Hello everyone, welcome to my page!
Here we are going to talk about the obesity epidemic in America. I hate using the word epidemic, but their honestly is no better word to understand how large this issue is. This topic is something I feel very strongly about, and it is something we CAN change. I feel strongly on this topic because America is setting us up to fail! This countries has a very large foundation built on making money from the expense of our health.
You will be able to find the following information:
To first understand the topic here are somethings you should know
The definition of obesity is having a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30.
Obesity is an issue that many countries all over the world face, and America is definitely one. The National library of medicine states that America started to see this issue around 1976. The obesity rates have rose from 15% in 1976-1980 to 30.9% in 1999-2000. The increase was seen in all ages, genders, and ethnicities. Researchers are still not 100 percent sure on the cause of the significant increase. What we do know is that diet and exercise are two of the main factors. Obesity causes risks for many other diseases, and can be life-threatening. This is a serious issue that the center for disease control and prevention (CDC) are trying to prevent, and educating individuals on.
Click the link below to watch a short video on the topic:
Here you will find a list of the issues this causes for not only the individuals, but also America.
- Healthcare insurance increasing in cost
- Overweight individuals being unable to work
- increase risk of diseases such as
- cardiovascular disease
- stroke
- diabetes
- joint degeneration
- cancer
In the article by the National issues forums it states that researchers have estimated that obesity and it accompaying issues are responsible for at least $190 billion in direct annual health-care coats. This drives up the insurance premiums for everyone. It is important to remember that we can not put a price tag and a persons life, but individuals suffering from conditions caused from obesity now have a life long illness even if they change their weight. Diseases that are from obesity are serious, and no one should have to suffer from them.
Employers also suffer from this issue as well. Too many people are unable to do jobs that involve physical labor.
How food has changed over the years
Here is a short video on how food has changed:
Here’s how the American diet has changed in the last 52 years
Unfortunately, food has taken a turn for the worst. How food is made and the accessibilty to fast food over the grocery store is one the main factors to blame. The cost of nutrient rich food is also a huge factor that many people face.
Food/beverages factors that have been increased in items:
Talking about solutions is the best way to bring awareness and try to get people to take this issue to heart.
Increasing health options
This is an approach to improve options for healthy eating and physical activity.
Reducing deterrents
This identifies opportunities to improve the balance of health promoting and health damaging exposures.
Nutrition poor foods and beverages are marketed way too much. Decreasing targeted marketing to children will also benefit.
Improving social and economic resources
Using government and charitable programs to provide nutrition programs designed to alleviate poverty and address disparities in education, employment, and housing.
Here is the link where you can find more information and take a closer look at the chart below.
I believe it is important to know what resources are available to you. Here I have linked many different organizations.
The International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders
President's Council on Fitness, Sport, and Nutrition
National Institute for Children's Healthcare Quality: Be Our Voice
Do you believe this is more of an individual personal issue or that America has enabled this type of issue?
Mead, Andy, et al. How Should We Reduce Obesity in America? National Issues Forums Institute, 2016. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1362437&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Kumanyika, Shiriki K. “A Framework for Increasing Equity Impact in Obesity Prevention.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 109, no. 10, American Public Health Association, Sept. 2019, pp. 1350–57. doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2019.305221.
Bray, Jonica. “Amazing Transformation How I Lost 163 kg...and Saved My Life.” Woman’s Day (Australia Edition), June 2015, pp. 34–35. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=103421997&site=eds-live&s cope=site.
Temple, Norman J. “The Origins of the Obesity Epidemic in the USA-Lessons for Today.” Nutrients, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 12 Oct. 2022, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9611578/.