Is obesity a disease Free Essays

The US. Has the largest portion sizes throughout the world, this doesn’t include having seconds and third rounds of a meal. Fast food restaurants are around every corner, they have different size meals although they are all extremely close in price. We will write a custom essay sample on Is obesity a disease or any similar topic only for you Order Now Most people living in the United States have the mindset of â€Å"why not get more out of what am buying and pay the extra . 35? † With this thought, it makes consuming unhealthy food a money saver. With technological advances, children and adults spend more time on a computer, cell phone, tablet, and watching elevations rather than exercising, playing sports and going out. Nowadays, most adults rely on automobiles to get around town, to work, to school, wherever it may be. Adults have decreased their amount of walking to and from places or riding their bikes. This is everyday exercise that can prevent obesity and IS an easy option. Low income and food insecure people are vulnerable to being overweight. These people usually have limited access to affordable, unhealthy food. When they do have access to healthy food, it is likely that the food is more expensive than junk food being sold. Due to this, it is more likely to buy unhealthy food especially being on such a tight budget. Also, fast food is a major contributor to obesity in children and adults. There are little to no healthy fast food restaurants. Fast food is usually unhealthy, cheap and easy to get. Because of this, people will go through fast food restaurants instead of buying healthy food and going home to cook it. Low income neighborhoods have a lot fewer physical activities sources like parks or tracks than higher income neighborhoods. When sources are available, they are usually unsafe areas for children and even adults. For 16 years, lived on farm land where my grandfather owned orchards. Around me there were absolutely no physical activity sources, no where to play, and really no where to go. When moved a couple years ago, we live five minutes away from one park and two minutes away from another. The neighborhood live in now, there are a lot bigger houses and is more of a higher income neighborhood. Never realized this until researching obesity. Families who are low income sometimes stretch their food budgets by skipping a meal or two. This is especially common in others of low income families. Because of this, when their body does get food, it stores the food as fat because it doesn’t know the next time food will come. This leads to obesity in most cases. Low income families usually have high levels of stress due to financial and emotional pressure. Some of the main causes of obesity are stress, anxiety and depression. I personally have experienced weight gain as a cause of stress and anxiety. For the longest time, I kept gaining weight which made me more anxious and even more stressed. I got medical treatment and was given medication to control my anxiety. After taking the medication I was immediately seeing weight loss and was no longer threatened by obesity. There are many more consequences Of Obesity than Only stress and anxiety. Diabetes is a main factor contributing to obesity. Others are high blood pressure, iron deficiency, early puberty, premature death, low self esteem, depression, asthma, and many more. These are some factors that although are mostly caused by obesity, are preventable. Obesity may lead to substance abuse, peer factorization, poor academic performance, and behavior problems. The definition of a disease is 1. A condition of abnormal vital function involving an structure, part or system of an organism. 2. A specific illness or disorder characterized by a recognizable set of signs and symptoms attributable to heredity, infection, diet, or environment. Obesity fits the definition entirely, although there are ways to prevent it including lower calorie intake, smaller portions, more physical activity and better food choices. Some people may say diets and exercise fail due to their body mass index (IBM). This is misleading. IBM is based on a calculation of height and eight combined. So, for example, Arnold Schwarzenegger has a very high IBM although it is all contained of muscles. One can also find people with a low IBM that have a high percentage of body fat. According to WebMD. Com, a child’s total diet and activity determines a child’s weight. This can include computer and video game time. On average, a typical child spends four hours a day watching television. This is not including video game or computer time. As technology becomes more common, the level of physical inactivity will keep increasing. A child’s weight, in my opinion s soles based on their parents or guardians decisions. This including the amount Of time being spent playing video games, watching television, and being on the computer. Two major factor for parents or guardians to prevent their child from becoming obese is to control portion sizes, and to maintain at least two hours of physical activity. This can easily be done by signing up for a school sport or even taking a walk around the neighborhood. From previous observation, child obesity is caused by a parent or guardians ignorance, or failure to be there for their child. I have seen in some cases where a permissive parent will give their child what ever they please in order to keep them happy and busy while the parent gets things done like house work, cooking, cleaning, etc. This not only gives the child an idea that they’re in charge and what ever they say goes, but it shows neglect and carelessness of the parent or guardian. This may contribute to a major problem as the child gets older. Modeling is one of the major ways for a child to learn. If young children see their parents or guardians eating fruits and vegetables, it is extremely likely they will too. How to cite Is obesity a disease, Papers Is Obesity a Disease Free Essays Is obesity a disease? Obesity is defined as â€Å"a condition that is characterized by excessive accumulation and storage of fat in the body. A person is