Obesity

Obesity Obesity is a health issue that is growing more every day, and is one of the leading causes of death in America. Obesity is one of the most fatal, chronic, and relapsing disorder of today’s era. There is a very good chance that the increase in obesity will strain our healthcare system with hundreds or even millions of additional cases and cost related to obesity such as diabetes, heart disease, and/or stroke. According to WebMD (2010), “Obesity is an excess proportion of total body fat. A person is considered to suffer from obesity when they are 20% or more over their normal weight, and they are consuming more calories than they are burning”. Every year more and more adults are overweight and some even becoming obese, but what is more alarming is that more children are also becoming overweight and even obese themselves. People eat for convenience and do not take into consideration the consequences of eating on the go at that moment in time. There was a time when children played outside and got lots of exercise from being active, but now video games and computers have replaced outside activates in most children everyday life which is leading to obesity. There are many factors that can cause obesity in people such as age, gender, genetics, environmental, eating habits, illness, and/or psychological issues. Is a person has a family history of overweight people in their families, then their chances of being overweight of greater than someone who does not have a family history of obesity. According to WebMD, (2009), “There is approximately 75% chance a person will be overweight if their biological mother was overweight as a child or adult”. As we get older our bodies do not need as many calories to maintain our ideal body size, so in return our body’s ability to metabolize food slows down. So this is why a person who eats and exercises the same as they did when they were younger may still gain weight. If a person has improper eating habits such as eating out a lot, consuming more than the recommended serving size portions of foods, eating to relieve stress or just because they are bored, then they are more likely to be overweight or become obese than a person who eats healthier and maintain a regulars scheduled of exercising and eating smaller meals throughout the day. According to WebMD (2010), “Much of the increase in obesity in the last twenty years is thought to have resulted from the decrease level of daily physical activity”. Daily physical activity is a great way to get energized and stay healthy (WebMD, 2010). While most overweight people have no more psychological disturbances than people at their normal weight, about 30% of people who seek treatment for serious weight problems have difficulties with binge eating” (WebMD, 2010). Everywhere you look now days you can see a person who is struggling with being overweight or becoming obese. More and more people every year are being diagnosed as overweight or obese. People with obesity do not have the same quality of life as a person who is physical fit and maintains a healthy lifestyle. When a person becomes obese it makes it very difficult to enjoy activates with other family members because of limited movement and energy. Obesity can also cause irreversible damage to the body such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and premature death. One of the most painful aspects of obesity may be the emotional suffering it causes. (WebMD, 2010) Those who are obese will sometimes avoid meaningful relationships or going out in public because they are ashamed of their weight and what others will think or say about them. Obese people will often face prejudice or discrimination at work, at school, while looking for a job, and in social situations. Feelings of rejections, shame, or depression are common. (WebMD, 2010) One of the faster growing concerns with obesity is the increase in cases of people diagnosed with diabetes. According to the American Heart Association, (2010) diabetes, especially type II is common among those who are obese, as well as heart disease and stroke. Young adult and teenager who are obese or who have type II diabetes show early signs of fatty plaque buildup in the neck arteries which puts them in a high risk category for premature stroke or heart attack. In type II diabetes it is insulin resistant, which means that the body still makes insulin, but complications from being overweight or obese causes the body to not use the insulin it produces properly. A stroke is cause by plaque building up in the arteries and causing blockage. In an obese person this buildup causes narrowing of those arteries which is a pre-condition of a stroke. A stroke can later lead to a heart attack if a person does not take early steps to prevent any more blockages. A change in diet and medication can slow down the chances of more blockages and maybe prevent a heart attack. Sometimes in more severely blocked cases surgery is required to relieve some of the blockage, plus a daily dose of blood thinner such as Plavix’s. In some cases genetics play a big role in why a person is overweight or obese. If a person knows that have a family history of obesity in their families then they know they have to work even harder than the average person to prevent becoming obese. Other problems of that can arise for obesity is high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea or severe depression. The main reason for most cases of obesity is because a person will consume more calories greater than their body’s burn on a normal day. A person’s body stores extra energy that it does not use into fat. Exercise and proper eating are the best ways to burn up this energy. For a person to prevent complications that may stem from obesity a person must take control of the weight gain as early on as possible before becoming obese. The risk factors mentioned such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, emotional distress, or premature death can all be avoided if the right steps are taken to care for themselves. The first step to overcome obesity is to maintain a proper diet, which means taking in the proper amount of calories and the right portion servings