Essay On Obesity In America

Obesity is America’s Worst Disease

Nearly 70% of adults in the US are overweight. And only 41% of those people are willing to admit it. Even worse, almost 39% of people who are considered overweight are obese. Sadly, every one in five early deaths could have been avoided if the person who passed away was at a healthier weight. Furthermore, obesity can cause many diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. Not only do the people suffer from the rapid growth of obesity, but the entire US is affected. The US government spends almost 150 million dollars annually on obesity-related healthcare matters. Obesity is a disease caused by a poor diet and lack of exercise and the only people at fault for the growing rate of obesity in

The first step to reducing obesity in the US is realizing its a problem. This starts with people who are obese knowing that they are unhealthy and that obtaining a healthy weight is extremely beneficial for them. One of the main reasons an obese person could be unaware of their disease is that they do not know the formal definition of obese. They consider someone who is over 400 lbs to be obese when in reality someone who is half that weight could be considered. According to the Surgical Weight Control Center in Las Vegas, “If a person’s body weight is at least 20 percent higher than it should be, they are considered obese. If someone’s Body Mass Index (BMI) is between 25 and 29.9, then they are considered overweight. They are classified as obese if their BMI is 30 or more. Body Mass Index is an accurate way to calculate whether or not someone's weight is healthy because it takes height, age, and even gender into account.”. BMI is a convenient way for people to determine how healthy their body weight is. Although BMI is a very easy and useful tool, in order to properly determine if someone is overweight or obese, they should visit a doctor. “During the past 30 years, adult obesity rates have doubled and childhood obesity rates have more than tripled.” (Friedman, 13). Obesity is a growing problem and should be considered a

Shockingly, obesity in adults can lead to life spans shortened by three years, and in some extreme cases, an obese person may have up to ten less years in their life span. According to a Lancet metastudy, “one in five premature deaths in North America could be avoided if obese people were normal BMI weights. ---an estimated 300,000 deaths per year may be attributed to obesity. Also, People who are obese have a 50-100% increased risk of death.” As well as having an increased chance of death, obese people also have an increased chance of getting cardiovascular diseases. Although the most common diseases contracted from obesity are ones falling under the cardiovascular category, obesity can increase the risk of picking up a wide variety of different diseases. For example, obesity can cause liver and bladder diseases, reproductive diseases, respiratory diseases, diseases like sleep apnea and arthritis, and even cancer. Furthermore, Studies show that women who gain 20 pounds or more between age 20 and midlife double their risk of breast cancer. Also, for every two pounds that someone gains, their risk of getting arthritis increases by 11%. Lastly, obesity is the second most significant risk factor for coronavirus. Obesity can directly increase the risk of dozens of different diseases and decrease the lifespan of the person