Obesity
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HCA 240
Obesity: An American Epidemic
Introduction
What is obesity? According to WebMD (2010), “Obesity is an excess proportion of total body fat. A person is considered obese when his or her weight is 20% or more above normal weight.” More and more adults are found to be overweight in the United States, but what’s worse is that we are passing along the bad nutritional habits along to our children. “More Americans are becoming obese. Obesity rates inched up 1.1% between 2007 and 2009, according to a new report released by the CDC.” (WebMD, 2010) Watching television and playing video games have replaced outside physical activities such as bike riding and other outdoor family activities that were once so prevalent in days past. This epidemic hasn’t just been noticed in the US, it’s a global issue that come countries feel can be attributed to the western influence of the United States. With the introduction of weight loss centers and programs such as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem, there’s been media coverage focusing on the obesity of people. This media coverage has used various Hollywood actors and actresses as spokesman for their products, most recently Jennifer Hudson is being used as the spokesman for Weight Watchers. This media coverage has brought to light the constant rate of obesity that has been increasing over the last twenty years. And how we as Americans need, and intend to combat it.
Factors of Obesity
There are many different factors that can and will attribute to obesity. If one has improper nutritional habits such as eating fast food, and over-eating then they’re more likely to become obese. There have been journal articles published within the last decade stating obesity could possibly be genetic. “Although environmental factors are important, there is considerable evidence that genes also have a significant role in its pathogenesis. The identification of genes that are involved in monogenic, syndromic and polygenic...
Obesity: An American Epidemic
Introduction
What is obesity? According to WebMD (2010), “Obesity is an excess proportion of total body fat. A person is considered obese when his or her weight is 20% or more above normal weight.” More and more adults are found to be overweight in the United States, but what’s worse is that we are passing along the bad nutritional habits along to our children. “More Americans are becoming obese. Obesity rates inched up 1.1% between 2007 and 2009, according to a new report released by the CDC.” (WebMD, 2010) Watching television and playing video games have replaced outside physical activities such as bike riding and other outdoor family activities that were once so prevalent in days past. This epidemic hasn’t just been noticed in the US, it’s a global issue that come countries feel can be attributed to the western influence of the United States. With the introduction of weight loss centers and programs such as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem, there’s been media coverage focusing on the obesity of people. This media coverage has used various Hollywood actors and actresses as spokesman for their products, most recently Jennifer Hudson is being used as the spokesman for Weight Watchers. This media coverage has brought to light the constant rate of obesity that has been increasing over the last twenty years. And how we as Americans need, and intend to combat it.
Factors of Obesity
There are many different factors that can and will attribute to obesity. If one has improper nutritional habits such as eating fast food, and over-eating then they’re more likely to become obese. There have been journal articles published within the last decade stating obesity could possibly be genetic. “Although environmental factors are important, there is considerable evidence that genes also have a significant role in its pathogenesis. The identification of genes that are involved in monogenic, syndromic and polygenic...