Obesity is one of the serious problems in the society nowadays especially in America. It is a severe problem that needs special attention because it concerns the health of the people involve. Obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that risks the health of a human being. A person will know if he or she is obese by measuring the body mass index (BMI), by calculating a person’s weight in kilograms if divided by the square of his or her height in meters then one can already know and measure their body mass index.A person who gets a BMI of thirty and above is considered obese.
Obesity is risking the health of a person and few illness that one can get of he or she is obese are cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, sleep disorder, digestive problem, some cancer and more (“Obesity and overweight”). Why are there so many obese people in the United States? This is a very common question a lot of people ask. In some research they said that 60 % of the American population is either obese or overweight. This makes a lot of number of people who are suffering from having excessive fats in their body.
There are a lot of causes on why a person becomes obese. The major cause of increasing obesity rate in America is the people’s diet, it is because people consumes a lot of calories and high in fat food than their body needs and at the same time they tend to do little work giving their body a very little chance to burn all the fats and calories that their body takes (J. Hughes). It is said that many Americans are lazy doing only a little work and too lazy to exercise since a lot of people are so focus with their work or doing other things.Poor eating habit in America is very common among people because of the increasing number of fast food chains around such as Burger king and Jack in the Box. These fast food chains serves food that are high in calories and fats and cholesterol like French fries and hamburgers.
A lot of people in America eat fast food in an average of four times in a week and some do even eat more than that. That is why no wonder that the number of obesity these days is increasing in our society. In addition, these fast food chains also are very generous in their serving sizes thus making people consumes a lot in every meal that they eat (E. Terry).Therefore it makes people gain weight and have a hard time of controlling their food intake.
Another common cause of obesity is lack of exercise. In our generation today technology made a lot of influence from people hence making more people get involved and too attached in some technological activities such as the use of computer games like the playstation and xbox and other technology related stuff that makes people so engross with such activities and forgetting to move their body and will just choose to sit down all day playing in the computer (H. Adams).Other factors involved in the increasing rate of obesity are genetic, behavioral, environmental and even cultural. It could be genetic factor; if a person has obese member in the family there will be a greater chance that the child will be obese too since it is said that a child can inherit it from their offspring through the genes.
Behavior factors can also affect obesity as well, for instance; if an individual does not have the discipline to control his or her eating habits tendency is the person will definitely gain weight and will become overweight or worse become obese.Environmental and cultural factors may also affect like in the case of the school activities. Nowadays physical education is not mandatory in most schools in America. Gym class or physical education class used to be a part of the schools academic curriculum but most schools changed it now and made it voluntary. There is no wonder why there are a lot of obese children in the United States today.
Furthermore a lot of schools also today serve junk foods, candy bars and sodas in vending machines and cafeterias.It is again one reason why most people especially children gain a lot of weight and become obese “Obesity in America”. Finding a solution in solving the increasing rate of obesity in America may seem difficult to find. But experts and opinions of people may help to prevent and find a solution to this problem. One major solution for lowering the number of obese people in America is having a discipline in one’s eating habits and lifestyle.
People should learn how to control themselves with their eating habits. Having a regular proper diet will definitely help control the weight gain of a person.If people will be only conscious with the food that they eat then they can stop the risk of becoming obese. Discipline in exercising is also needed. It will only take few extra minutes or hours to burn all the fats and calories that a person takes when they eat. In this case a person will not only reduce the fats and calories but they will also gain something from exercising like building their immunity system and making their body strong and healthy (J.
Hughes). People should make exercise a habit since they can gain a lot of benefits from it.Another possible and helpful solution to this problem is by the help and cooperation of schools and government. Schools should stop serving unhealthy foods or foods that are high in calories and fats to students.
Getting rid of vending machine that sells chocolates, candies, sodas and chips will also help reduce the risk of making students a victim of obesity. Since it is mentioned above that most schools do not include physical education in their curriculum, it would be a big help and action to put back and make physical education class mandatory instead of voluntary.This circumstance will therefore give children opportunity to exercise their body and develop a healthy physique since it is common for children these days to be idle after school hours and mostly spending their time surfing the internet or playing games in the computer (E. Terry). Since technology has a great influence these days especially to young people it would be great if technology like computer games will make an individual move and get rid of some fats, like what has just been invented years ago which they call the DDR or the dance dance revolution arcade game which makes a person dance and move their body in playing the game (S.
Schiesel).In addition, the government can have a role also to help the society lower the number of obesity cases in the country; it is by imposing tax to junk foods, candies, chocolate bars and sodas. Many people will surely disapprove to this idea but in some ways it can also add to the solution of the increasing number of obese people since junk foods and foods that can make people fat will be more expensive and people will tend to think and have a second thought of buying it since the prices of these foods increased already.Adding up, the taxes that the government will get from the junk foods and sodas can be used to support education and obesity related health issues (E.
Terry). A solution like consulting medical help is also possible but only for those who have severe cases of obesity and those who can only afford the operation or surgery. Gastric Bypass or Bariatric surgery is one example of what can doctors do to help an obese person.Gastric bypass surgery makes the stomach smaller and allows food to bypass part of the small intestine and makes a person eat less and will eventually lose weight. On the other hand, it is not expected that the 60% of the population who is obese can undergo this medical procedure (J.
Landon). The bottom line here is that solving the problem of obesity should come from the person itself. One should have a proper discipline in living a healthy lifestyle and becoming more conscious of his or her own body.Schools and the government are only factors that can help solve the problem of the increasing rate of obesity.
Obese people should be educated and should be assisted by people in the society. They need encouragement and a good role model in order for them to be inspired to lose weight and live a normal life. With the current issue in America, the causes mentioned above can only be done if people will help each other regardless of not being an obese or having an obese person in the family or circle of friends.But one should be aware and concern with this problem of the American society today so that Americans can live a long healthy life span and be physically fit and healthy and will be able to function normally in the society. Changes should start at home and parents should set a good model and example to their children so we can avoid and prevent this social issue of obesity. Lastly each and everyone in the country and all over the world should just learn and have discipline hence making the obesity rate decrease or die in the future and years to come.
