Obesity The Epidemic by Jerry Nguyen

Obesity The Epidemic

Introduction:

  Obesity is a disorder that involves having an increased amount of body fat. The disorder is becoming increasingly common within the United States. In 2014, about seventy percent of adults in the United States were obese or overweight (“Overweight & Obesity Statistics”).  Obesity does not only affect your appearance, but it can also damage your health and future family. It could possibly put you at risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and other health problems. All these medical conditions could also be passed on to your children. With obesity on the rise, we as a society should watch what we eat and how much food we consume.

History:

Obesity has persisted since the 15th century. For instance, european attitudes towards body weight was transformed during and after the Renaissance era (Fletcher). Because the average body weight was increasing at such a rapid rate , doctors began to put a restraint on diet (1). Two doctors Vigarello and Cheyne publicized a milk and vegetable diet (1). However, their efforts were counterproductive. Over time due to consumerism, fast food culture, and the introduction of automobiles, obesity has taken over one-third of American adults. These technological advances has made the consumption of processed foods more accessible, making obesity one of the nation’s fastest growing disease. With the abundance of fast food chains in the 20th century such as, McDonalds, Wendy’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, etc. aided by the automobile lifestyle, eating unhealthy became more encouraged and acceptable (“100 Years of US Obesity”). Through persuasion and attraction, advertisements on the radio and television facilitated consumerism, which caused society to want more.

Effects on Society:

Obesity has and continues to negatively affect society’s well being. Causing people within communities to be diagnosed with a disease that prevents them from living their lives to the fullest. Many side effects come with obesity that can be passed onto future generations. These side effects include diabetes, dyslipidemia, and osteoarthritis (“Overweight & Obesity”). Many who are diagnosed with type II diabetes are physically inactive and ingest unhealthy amounts of foods. Obesity also has affected our nation’s economy. With obesity spreading throughout the United States, it has dramatically increased the medical costs of this disease to almost nine hundred billion dollars (“Obesity Consequences”).

Even the state of Texas has been affected by obesity. Everybody knows that “everything is bigger in Texas.” We as a community have created this culture that helps feed obesity. For example, after Friday Night Lights, high school students go to Whataburger, a fast food chain exclusive to Texas, to celebrate their school’s victory. This culture has tainted our community, imprinting unhealthy and excessive eating habits. In 2012, the US recorded about twenty-one percent of teens were obese, however according to graphs, there is a positive trend among teen obesity (12/6, Karen K | Monica). If consumerism and advertisements permits, statistics today should show that the percentage will be high as well. As a result, once our communities are afflicted with these disproportionate diets and lifestyles, the nation itself as a whole is tarnished.

Examples:

A case study presents a fifty-two year old women with obesity and a case of Type II diabetes (Cypress). Her physical activity has reduced over time and she was diagnosed with depression (1). She claims most of her weight gained is from being on insulin for five years (1). She has tried multiple times to cut down her eating habits, however all her attempts failed in having symptoms of increased hunger and shakiness (1). Currently, she is standing at 5’ 1 ½’’ and weighs 265 pounds (1). Now she has to live with diabetes, high blood glucose, and depression for the rest of her life (1).

Case number two presents a man in his sixties also with obesity and type II diabetes (Cummings). As a child he developed obesity and has continued to gain weight over the years (1). He consumes three meals a day, with dinner being the largest meal (1). He has a problem with binge eating, in which he claims that it is all induced by stress (1). He has tried many different commercial and medical diets to help fight his disease, however the weight lost is regained after discontinuing any of the health programs (1). After his surgery, he lost 78 pounds and found that he is losing weight slower than normal (1). The surgery has fixed his diabetes, sleep apnea, and hypercholesterolemia (1).

Solutions

In today’s society, there is not one explicit solution to obesity. Obesity exists as a complex epidemic that needs efforts from not only consumers, but also the food industry to alleviate the problem. Many solutions that have been introduced include the food industry promoting nutritional wellness and reproducing healthier products, supplemented fasting, and consumer responsibility.

