Obesity is one of the most dangerous silent killers today. Many people are very afraid of this deadly disease. But, what does obesity actually mean? Obesity is the accumulation of excess fats in the body. To be specific, a person who is 20% over their ideal weight and whose Body Mass Index (BMI) is 30kg per meter squared or more is considered obese, vary with age, sex, genetic, and cultural background. Obesity also increases the likelihood of certain diseases and other health problems. The video below explains more about the obesity epidemic.
Statistic of Obesity
Based on statistics, the current condition of obesity in the United States is getting worse. If people do not take this issue seriously and take no action, this issue could one day be very tragic. Over the past 20 years, a dramatic increase in obesity has occurred in our country. Out of all 50 states in our country, only Colorado and the District of Columbia have the lowest percentage of obesity, less than 20% of their resident is obese. On the other hand, more than 30% of the resident of Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and West Virginia are considered to be obese. In the United States, the percentages of people living with obesity are 51% African-American, 21% Hispanic, and 28% white.
Causes of Obesity
A person can suffer from obesity due to many causes. First of all, inactive lifestyle is one of the reasons one can be obese. Spending hours watching television, using computer, doing schoolwork, and other non-active activities are the major causes of obesity. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the maximum hours of watching television is two hours, and if one spends more than two hours of watching television, that person has a high risk of becoming obese. Furthermore, the environmental factors for obesity are lack of neighborhood sidewalks, lack of safe places for recreation, lack of parks, trails, and affordable gyms, tight work schedules, frequently eating fast foods which usually have oversized portions, and lack of access to healthy foods such fresh fruits and vegetables. This factor is actually the government’s responsibility to provide people with these facilities.
After that, genes and family history also give you high risk of being obese. One has a high chance of becoming obese if either parent is obese. Genes affect the amount of fat that a person can store in their body, and where on the body they carry extra fats. Furthermore, the parents’ attitude also plays a vital role in educating their children about having a healthy lifestyle. The parents must be good examples to their children, such as exercising regularly and eating healthy food like fruits and vegetables.
In addition to that, having an emotional problem can make you eat more foods in order to release your tension. People with emotional disorders may decide to eat rather than exercise to release their tension. As an example, people who have a boring life often feel up their time eating unhealthy food such as junk foods, sodas, and candies. The same goes for people who are in angry mood and have stress. They could get some advice or help from counselors, family members, or close friends instead of taking high calories foods. Taking loads of foods would add up their problems and not calm them down. But, getting help will calm them down and not give them more problems, thus reducing their stress.
In conjunction to that, people who usually take cigarettes every single day and already addicted, and suddenly they decided to stop, could also become obese. We frequently heard that taking cigarettes can give you ideal body weight. It is certainly true, but it does not mean people living with obesity should take cigarettes to reduce their weight. This is because, smoking cigarettes will create another problems like lung cancer, severe coughing, stroke, and several more. People definitely do not want to solve one problem and create another problem because it is just the same. It is like solve nothing. People who decided to stop smoking cigarettes have better taste for food and foods smell better. That is mainly why they suddenly put more weight after stopping smoking cigarettes. The other reason is nicotine, which is part of cigarettes also helps burn calories, so when there is no more intake of nicotine, it stops the burning of calories.
Last but not least, lack of sleep due to tight work schedule, loads of homework, and study until late night can cause obesity. People should have sufficient hours of sleep, which is seven to eight hours of sleep each day at night. Sleeping less than five hours gives one high chance to become obese. Biologically, during sleep, the body releases a type of hormone that controls appetite and the body’s use of energy. So, basically, getting enough sleep is important to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Effects of Obesity
Obesity can give a person many problems. Obesity affects nearly all organs in the human body. Health problems include Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol level, certain types of cancers, sleep apnea, and others, including death. Furthermore, a side effect of obesity is emotional problems, such as depression. Take a look at the video below to understand more about the consequences of obesity. In conclusion, an obesity epidemic is last thing our country needs. It is so easy to become obese, but once you are, it can take years to reverse. The TV program, “The Biggest Loser”, has produced so many individuals who have totally changed their life by losing weight. Take a look at the interactive videos below to understand more about the consequences of obesity and also about overcoming obesity.
Survey Analysis
Frequency of exercise (times/week) | Time spend on watching TV, playing video games, etc. (hours/day) | Mode of transportation to school | Favorite types of food | Does smoking cigarettes help in reducing weight? | |||||||||
Everyday | 2-3 | None | 2-4 | 6-8 | Walk | Public transport | Car | Bicycle | Fruit and vegetables | Meat | Sweets | Yes | No |
11 | 15 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 4 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 21 |
Based on my survey that involved 30 people, 70% of them are male, which is 21 people and 30% of them are female, which is 9 people. Most of the people who responded to my survey are teenagers between 15 to 18 years old. So, basically most of my respondents are my friends at school.
Furthermore, in the context of how often they exercise in a week, 50% of them answered 2 to 3 times a week, which are 15 people. 37% of 30 people, which is equal to 11 people, do exercise everyday in a week, but the percentage of people who do not do any exercise in a week is 13%, which are 4 people.
When I asked about the time they spend on doing homework, watching TV, playing video games, etc in each day, 15 people out of 30, which is 50%, said they spend about 2 to 4 hours. However, another 50% of them responded they spend 6 to 8 hours on these activities.
Besides that, 20 % (6 people) of my respondents said they walk to school every morning, where as 17% (5 people) of 30 people said they use public transport such as buses and trains to go to school. 50% (15 people) of them go to school by car and the rest, which is 13% (4 people), cycle to school.
In another aspect, which is type of food they usually eat, 43% (13 people) of 30 respondents said they eat a lot of vegetables and fruits. Not only that, 37% (11 people) of them said they eat a lot of meat and rice for their diet every day and 20% (6 people) of them said they eat a lot of sweets.
Last but not least, 9 (30%) out of 30 people said they think smoking cigarettes helps in reducing bodyweight and 21 (70%) out of 30 people said they do not think that smoking cigarettes helps in reducing body weight. Mostly, people living with obesity eat a lot of junk foods such as sweets and candies, do not do exercise means they are not an active person, and they usually spend most of their time doing things like watching TV, playing video games, sleep, and several more. However, the standard of obesity is varying with sex and age.
As a conclusion, a person can be determined whether his/her is obese or not by observing their behavior such as type of food they eat, how regular they exercise, how do they go to school, and many more. From their activities, we can ‘sense’ whether this person has a high chance to become obese or not.
As a conclusion, a person can be determined whether his/her is obese or not by observing their behavior such as type of food they eat, how regular they exercise, how do they go to school, and many more. From their activities, we can ‘sense’ whether this person has a high chance to become obese or not.
References
· Defination of Obesity. Retrieved December 11, 2010, from www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=4607
· Vital sign: State-specific Obesity Prevalence among Adult. Retrieved December 11, 2010 from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm59e0803a1.htm?s_cid=mm59e0803a1_e%0D%0A
· What Causes Overweight and Obesity? . Retrieved December 11, 2010, from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/obe/obe_causes.html
· Health Effects of Obesity. Retrieved December 11, 2010, from http://weight-loss.emedtv.com/obesity/health-effects-of-obesity.html
· The Effects of Obesity. Retrieved December 11, 2010, from http://www.healthtree.com/articles/obesity/effects/
· Side Effects of Obesity. Retrieved December 11, 2010, from http://www.ecureme.com/especial/obgyn/Side_Effects_of_Obesity.asp
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