Compared to other countries, the United States was reported to have the second highest rate of obesity in the world after Mexico. Over the past decade, cases of obesity have triplicated in the U.S., affecting more than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of the adults (Ogden et al. 2014). Given the current trends, it was projected that 42% of the U.S. population will be obese by 2030 (Finkelstein et al. 2012). Aside from its nefarious impact on the overall quality of life on the affected individual on a micro level, this health issue presents an economic burden for a US healthcare system already without equilibrium. In their extensive annual medical spending report, Finkelstein et al. (2012) estimated the annual medical cost of obesity in the US to amount to $147 billion in 2008; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight. Additionally, more than $150 billion per year is spent on related health care costs and lost productivity (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen et al 2009). The situation as a whole seems dire; however, its repercussions are disparate and its distribution across U.S. territories is uneven. For instance, African Americans are nearly 1.5 times as likely to be obese compared with White. According to Ogden at al.’s (2014) report which is cited by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, about 47.8 percent of African Americans are obese (men: 37.1; women: 56.6 %) compared to 32.6 percent of Whites (men: 32.4; women:
many overweight children, for the first time ever the current generation of children is expected to have
The number of overweight people in the United States has placed the United States twenty-seventh in a ranking of the countries with the most prevalent case of an obesity epidemic. In the United States, “two out of three adults and one of three children are overweight or obese (_____). Researchers have seen the overall rate of obesity increases with the influx of advertisements showcasing unhealthy products, such as sugary drinks. Sugary drinks are “silent killers” that cause many fatalities, and health concerns for the consumer due to the deleterious ingredients they contain. A health study at Tufts University revealed that sugar drinks cause about 100 deaths per day and about 184, 000 deaths per year (____). The American Heart
Obesity in America is a continually growing problem and even worse our own children are sharing in this problem. A commentary in the Washington Times reports that sixty million Americans are obese. What really is the meaning of obese? Obese is having a body mass index of thirty percent or more. In recent years, the percentage of obese Americans has risen. In the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, the percentage of obese Americans rose from 22.9 in 1984-1994 to 32.2 in 2003 and 2004. The study also says if you throw in the number of "over weight" Americans (body mass index of 25 to 29.9) the total jumps to 66.3
In the United States today, obesity has become an enormous problem. In the last 3 decades, the number of people overweight has increased dramatically. A study done by the Centers of Disease Control showed that since 1980, one third of our adult population has become overweight. America is the richest but also the fattest nation in the world and our obese backsides are the butt of jokes in every other country (Klein 28). The 1980s were a time when Americans suddenly started going crazy over dieting, jumping onto the treadmills, and buying prepackaged non-fat foods. However, while all of that was going on, the number of obese Americans began to increase. According to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 58 million
In the United States today, obesity has become an enormous burden on both the health and healthcare of those affected. In the last 3 decades, the number of people overweight has increased dramatically. According to the Centers of Disease Control, as of 2013, 34.9% of our population is considered overweight or obese. America is the richest yet the fattest nation in the world, and our obese backsides are the butt of jokes in every other country (Klein, 1994).
The United States of America is known for having a high obesity level. According to David Frum from CNN, except for Mexicans, American citizens are more likely to become obese than any other nationality. Some obese countries have enforced an extra high tax on fast foods and other high calorie foods, and many people believe that the U.S. should adopt the fat tax as well. According to Dictionary.com, the fat tax is “a tax imposed on or proposed for high-fat or otherwise unhealthy foodstuffs”. Although a tax on junk food could reduce obesity, the low prices could protect low income families from going broke, and therefore a tax on junk food would not be beneficial to America.
It is no secret that obesity is huge problem in the United States. About 40% of the United States’ population is obese (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2015). According to CDC, obesity causes: heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and is the second most preventable disease in the United States (2014). If that’s not enough of a public health problem, than add the 147 billion dollars spent in healthcare expenses just in the U.S. alone (CDC, 2014). According to the text, Public Health 101, “the prevalence of obesity has been steadily rising in the U.S. over the last 50 years; increasing over 250%” (Riegelman & Kirkwood, 2015, p. 114). The obesity percentages increase when a family is in poverty. The facts are that if you make about $30,000 a year; the children of that family is almost twice as likely to be obese than a family that is making 350% above the poverty level, which is about $136,000 a year (Riegelman & Kirkwood, 2015, p. 114). But, to make it even worse, the Mexican Americans and non-Hispanics black populations don’t even follow those statistics; they have a high obesity level in all socioeconomic levels (Riegelman & Kirkwood, 2015, p. 114).
