Obesity in America

Kathy Perez
Prof. Medsker
ENG 101
05/30/13

Throughout everyone’s existence regardless of the number of times, society has always faced some type of issue. Whether it’s big or small, personal or global, everyone constantly comes across obstacles throughout time. In today’s world we are continuously facing many issues, some with easy solutions others hard to solve. Global warming, governmental spending, health problems, etc are just some of the few types of issues we are facing in today’s society. In my opinion I believe that one of the many difficult problems that we are now encountering is the rapid increase rate of obesity. Now a day the intake of fatty foods and high calories by American citizens is spinning out of control. People are not being cautious of what they eat therefore the rate of their health is on a rise for the worst. Obesity is not a stranger in the USA; however by the rate the consumption is being done, it’s not only becoming a major problem but more like a problem without a steady solution. What is obesity? Obesity is when there is too much stored in the body's fatty tissues. When the excess amount of fatty tissues increases, there is a corresponding increase to other medical risk as well. Some of these medical risks have the possibility to be life threatening. The cause of overweight conditions is when the energy intake from foods in greater than what the body needs. The excess is turned into fat cells and stored in the body. The amount of excess energy intake is very small but over time can add up to cause the overweight condition. By the lack of exercise, healthy eating habits, or knowledge is the reason why so many people are obese. It is a major problem with it affecting children as well as adults. In the US alone it has been calculated that 1 out of 3 kids is considered overweight or obese and in adults more than two-thirds of the population. Obesity can tremendously affect someone’s health. It can cause many types of diseases like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. With an obese population and health problems rising, obesity does not only impact people on an individual basis but as well their families, work, and the government. The majority of the American population believes that those who are obese only affect themselves in this matter but in reality it affects the whole nation. The effects of obesity are soaring medical costs, government expenses, and increased family costs. A most obvious impact on any increase of disease in society is the additional costs and expenses required to prevent, diagnose and treat such conditions. This is where obesity comes in; with its increase it causes the health insurances to ask government for funding in order to spend it on treatments. The money from the government comes from taxation of the American citizens and if the money is not enough the government has to raise taxes in order to treat the obese population. Families as well suffer with obese family members. If the insurance does not cover their medical expenses then they have to use their own pocket money. If that one obese family member cannot attend his/her own needs like go to the bathroom alone or get dress someone has to take care of this person whether it’s a relative or a paid individual. This can create an issue because now the relative has to focus on the overweight family member’s life instead of his/her own or the family has to pull many strings in order to pay for the care of that person. Depression can form and lead to serious consequences. In addition if the majority of the population is overweight this as well affects their working performance. If this concern continues to multiply not many people would be able to work due to the lack of being able to move around. Then the dependency on the government would increase and as well would the taxes on those who can work. Now what are the solutions to the increase of obesity? Besides people taking actions on their own lifestyles, for the past few years the government has begun taking matters into their own hands by passing regulations and rules to defeat the problem. Though the government has not come up with one particular solution to completely eliminate the issue it has passed some smaller ones that can start attacking and ending the problem. NYC public schools have taken action and are now serving less high calories foods and more whole-wheat products. With higher activity requirements schools are also making students become more physically active. Restaurants and fast food places are also making small improvements. With their meal serving becoming smaller proportions that have fewer calories it creates a slight decrease for high calorie consumption. A band on the sale of high sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces at restaurants and concession stands has been proposed to pass in NYC in order to lessen obesity rates. However despite governmental action, one main solution is prevention. If we can prevent the problem from the start then no one has to go through all this trouble. Through many measures have been taken to decrease the obesity rate It’s seems as if every day more and more children, teens and adults are being classified as obese. Not knowing the consequences this brings to themselves and half of the population over time it can create many issues. It is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle by cutting out fatty foods and exercising more often. If we don’t act now not only will the majority of the American public be affected but also our economies money will too. It is our duty to prevent obesity to keep on escalating at the rate it is. Not just for our sake but the nations too.