Obsesity epidemic

 

 

 

The role that diet plays in maintaining a healthy body weight

An individual's body weight is in conjunction with how many calories are consumed; if an individual consumes to few of calories they will be considered underweight, if an individual consumes to many calories they will be considered overweight.  Obesity occurs when an individual is extremely overweight and is currently an epidemic in the United States. 

 

 

Obesity epidemic

Today, 66 percent of the U.S. population is overweight, and about a third of the population is obese (Sizer & Whitney, 2012).  The economic cost of the obesity epidemic is about $147 billion spent annually in obesity related healthcare (Sizer & Whitney, 2012).  In addition to the economic costs of the epidemic, that are many health risks associated with the condition, including: "diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, gallbladder stones, stroke, and some types of cancer" (Sizer & Whitney, 2012, p. 326). 

 

There is a lot of research that has been conducted in determining the causes of obesity, more specifically, many of it hopes to answer the question of "why some people get fat while others stay thin", but the data is not conclusive (Sizer & Whitney, 2012).  There are many theories on the topic ranging from inherited metabolic factors, environmental influences, and genetics (Sizer & Whitney, 2012). 

 

Recent observational research explains that low-income households and "food deserts" may be some contributing factors to the obesity rates in America, but still only explain about 10 percent of obese cases.  Because fast food is "cheap" individuals who are considered low income tend to eat more of these non-nutritional meals.  Other behavioral factors include busy life-styles, inactive life-styles, and confusing nutritional information from advertising. 

 

The portion size of fast-food and restaurant meals have increased substantially over the last two decades, and many Americans are not satisfied unless portions far exceed normal amounts.  From a cultural viewpoint, health is considered to be a low priority throughout the nation as Americans are in constant search for "bigger and better". 

 

Dietary Guidelines have been established to help educate people on suggested daily allowances of food, but much of the nutritional information is not readily available for fast-food and restaurant items.  In my opinion, I believe that many Americans are unaware of how bad food in restaurant is, and tend to live in a culture that supports eating out and dining social activities.  The government should play a bigger role in controlling the obesity epidemic; children should receive better nutritional education in school, fast-food and restaurants should have to include the nutritional value of their products on packaging,  and laws should be in place to reduce the amount of trans fat and saturated fat in restaurant and processed foods. 

 

It is a sad reality that the obesity epidemic is only going to get far worse before it starts to get better. It seems that the lesson that will be learned will be a very expensive and devastating one from a health perspective.  Hopefully future generations can stop the epidemic from happening, and a health conscious consumer can redefine the food options that are available in restaurants. 

 

References:

Sizer, F. & Whitney, E. (2012).  Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies, MyPlate Update (12th ed.).  Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.