The food industry plays a big role in the obesity epidemic. They are the ones who produce everything that we consume. With that in mind, the food industry needs to promote nutritional wellness to the public. This includes public schools, low income areas and medical schools (Verduin et al.). Being educated on nutrition, consumers can now be aware of what they put into their bodies’. For instance, ConAgra teamed up with the American Dietetic Association to endorse healthy eating and reduce the occurrence of foodborne diseases (1). ConAgra, a large producer in the food industry, has even developed and improved their products to be healthier for all consumers to fight the epidemic (1). They want the government to implement “incentives to the industry and also stimulating media participation in the prevention of obesity” (1). This solution will be the most effective because it will initiate a much needed change in our society. With the food industry producing healthier and more appetizing options rather than junk food, it forces consumers to eat healthy and nutritious meals. If supermarkets were to stock their shelves with the new and improved food, it would reduce the consumers’ desire to purchase unhealthy products.

Another solution to fight this epidemic was to not eat any food, which is also known as fasting. Fasting can be very dangerous if not done correctly. It can cause you to lose weight too quickly and be very malnourished, which could lead to death due to “potassium and magnesium deficiency” (Felitti et al.).  For example, in the 1980s, Irish hunger strikers began to fast without supplements (1). Drinking only water for six week, they showed serious weight loss and were dangerously ill (1). One week later, they were all dead with lethal cardiac arrhythmia (1). This technique of fasting does not work.

The correct way of fasting is with supplements that supply your body with “electrolytes, amino acids, two essential, fatty acids, and vitamins” (Felitti et al.). In an experiment led by the Southern California Permanente Medical Group, they experimented with supplemented fasting on morbidly obese adults (1). They noticed that “no death or biomedical harm occurred to any of these individuals” (1). The supplemented fasting program is designed to make an individual lose three hundred pounds in a year (1).  This can only be achieved if the patient completely quits eating all food and caloric beverages (1). This solution seems to work the best, however it may be very costly to an individual.

The final solution ultimately lies in the hands of the consumer. The consumer has to be responsible for their own life. We as a society need to be educated on proper nutrition and exercise. With good knowledge of nutrition, the consumer can make their own healthy food choices (Verduin et al.). A person’s decision on nutrition is affected by four factor: “taste, quality, convenience, and price” (1). The importance of healthy living has increased to individuals, however “sales and surveys show that people would rather worry about taste, convenience, and price” (1). In order for the prevalence of obesity to decline, we must be knowledgeable of what we consume.

Camus and Absurdity

Albert Camus was a philosopher, who developed absurdism. He believed that life had no true meaning and purpose. To some people including Camus, the epidemic of obesity is considered absurd. The disease is caused by oneself’s inability to control their unhealthy eating. People began to blame the food and the food industry for causing them to become overweight or obese, while in fact, they were just looking for an answer to their absurd problem. Camus had also questioned whether or not life is worth living for. In a way, obesity is similar to suicide because overtime it slowly damages your own body. Camus would think that this epidemic has gotten out of hand because it is a self-caused disease.

Conclusion

Obesity is prevalent in 70% of adults in the United States (“Overweight & Obesity Statistics”). This disease is continuing to rise at a rapid rate. We can prevent obesity from becoming a norm by working together as a society to educate each other on healthy living. If the obesity epidemic can grow this easily, our society is in danger for another epidemic.

Works Cited

“100 Years of US Obesity.” 100 Years of US Obesity | VOX, CEPR's Policy Portal, voxeu.org/article/100-years-us-obesity.

12/6, Karen K | Monica. “Teen Obesity.” California Teen Health | Teen Health Information, www.pamf.org/teen/health/diseases/obesity.html.

Cummings, Sue. “Case Study: A Patient With Diabetes and Weight-Loss Surgery.” Diabetes Spectrum, American Diabetes Association, 1 July 2007, spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/content/20/3/173.

Cypress, Majorie. Case Study: A 52-Year-Old Woman With Obesity, Poorly Controlled Type 2 Diabetes, and Symptoms of Depression, journal.diabetes.org/clinicaldiabetes/V17n31999/Pg142.htm.

Felitti, Vincent J, et al. “Obesity: Problem, Solution, or Both?” The Permanente Journal, Kaiser Permanente, 2010, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2912711/.

Fletcher, Isabel. “A (mostly 20th century) History of Obesity.” AcuteMedicine, 2016,      http://www.acutemedicine.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Fletcher_History-of-obesity_12.9.16.pdf Accessed 14 Mar. 2018.

“Obesity Consequences.” Obesity Prevention Source, 12 Apr. 2016, www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-consequences/.

“Overweight & Obesity.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5 Mar. 2018, www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/causes.html.

“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.

Verduin, Patricia, et al. “Solutions to Obesity: Perspectives from the Food Industry | The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition | Oxford Academic.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 1 July 2005, academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/82/1/259S/4863410.