Obesity is becoming an uncontrollable problem in the United States
today. People from different walks of life are suffering from obesity. Not only
does it bring forward implications to the United States society it also poses
threats in the ability of our healthcare system to address these challenges and
sustain the needs of the population. Specifically, the study of Sheila Davis examines
the related costs associated with obesity and brings forward its alarming
consequences. “Readers are warned that unless drastic wide sweeping efforts are
instigated on a social scale, the obesity epidemic will win out” (Davis, 2013,
p.1). Recognizing the potential challenges and problems obesity brings forward,
it is therefore critical to understand the problem and recognize solutions that
would not only bring forward change but a renewed consciousness to make
healthier decisions about one’s well-being and life.
Background
Information
Looking closely, the onset of obesity can be attributed to various
factors that influence an individual’s food choices and lifestyle. From the
individual perspective, these attributes can come from one’s unhealthy food
choices. The excess preference over fatty foods and lack of physical activity,
among others, are the primary causes of obesity among individuals.
Specifically, their inability to make effective choices also exposes them to
different risks related to obesity. A good statistic to demonstrate this comes
from Ogden et.al (2012) where they contend that “more than 35% of U.S. men and
women were obese in 2009-2010 (p.2). Even if the data seems to be outdated, it
clearly shows the prevalence of the problem and the continuously increasing
number as years pass.
On the other hand, obesity can also be attributed to external
factors such as the environment and industries which continue to promote
unhealthy eating. From the vantage point of understanding obesity, it is also
critical to examine these external factors because they serve as influences in
promoting the rise of the number of obese people in the United States. For
example, the continued expansion of fast food restaurants and convenience
stores that offer high sugar and fat content can be attributed as critical in
shaping obesity among people. Moreover, the availability of healthy food
choices are still expensive and difficult for people with average wages to buy.
That is why preference is given to unhealthy alternatives because of it is
cheap and is available compared to ‘healthy foods’ (Ogden et.al, 2012).
Problems
and Issues
A critical problem brought forward by obesity is the corresponding
detrimental effects to one’s health. Here, people are becoming subject to
increased health risks such as hypertension, heart attack, diabetes and other
conditions that would shorten one’s lifespan. Arguably, these issues were
highlighted as early as the 1950s to show that the number of obese Americans is
starting to increase. “As early as 1952 the American Heart Association
identified obesity as a cardiac risk factor that can be altered through diet
and exercise” (Davis, 2013, p.2). Clearly, obese people are becoming prone to
healthcare complications if this problem is not properly addressed or resolved.
Also, obesity brings forward social
challenges for the United States. In a social level, we see that there remains
to be an unequal way that food is distributed to the population. Instead of
giving people numerous healthy options to choose from, they are forced to be
content with sub-par and unhealthy dishes. Arguably, this is a social problem
because it considers the relevance of food security – providing adequate and
healthy options for people to choose from. In a more global scale, it also
contributes to the unequal distribution of resources. Since obese people tend
to eat more compared to normal individuals, there is of course the problem of
hunger in other sectors of the economy where rations are limited. From the vantage
point of economics, this unequal distribution of food resources might be
problematic especially in helping address the problems of hunger in the long
run.
Lastly, obesity is costly endeavor for the government. Since many
citizens rely on healthcare to promote their wellness and medical aid, the
increasing number of obese people is taking a toll on how resources are
distributed to particular conditions and diseases. For example, healthcare
providers like Medicare or Medicaid can give out support to people with cancer
but are forced to also distribute its budget in helping people with weight
problems. “Medicare spent approximately $23.5 billion on care attributable to
patients who are overweight and obese in 1998 (11.1 percent of total program
spending) and the Medicaid program spent $14.1 billion (8.8 percent of total
spending)” (Davis, 2013, p.3). Arguably, this just goes to show the current
struggle of the government and private medical insurances to address the problem
of obesity in United States. Apart from being costly, it brings forward an
unequal distribution of income to diseases that require immediate or particular
attention.