considered obese when his or her weight is 20% or more above normal weight. Obesity puts people at risk for Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and some cancers. We will write a custom essay sample on Is Obesity a Disease? or any similar topic only for you Order Now It not only causes structural changes in a person’s fat tissue, but it also controls how the body handles lipids, insulin and blood sugar. This condition presents itself when a person consumes more calories than he or she burns. For many people this is caused by eating too much and exercising too little, but there are other factors that also play a role such as age, gender, genetics, environmental factors, physical activity, physiological factors, illnesses, and medications . There are a few exceptions, mostly extreme cases of a health problem where no matter what people do or eat; they become obese due to a single genetic mutation. Many believe obesity is a preventable risk factor for other diseases, like smoking is a preventable risk factor for lung cancer or like drinking is a preventable risk factor for alcoholism. The question raised today is; is obesity a disease or a lifestyle? A Survey conducted by the Gallup Poll from July 8-14, 2004 showed that 21% of Americans believe â€Å"obesity is a disease,† while 75% viewed obesity as a â€Å"problem of bad eating and bad lifestyle habits. † Many believe obesity is a disease, cannot be prevented, and leads to other deadly health issues. On the contrary there are those who argue that obesity is a personal responsibility and can be controlled. Classifying obesity as a disease would scare overweight or obese people, who are healthy into seeking unnecessary medical treatments, and cause public funds to treat a preventable condition. Obesity is the result of sedentary lifestyles and not illness. For example, compared to 40 years ago, people today spend more time commuting, sitting in front of a computer, watching television, playing video games, exercising less and less every day. Obesity is something that happens gradually, and not overnight. The easy way out and to avoid confronting the issue at hand is to pin it as a disease, and something that cannot be prevented. Research says that categorizing obesity as a disease would not address the underlying problems causing it, such as poverty, the lack of unhealthy processed foods, lack of public policies encouraging exercise, and other environmental factors. Racial and ethnic minority adults, and those with less education or who make less money, continue to have the highest overall obesity rates. According to scholarly journal Considerable evidence suggests that the eating behaviors of children and adolescents are shaped by parental feeding behavior3. The way our parents and other individuals in our household eats affects us one way or another for the better or worse. One of the pathways by which parents shape children’s habits is by serving as role models, and children mimic what they see even when it comes down to food ;what they like and dislike . But as children get older in age, it is their own responsibility to maintain their health. Those on the other side of the fence stress that obesity is a disease because it is a result of genetics and biological factors, or illnesses that cause weight gain. These diseases include hypothyroidism, Cushing’s syndrome, and polycystic ovary syndrome. Despite the lack of acceptance, several government and international agencies have claimed obesity as a disease. The Internal Revenue Service announced a policy in 2002 stating that â€Å"obesity is medically accepted to be a disease in its own right. † This (IRS) policy allows Americans to claim tax deductions for doctor prescribed treatments, â€Å"special food,† and weight loss programs for those who are medically diagnosed as obese, but The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has not classified obesity as a disease. Stress that declaring obesity is a disease would remove the social stigma associated with obesity; afford it the same legal protections as other illnesses, and force medical professionals, insurers, and employers to treat it with the same degree of concern given other diseases. I believe obesity is not a disease, but a condition that is based upon single individuals, their chosen lifestyle, environment and eating habits. As stated before, obesity does not happen overnight, and in many cases can be prevented. In my opinion obesity is caused by laziness, and a non-effort to care for oneself. This is an addictive condition just as cocaine, alcohol, and other drugs, and merely caused by eating beyond ones appetite. Whether or not obesity is a disease is an issue which America feels very strongly about, and will continue to be the topic of conversation until the issue is resolved. Annotated Bibliography English M. Is obesity a disease. Discovery News [Magazine]. 2012. [Cited October 17, 2011]. http://news. discovery. com Is obesity a disease. ProCon [Internet]. 2012. Cited March 24,2011]. http://procon. com. 2012. Golan M, Crow S. Parents Are Key Players in the Prevention and Treatment of Weight-related Problems. Nutrition Reviews; Jan2004, Vol. 62 Issue 1, p39-50, 12p. Discusses the genic factors in the modern environment and the role parents may play in modifying these factors in children’s weight related problems. Importance of parenting style and feeding style in fostering healthy lifestyle and awareness of internal hunger and satiety cues and deemphasizing thinness; Body mass index; Children’s ability to self-regulate energy intake. The article is current and the information was revised in 2012. The information given in this article is relevant to my topic, and answers many of the questions I previously had in relation to my topic. I chose this article because it was more related to my topic. The author is qualified and has studied the given topic. The information in this topic was researched from other qualifies sources, and is supported by evidence. The purpose of this article is to teach, and the information given is fact. ——————————————– [ 3 ]. 2 How to cite Is Obesity a Disease?, Papers