Obesity in U.S

About Us

2012-04-16T11:27:00.000-07:00

Trying to fight a world where food has become a problem. Four freshmen students attending CSUN come to inform you about the risk and the danger that food has taken over our countries.

conclusion

2012-04-15T13:59:00.000-07:00

Looking back a couple decades ago the United States portion sizes has increased as well as our jean size. We get overwhelm with work and or lives that we don’t have enough time to make ourselves a nutritious meal and end up getting fast food. Being busy constantly and eating fast food we forget about how important it is to get our daily exercises and keep ourselves active but instead we eat when we get “bored”. Fast food ads and commercials have made Obesity is a huge problem because the thought of getting so much for a cheap price make it more appealing for us and whenever we need food fast its there for a low cost. This might be good for our wallets in this economic time but it is not so good to our health. Once we lack or exercise our body starts getting damaged and we can end up with Diabetes, High blood pressure, High cholesterol, Asthma, but also it can affect our mentality and how people view obese people. Obese has become a problem in the U.S and if there isn’t a stop it more and more people are going become fat and have a hard time in our society was well as having physical and metal problems.

Questions Surrounding the Issue & Answers:

2012-04-11T11:24:00.001-07:00

Why is obesity becoming such a big problem?

Obesity rates have been rising steadily in the U.S for decades. In the last ten years, there has been rapid increase in obesity among both adults and children,and even very young children.
There are many risk factors for obesity including heredity, sedentary lifestyle, lack of regular exercise, and abundance of inexpensive high calorie, low quality food. Making poor food choices leads to a cycle thats difficult to break.

Why don't diets, exercise, and medications work?

Proper diet and exercise does work its just that the bigger the person is the tougher it is for them and they can become discouraged causing them to give up and continue there bad habits. Also an obese persons ability to actually exercise is limited by there obesity also causing them to become tired and give up.

What medical problems are associated with obesity?

There are many health threatening problems that are associated with obesity, below is a list of the most common medical issues.

High blood pressure
Diabetes (obesity the the number one cause for diabetes)
High cholesterol
Asthma
Immobility
Depression
Lower Back pain

Introduction/Background

2012-04-11T08:22:00.001-07:00

Obesity in the United States has been increasingly cited as a health issue.
Obesity rates in the U.S are among the highest in the world.
In 2010, the CDC reported higher numbers, counting 35.7% of American adults as obese, and 17% of American children.
Children and adolescents who are obese are likely to be obese in adulthood and to develop obesity-related health problems.
Obesity can give the person serious medical problems, such as type II diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and disability.
Obesity has also been shown to increase the prevalence of complications during pregnancy and childbirth.

Obesity and mental disorders

2012-04-11T02:16:00.002-07:00

Link

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-10/apa-ocb100103.php
- In the link above it talk about several studies about children who are obese have a high chance of having emotional problems that last until their adulthood. Obese boys and girls with low self-esteem have higher rates of loneliness, sadness and nervousness. These children were more likely to smoke and drink alcohol compared with obese children with normal self-esteem. Depression is often an outcome of low self-esteem and obese girls ages 13 to 14 are four times more likely to experience low self-esteem than non-obese girls. children who were teased about being overweight were more likely to have poor body image, low self-esteem, and symptoms of depression. The study found that 26 percent of teens who were teased at school and home reported they had considered suicide, and 9 percent had attempted it. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among adolescents.

Visual Arguments

The image above is about a little girl in a dark room looking at food deciding wether she should eat it or not. The darkness in the room might show that she is alone, sad, and depressed and the only ones to keep her company is the food that she eats. Eating your feelings away isn't the best way to get rid of depression thats why some people that suffer from it are becoming obese.

To some people this might be funny but to others its offensive. Obese people sink into these Stereotypes and make themselves feel useless to our society.

Quotes

"overweight people are also more likely to lose the psychological benefits of exercise."- This is true. If they feel rejected, unattractive, or suffer social discrimination, their emotions will get to them and instead of losing weight they may end up gaining weight. The problem then gets worse if they fail to lose weight and start blaming themselves for not losing weight.

"Obese children between the ages of 10 and 13 have an 80 percent chance of being obese adults"- This is a high percentage rate for obesity but once one gets comfortable with their weight and are not able to accomplish a weight lost goal they go back to their normal self and continue eating.