Compared to other countries, the United States was reported to have the second highest rate of obesity in the world after Mexico. Over the past decade, cases of obesity have triplicated in the U.S., affecting more than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of the adults (Ogden et al. 2014). Given the current trends, it is projected that 42% of the U.S. population will be obese by 2030 (Finkelstein et al. 2012). Aside from its nefarious impact on the overall quality of life of the affected individual on a micro level, obesity has an enormous economist cost on the US healthcare system. In their extensive annual medical spending report, Finkelstein et al. (2012) indicated that the annual medical cost for obesity in the US amount to $147 billion
In today’s world, obesity rate has been increased significantly. Among 196 countries of the world, the Unites States is ranked 19th, and one third of the population in the U.S. have obesity. Reason that people care about how much population is obsessed is that it is “linked to many of the major causes of death in the United States, including heart disease, some types of cancer, strokes, diabetes, and atherosclerosis” (Himes 73). 19th of the world may not seem very high rank, but if imagine one of three family member or neighbor is highly exposed to disease resulted by obesity, it will not become a slight problem that they can ignore. In order to solve this severe problem, many experts of health have researched and argued the underlying cause of obesity, and their arguments are mainly divided by two big categories: environmental factor and genetic factor. Many researcher have argued that genetic factor have more effect on human’s body weight than environment, so individual cannot control their body weight. As those researchers said, gene have some influence on human body related with obesity, but the largest cause of this disorder is environment. In other word, the increasing rate of obesity in America is mainly caused by toxic environment such as unhealthy eating habits and lack of physical activity. Also, it means that there is possibility to prevent obesity if government basically change the people’s thinking about health. Overall, since
In the United States, more than one third of adults are obese. One in five American deaths are now associated with obesity. The prevalence of obesity has increased at an alarming rate in the USA: in 1960 only 13% of Americans were obese. Obesity has become an epidemic and the number of preventable deaths from obesity-related diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease continues to rise. Despite the well-documented association between obesity and significant morbidity and mortality the American administration has not taken many steps to combat this problem. There have been attempts by government to try and stem this epidemic, but the food industry is so wealthy and influential that policies against obesity are very
Obesity is a major public health concern in the United States and worldwide. Recent data suggest that more than 70% of the U.S. adults 20 years or older are overweight or obese (CDC 2016, CDC 2015). Obesity is associated with numerous serious health sequelae, including cardio- and neuro- vascular diseases, diabetes, and several types of cancer and incurs substantial medical costs (CDC 2015). Given the seriousness of the public health concern, there is great interest in the identification and mitigation of potential causes of obesity. As such, obesogenic environmental contaminants with widespread exposure and biological persistence is of great concern.
Throughout the long past years, I’ve mostly learned about the knowledge of healthy and unhealthy food. Many resources have the different definitions or the methods. This can importantly help me to be familiar what is happening in the society about food. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to view the video “Ted talks” about the topic of “Teach every child about food” by Jamie Oliver, who is a chef in Huntington Kitchen, West Virginia. According to the video, Jamie states that people around the world, especially in America, still have the massive problems with the dead that significantly have the main reason from the food and weight. He also thought that America is the unhealthiest country that most of population always eat the food that mostly
More than 65% Americans are overweight to obese. It’s not always their fault! The government and society play a huge role in Americans and their obesity. Who do you blame? The society or government. Well personally I pick society, and here is why I say that.
The United States is one of the most developed countries in the world. Everything you’ve ever wanted can be accomplished here. But the thing we are proudest of is being the fattest country. Everyday our obesity rate is increasing and so are the amount of fast food restaurants so thankfully we are able to keep our awesome spot as #1 fattest country.
The world is oversaturated with factors that are detrimental to an individual’s health, but it seems as though the things that are the worst for a person are some of the easiest items to get hold of. The nation is currently undergoing a health crisis with the opioid epidemic, very similarly to how the black community was ravaged by crack a few decades ago. The nation is plagued by factors such as obesity, high sexually transmitted disease rates, tobacco and alcohol use, hard drugs such as cocaine and crystal meth, and prescription drug abuse, such as the ongoing opioid crisis. Factors such as the previously mentioned affect society by affecting large numbers of individuals in society.