Suggestions
and Recommendations
In attempting to address obesity, the most important change should
come from the individual. This means that the person should be willing to
improve food choices and lifestyles in order to lose weight and reduce the
threats of obesity. Arguably, the most powerful approach in resolving this
issue comes from the obese people themselves. They need to let go of their
impulses and find ways to make the right decisions every time. A good metaphor
to highlight this comes from the study of Barry et.al (2009) where they argue
that “a big problem in America is that people are unwilling to work hard to control
their impulses” (p.19). Seeing this, if individual urges can be prevented, it
can help generate favorable choices for people who seek to consider healthier
choices and also limit making wrong decisions about food.
Another critical component that should
be worth looking into is the willingness of the government to take part and
address obesity. Given that this condition creates a healthcare burden in the
long run due to associated diseases that the government should support (Davies,
2013), there must be a proactive stance for the US government to promote
healthier food choices for people. Applying this in real-life, the government
can enact policies that would provide additional taxes to unhealthy foods as
well as give support to establishments serving healthy meals (Barry et.al,
2009). Other examples of policies include education campaign against obesity
and funding to support healthier food choices in schools. Arguably, these
collective endeavors must consider the necessity of interacting with companies
and various agencies to establish the appropriate solutions for combating
obesity. In essence, the availability of state-sponsored initiatives creates
ways for obesity to be tackled in a social scale and promote involvement to
many stakeholders and not just people who are categorized as such.
Lastly, there is the necessity of
increasing physical activity among people. In combating obesity, people need to
take control of their lives, exercise and choose the diet appropriate to their
needs. Even if the factors for obesity vary from one individual to another, the
importance of physical activity remains the same. Here, people need to identify
the right exercise that would complement their daily lifestyle. In addition,
taking part in educational activities to familiarize with obesity is also
another valuable way to induce learning. Specifically, Sylvetsky et.al (2013)
emphasize that “it is possible that obesity prevention education the benefits
of healthy diets, particularly attributes designed to have immediate appeal to
youth, would make these education efforts more successful” (p.5). Under this part, combating obesity is not
achieved overnight. Rather, it comes from the continued commitment of the
individual to achieve changes in lifestyle, choices and exercise.
Conclusion
Overall, obesity is truly a problem that that United States society
faces today. It demonstrates not only the lack of discipline in making food
choices or engaging in physical activities but also highlights the
socio-political implications it carries to every citizen in the United States.
Its context resonates from both individual and environmental factors. The
individual contextualizes the relationship between food choices, physical
activity and lifestyle choices. On the other hand, the environment features the
availability of foods that serve as influences for people to prefer unhealthy
foods over healthy ones. These choices observed in a larger scale result to the
‘epidemic’ of obesity in the United States.
To critically understand the
problem, areas related to health implications, social problems and cost were
discussed to give a comprehensive attempt to understand obesity. Health
implications consider the associated risk factors to health while social
problems touched into areas related to unequal distribution of food supply and
hunger. Lastly, the cost of resolving obesity issues remain to be a critical
aspect for discussion as it focused on how obesity creates situations of
redistribution and long term costs for government health care. Here, each solution proposed offers
responsive attempts to resolve the problem and look into the context of both
the individual and collective responses to address obesity.
References
Barry, C.L., Brescoll,
V.L., Brownell, K.D., and Schlesinger, M. (2009). Obesity Metaphors:
How Beliefs about the Causes of Obesity
Affect Support for Public Policy. The
Milbank Quarterly. 87(1), 7-47.
Davis, S. (2013).
Remedies for the Obesity Epidemic: Can We Afford Them? Do We Want
Them? Online Journal of Health Ethics
1(1), 1-7.
Ogden, C.L., Carroll,
M.D., Kit, B.K., and Flegal, K.M. (2012). Prevalence of Obesity in the
United States. US Department of Health and
Human Services. NCHS Data Brief. 82(1), 1-8.
Sylvetsky, A.C.,
Hennink, M., Comeau, D.,Welsh, J.A., Hardy, T., Matzigkeit, L., Swan, D.W.,
Walsh, S.M., and Vos, M.
(2013). Youth Understanding of Health Eating and Obesity: A Focus Group Study. Journal of Obesity,
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