Kurtis Mullaney (FGCU) Obesity

Obesity is a very large and growing problem in the United States.  Not only does harm the individual who is obese but it can also indirectly harm the taxpayers and the economy.  Most people see obesity as a problem related to poor nutrition and an unhealthy lifestyle rather than a disease.  A lot of people who are not obese see obesity as a self imposed character flaw that can be dealt with through the use of will power.  Although the public feels that marketers and producers of food that are considered “unhealthy” take some of the blame for obesity, it is up the individual to make his or her own decisions concerning his or her diet and the choices they make.There are many negative effects that being obese can have on one’s lifestyle.  It can lead to many health issues such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.  It can also lead to physical pain, emotional abuse such as bullying, embarrassment, inability to participate in activities, and depression.  Other than having negative effects on the individual, obesity can also have negative effects on the economy.  The journal Obesity Research stated that in 2003 obesity related medical cost reached $75 billion and taxpayers ended up paying for more than half of these costs.  Shouldn’t this tax money be going to something else such as education?  This is a huge example of how obesity is a very big social problem that really needs to be and possibly can be somewhat fixed. 

The main causes of obesity are physical inactivity, genetics, a high fat diet, the culture in which one grows up in, gender, age, and emotional stress and distress.  There have been a number of proposed solutions to obesity such as Junk food tax, government crackdown on unhealthy food producers, an increase in advertisements illustrating harmful side-effects of obesity and unhealthy eating, more healthy food added to menus, and nutrition facts listed on menus.  These solutions do show that they can help reduce obesity but I believe that the best way to stop its growth is with an increase in education on the effects of obesity, what causes it, and how a healthy diet and exercise are extremely important for maintaining good health.  Parents must be educated on how to properly feed their children in order for them to grow up healthily.  They need to know what foods to feed them at what age and how to keep them from eating too much junk food.  When children get old enough they must be taught how they need to eat and exercise in order to be healthy and they must know how drastically obesity can affect their lives.  Major programs need to be implemented in schools and parenting institutes that teach kids how to eat right, stay healthy, and grow up, not out.

This entry was posted on 27. April 2009 at 00:02 and is filed under Social Problems. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.