Obesity

Obesity occurs when a person consumes more calories than he or she burns off. Obesity tends to run in families, suggesting a genetic cause. Yet families also share diet and lifestly habits that may contribute to obesity. Separating these from genetic factors is often difficult. Genes do not destine people to a lifetime of obesity, however. Environment also strongly influences obesity. This includes lifestyle behaviors such as what a person eats and his or her level of physical activity. Americans tend to eat high calorie fast foods, and put tatse and convinence ahead of nutrition. Also most Americans do not get enough exercise. Many resturants are now putting the caolire count next to foods on the menus but lets face it many of us do not care how many calories is in a meal but they are more concerned by the way it tastes. We need to be more conscious of what we are putting into our bodies. Psychological factors many also influence our eating habits. Many people eat in response to negative emotions such as boredom, sadness, or ander. Overweight and obesity together represent the secing leading preventable cause of death in the United states. Obesity is a serious, chronic disease that can inflict substantial harm to a person’s health. Eating a diet in which a high percentage of calories comes from foods that are high in sugar and fats promotes weight gain. Lack of regular exercise contributes to obesity in adults amd makes it difficult to maintain weight loss. Obesity has a far ranging negative effect on health. The health effects associtated with obesity include, but are not limited to, the following: high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea. Obesity is basically the abnormal accumulation of at, usually 20 percent or more, over the indivuduals ideal body weight. The growing concern with obesity is because of the increased risks of illness, disability, and deaths of indivudals affected. Essentially, each year over 300,000 people die in deaths related to obesity (Rosenblatt, 2001). Obesity is linked to a combination of things, which include but are not limited to genetics, junk food diet, and a sedentary lifestyle. According to Miller, more than 60 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, and the trend is expected to continue (2003). Society places the preferred image of a thin individual as the desired one at the forefront. The obese individual is then faced with what society deems acceptable and begins to feel unacceptable. According to poston, “ a lot of people feel helpless about their weight” (Krucoff,2002). These feelings of helplessness increasingly lead to numerous mental problems, such as depression. Many overweight individuals ared drepressed with themselves and with life in hgeneral. This may futhur their dependence on food as comfort. Many people struggle daily with being overweight. They are often ridiculed and deemed as lazy indivuduals.