"There's an interaction between what's outside your body and what's inside. Obesity carries a large social stigma and may bring on depression"- If ones physical appearance looks good then you will continue to put nutritious and healthy things in your body to keep it like that but if you have don't like what you see in the mirror then you wouldn't care what you put in your body because you don't like what you see

Main Argument

Not so long ago, it was commonly believed that overweight and obese people were compulsive eaters, anxious, depressed, under stress, or trying to compensate for deficiencies in their lives. But today, when almost everyone seems to be getting heavier and obesity has become a national issue, both experts and the public are dismissing the idea that weight gain is a personal emotional problem.

Fitness for a heathy life

2012-04-10T15:50:00.004-07:00

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=13&hid=122&sid=0c7a3347-8d5c-4df1-bdbe-f9cb498fb0fd%40sessionmgr15&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=afh&AN=52963108
According to this article obesity is a constant growing problem that can be stopped by enhancing community health. For example purveying the use of recreational facilities and increased availability to fresh produce. This will allow individuals to be more physically active and develop a more nutritious diet rather than consuming unhealthy foods and sitting in front of the television for hours at a time.

Visual argument

This image demonstrates that exercising and consuming unhealthy foods do not mix. In order to live a healthy lifestyle Individuals need to maintain nutritious eating habits and exercise regularly.

Significant quotes

"The surge in obesity in this country is nothing short of a public health crisis that is threatening our children, our families and our future"(Nations Health 1).

Obesity has become severely impacting on the public health. Rates continue to increase causing people's future to be in jeopardy. Living an unhealthy life style without exercise and a proper diet subjects people to a series of health issues for example disease, which can shorten your life span.

"In fact, the health consequences are so severe that medical experts have warned that our children could be on track to live shorter lives than their parents" (Nations Health 1).

This quote explains because of the increasing rate of obesity, children could face severe health problems even facing death at an early age.

Main Argument

Obesity can be solved if individuals live more active lifestyles, for example playing sports or exercising rather than spending hours watching television and eating unhealthy food. Fitness and nutritious meals need to be implemented into your daily regiment in order to live healthy lives.

Obesity, A Huge Problem

2012-04-10T11:19:00.000-07:00

Links

http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html
In this link, it gives the different rates of how many people are obese in each state. Many people are obese in the United States and most of them are in the southern states. Greater than 30% of obese people mostly live in the southern states such as Texas, Oklahoma, or Mississippi, but some live up north in Michigan.

http://www.downtoearth.org/health/nutrition/obesity-america
This article talks about the health issues of obesity and the kinds of diseases you can get from being obese. It also says how you can get obese from the different foods we eat, from processed and artificial food or fast-food. It gave examples on how to decrease obesity and what foods we should get such as organic and natural foods.

Visual Arguments

Obesity starts at a young age due to parents feeding their child junk food. Parents are sometimes the cause of obesity because they have the choice of either giving their child healthy food or junk food and sometimes they choose the wrong choice, junk food.

Obese people have a hard time choosing between exercising for a couple hours or stay at home and risk their lives. People who are obese have many health issues such as high blood pressure, arteries can start to clog, get diabetic, or risk of heart attack.

Significant Quotes

"Mrs. Obama called for 'clear, consistent' nutrition labels on the front of packaged foods to help harried shoppers make informed choices" (qtd in Superville article).

-Shoppers need to know what they are buying when they are out shopping for groceries. They need to know what the nutritional facts are so that they would make the right decision on what food items to buy.

"So while processed food might taste good, it essentially lacks all the beneficial nutrients needed to nourish the body, maintain blood sugar levels, and ensure proper digestion"

-The foods we eat are sometimes the causes of obesity. Even though processed and artificial preserved food might taste better, natural and organic foods are healthier for the body.

Main Argument

Obesity has become a main health issue in our society and is steadily increasing. People need to know that they are putting their health at risk if they keep consuming a huge amount of food.

PORTION SIZES HAVE INCREASED

2012-04-09T13:18:00.000-07:00

Obesity is getting bigger in the United States !
Portion sizes have increased over the last few decades . Just how our portion in food has increased so has our populations weight and we have become one of the fattest countries in the world. Aslo obesity is about to become this country's leading cause of preventable death. Lack of exercise and too much food are not only making us fatter, they are leading to increases, such as diabetes.

Visual Argument:

In the past thirty years or so, portion sizes have increased and so have the people. We have been taught to believe that a bigger portion is normal and has also been accepted by many Americans. In the video above it explains the way people have increased their size in meals and compare servings from the 1970's up until the 2000's.

Significant Quotes:
"The number of kids affected by obesity has tripled since 1980, and this can be traced in large part to lack of exercise and a healthy diet."
Virginia Foxx

"This might be the first generation where kids are dying at a younger age than their parents and it's related primarily to the obesity problem."Judy Davis