Post 1: Preventing Obesity. Is it Possible?

While coming of age, most of us do not worry about what kind of food we consume as well as how much food we consume through out the day. But what if every human did consider these factors on a daily basis? Would obesity exist?

Food is not the only factor that contributes to obesity. Obesity can be caused by other contributing factors such as pregnancy, lack of sleep, and family history. For example, if the parents of a child are obese, the child is three times more likely to be obese as someone with parents that are not obese. 

When categorizing obesity, combining food and lack of physical activity are two of the most common factors that contribute to this medical condition. Yes, obesity is considered a medical condition and many of you may be asking why.

People who are prone to obesity tend to accumulate excess body fat by eating foods that are concentrated with high energy and fats causing an affect (s) on their health. Also, if a person's calorie intake exceeds the amount of calories used within a day, then the excess calories eaten stores as body fat which causes weight gain. Having a body weight that is much greater than one's average weight to height ratio can cause many health risks such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and many other life threatening medical conditions.

Let’s begin to analyze the factors that may contribute to obesity based on food. Today, overeating is very common in our society. With fast-food and other restaurants serving portions that are twice as much as our stomachs can hold, one meal tends to provide an entire day’s worth of calories. Take a double quarter pounder with cheese from McDonald’s for example. There is 740 calories, 42 grams of fat, and 19 grams of saturated fat in one burger. Usually when ordering at McDonald’s, a side of French fries and a soda go perfectly with the main course. Adding all three portions together, that is roughly 1,340 calories (give or take) eaten in one sitting. Many people do not realize the amount of food that they consume causing obesity levels to raise significantly. If people were more aware of how much food they consume, for example restaurants advertising nutritional fact sheets, would the amount of people who are obese decrease? Most people would say yes.

Psychological disorders also play a role in obesity. Many people overeat because of stress, loneliness, depression and a desire for immediate gratification to feel better. Low self-esteem and anxiety also contribute to overeating as well. These are all reasons why people consume more calories than they need which are why most psychological disorders are directly linked to obesity. Clinical studies have proven that to combat depression or anxiety, exercising on a daily basis releases “feel good” brain chemicals that help people cope with daily stress while boosting self-confidence.

Another cause of obesity is the lack of physical activity. Many of the conveniences that we use through out the day such as elevators, cars, as well as the remote for the television, cause us to reduce the opportunities we have to be active on a daily basis. Because of the technology used today, such as video games and computers, this gives us plenty of excuses to not have the motivation to exercise. According to a study, 33.8 percent of the United States population is obese, out of those 17 percent (12.5 billion) are children aging from 2-19 years old, caused mainly by insufficient exercising. Now, we could sit here and argue about what causes obesity, but most of us are well aware that the technology that surrounds us is what causes more people to not want to exercise, aka laziness. By including physical activity in an individuals every day life, the risk of being obese are slim to none. Besides willful laziness, there must be another explanation as to why people, as they slide into obesity, fail to exercise.

Right now, all we know is that the portions of food keep growing and more technological distractions are being invented. Is it ever going to stop? If the severity of obesity keeps increasing, what are we doing to prevent it? Obesity is a worldwide known medical condition and statistically keeps getting worse. The question is when and where do we begin to stop it? Can we prevent obesity? The truth is, we don’t know.

To conclude, in order to decrease the amount of people that are overweight or prone to obesity, daily exercise and maintaining a healthy diet are the first two steps to get rid of this continuous phenomenon.

Resources:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/what-is-obesity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity
http://www.tree.com/health/obesity.aspx
http://shroudedindoubt.typepad.com/bodyparts/2009/01/the-causes-of-obesity-3-the-issue-of-lethargy-and-lack-of-exercise.html
http://www.livestrong.com/article/420140-obesity-caused-by-lack-of-exercise/
http://www.mbonfa.com/weight-loss/obesity-causes.htm