Tuesday, 2 October 2012

Obesity


Obesity
        Obesity is a daily struggle for about 7% (7 billion people) of our worlds population. There are different perspectives on the issue as can be expected while dealing with something global. Some people believe that being overweight is caused purely by genetics while others believe it is caused by overeating. There are also different views as to how it should be fixed, such as using laxatives or liposuction. Some believe it should be done naturally with simply dieting and exercising, others believe that healthy eating on its own is the way to go. Maybe this is why our world has come to what it is now, everyone has a different view on every issue. In my opinion obesity is an issue that needs to be dealt with in a healthy way using things such as the food pyramid and exercise. I don’t believe that medications and diets are good for us, unless prescribed by a doctor, because our body isn’t used to it and may end up hurting us more in the long run.

      A person is considered when their body mass index, a measure obtained by measuring a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of a persons height in meters, exceeds 30kg/m2. Obesity results in genetic, metabolic, environmental, and behavioural issues. It is the buildup of fat in your body that quickly increases your risk of diseases and health problems and can also take years off your life. Heart disease and diabetes are two of the main health issues caused by being overweight. Our heart is a muscle that circulates blood through our body. It is the system that carries oxygen and nutrients to our other systems and organs. Obesity interferes with this because the volume the persons blood goes up, meaning that the heart has to pump a greater volume of blood with each heartbeat. This puts strain on the heart over time and makes the person more prone to heart failure. Obesity can cause diabetes, which is a condition where the cells are unable to use insulin to convert sugar into energy, so the sugar stays in the blood stream. When we eat our pancreas releases insulin which allows us to use sugar as energy, when people are diabetic this system doesn’t work properly.

     Many people believe that obesity is caused by genetics, which is not entirely true, no one is destined to be obese. Depending on genetics, some people have a higher chance of being overweight than others. For instance when a child is born to two overweight parents they are more likely to have a weight problem than a child born to two average parents. Your parents influence your eating choices as well so that also plays a factor in your weight. Some parents teach their children healthy eating habits accompanied by physical activity, usually a sport. Other parents are more laid back and maybe even lazy, they don’t make healthy meals and snacks for their children or bother to get them involved in physical activity. This may not seem to be affecting them on the outside while their young but it builds bad habits that will affect them when they're older and living on their own.

   In my opinion obesity is mainly the result of poor life choices. So many people don’t make an effort to get the recommended 30 minutes of exercise every day. I find this unreasonable considering it isn’t even a full hour of their day, everyone should be able to make at least that much time. Nowadays we buy too many convenient processed foods that have no nutritional value. Foods like this often give us a short energy burst followed by a “crash” meaning we are very tired, this isn’t good for our body physically and nutritionally. I am personally very health concious and I love exercise, therefore it’s difficult not to judge these people now and then. I often wonder how they let themselves get to that point, I guess we don’t realize how easy it is to slip into that lifestyle. I read an article about a doctors thoughts on obesity and in the article he said  “Obesity just leads to disability.” I agree with him on that completely, if someone chooses that they are going to eat unhealthy and not exercise then that is purely their choice, however it will lead to problems in the future.

    Everyone should concerned about obesity to some extent because people are dying of problems caused by obesity every day. The world health statistics state that one in six adults are obese and one in ten are diabetic. It also says that one in three adults have raised blood pressure which is the leading cause of stroke and death rates at 45%. These statistics alone should be enough to motivate our society to change. However, according to the world health organization  obesity rates have increased by three times in the western world since the 1980’s. Obesity rates are on the rise and the burden on our healthcare system could one day be unbearable.

      Obesity impacts the people dealing with it, the people helping them, family members, and friends of the person with the problem. It affects everyday life for these people, it can make seemingly simple tasks such as walking up the stairs, standing for a longer period of time and physical labour associated with a job difficult. These people often have low self esteem and as a result aren't happy with themselves physically and, in some cases emotionally. Obesity didn’t just appear randomly. It has been rising since about the 1980’s and is now at epidemic proportions.
Obesity can start with simply eating unhealthy every now and then, then making a bad habit of it. These fats and calories add up more quickly than most people realize. It became a global issue when more and more people started having to deal with it.

    In our fast paced society the rate of obesity is only going to increase. Strain is put on our heart when dealing with obesity and our probability of getting diabetes is greater. Obesity is not caused by genetics however our parents do play a large role in our lifestyle.  Physical exercise and healthy eating is key to leading a good life. The rates of obesity are continuously increasing and making good choices is the only way we can hope change that. Processed foods have become easier to access and increasingly tempting in our busy lifestyles. All of these things affect our everyday life so if we want change we need to be the change we want to see in the world.

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)