sizes. It is very easy and convenient for a person to eat fast food in today’s time but it is often unhealthy in many ways. It is always best to prepare and cook food at home because this way you will know every ingredient in your food and know if you’re eating healthy or not. Exercise is the best physical activity a person can perform to maintain their ideal body weight and essential to help lose unwanted pounds. The more obese a person is the less physical activity they can do. When deciding to start exercising a person should start with small less strenuous exercises and work up to a more vigorous workout. The more active a person is the more energy they will have. Some medications will also cause weight gain so it is always best to confer with your doctor about the possibility of weight gain if you are at risk for obesity. According to The American Heart Association (2010), “When your weight is in a healthy range: Your body more effectively circulates blood, your fluid levels are more easily managed, and you are less likely to develop diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers and sleep apnea”. A long time ago proper diet and exercise was the only way to control weight gain or to help maintain ideal body weight. Now days, it is not uncommon for a person to have surgery as a method of ridding themselves of unwanted pounds. Liposuction is a procedure that rids to the body of fatty tissue and is fairly quick and recovery time is not long at all. Another procedure is gastric bypass surgery which has been key in helping many people overcome obesity. With this procedure the stomach can either be stapled or a band placed around a small portion of the stomach. This procedure has drastically changed many people’s lives as far as diet and lifestyle. According to the Mayo Clinic (2010), “For most patients, surgeons can perform bariatric surgery using a minimally invasive techniques (laparoscopic surgery), which is guided by a tube containing a light source and camera, the surgeon operates through small incisions (port sites) in the abdomen. Performing the operation can help decrease the hospital stay and lead to a quicker recovery. Fewer wound-related problems seem to result from minimally invasive bariatric surgery than from traditional open bariatric surgery”. A person’s stomach can only hold a small portion of food at one time: therefore one cannot eat as much food as they could have before the surgery. All issues of obesity should be addressed at every well child examination for early detection and prevention. Education early on about the importance of a proper diet and exercise can be as successful way to prevent obesity in the future. There are researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis who have found that a protein absorbs lipids in the upper part of the intestine, and they believe it play a key role in the process that may provide a novel approach for obesity treatment in the future. Also researchers at the Ohio State University Medical Center have been studying a potentially long-term treatment that involves injecting a gene directly into one of the critical feeding and weight control centers of the brain (Science Daily, 2009). Even though researchers are searching for a cure to treat obesity with the new technology available a proper diet and exercise is always essential and should be a part of everyone’s daily routine. Due to the rise in obesity there have been programs implemented in our school system to try and teach our children about the dangers of being overweight and how to eat healthy and the importance of exercising daily. Flyers are sent home weekly with the children and newsletters are mailed to their homes monthly with different types of healthy foods and recipes to use to aid in the ability of the family to try and prevent obesity and teach good eating habits at home as well as school. Schools sometimes will send home a physical activity sheet for students to do at home so they can determine how active a kid is at home as well as school. The school lunch program has implicated a healthier menu for kids to eat from. Schools also offer free lunches to students who qualify for assistance to ensure that children are receiving a healthy meal while away from home. The only problem with these programs is that they are not always carried out effectively. I would take the programs that our schools have already implemented and take them one step further to ensure that kids are properly being taught about the medical problems associated with obesity. As of right now the children do not really learn that much about proper diet and exercise at school, the tools used are sent home for the parents to implement them. The only problem with this method is that every parent is going to use the tools provided to them. If a child was to learn these things at school and is eager to use their education then they may encourage their parents to eat healthier and do more physical activities with them or alone. During physical education classes I would make sure that students are required to complete various physical activities instead of being allowed to sit around and talk. I would also be a great plan to get the local health department involved in getting a bigger audience of people for the schools to reach about obesity. Children in most instances are eager to learn new things, and if they were taught proper nutrition and diet along with how to be physically active, it will most likely stick with them throughout their life. The best spokesperson for a nutritional and physical activity program would have to be an individual who is a determined and outgoing member from the school board of trustees. He or she could take the known contacts that they have in the community and use it to set up family fun days one a week or month that are full of physical activities and nutritional information. These fun days could be advertised in the newspaper, on television, flyers posted throughout the neighborhood, as well as newsletters sent home with students about the event. People should not ignore their health. So a health and wellness fun day should always be a community effort and involvement.