the statutory health insurance is to maintain, restore or improve health of the insured. The insured have co-responsibility for their health; through a health conscious way of living, taking part in appropriately timed preventative measures [and] playing an active role in treatment and rehabilitation, they should contribute to avoiding illness and disability and overcoming the respective consequences” (Schmidt