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Obesity Statistics In The United States

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Obesity is caused by an energy imbalance which results from consuming too many calories and not getting enough exercise. Behavior and the environment are the biggest causes of people being overweight today. However, this can be prevented and changed.

Being overweight increases your risk for many health conditions and diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, stroke, osteoarthritis, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea, respiratory problems and even some cancers.

There are several ways that doctors use to decide if a patient is obese. The most common way is to use the BMI (body mass index). The BMI takes into account a patient's weight and height and comes up with their body mass. For most people, this is an accurate way to get the amount of body fat in your body. Other ways to estimate body fat include measuring skin fold thickness, waist circumference, ultrasounds, waist to hip circumference ratios, MRI and computed tomography.

Obesity in the United States just seems to be getting worse and worse. In 1991, only four states had obesity rates of 15 to 19% and no states had obesity rates above 20%. In 2004, this had dramatically changed. Seven states had obesity rates of 15 to 19%, 33 states had obesity rates of 20 to 24% and 9 states had obesity rates that were more than 25%.

There are many reasons why obesity is so prevalent today which include behavioral reasons, environmental reasons and genetic reasons. In the past 20 years, the environment and people's behavior has drastically changed, causing this jump in obesity. Fast food restaurants, soft drinks and pre-packaged foods are much more readily available than they were 20 years ago. Grocery stores also have more foods than before.

People are eating much more than they used to. Everyone is taking larger portions and eating more snacks. There are so many unhealthy snacks being sold and everyone buys them. This is very unhealthy because people are consuming so many calories and not burning them off.

Something everyone can do to prevent becoming obese or to lose weight if you are already obese is physical activities. You need to do activities that use energy so you can burn off calories. Some physical activities include washing floors, washing windows, gardening, yard work, farming, waiting tables, construction work, carpentry, walking, biking, swimming, skating, dancing, sports, aerobics and anything else that involves movement. Physical activity is good for your health; it not only controls your weight, buy it also decreases the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and colon cancer.

Most Americans no longer do physical activities, which is a big problem. Technology has eliminated the need to do physical activities. Cars are used instead of walking or riding a bike. Elevators, dishwashers, computers and televisions also are causes for our inactivity. People need to get up and move around. Anything that involves movement will use energy and burn calories.

This rise in obesity is a big concern for us. We need to make sure that we are doing all we can to maintain a healthy weight. Everyone needs to try to eat healthier and do physical activities. If you do not get to a normal weight, it is an enormous health risk for you.

Obesity Statistics In The United States

The ‘obesity epidemic' is, in short, a modern-day story of sloth and gluttony - Western life has produced a never-ending array of temptations which we have not had the self-discipline or moral fibre to resist. The field of public health, in particular, has long complained about the difficulties associated with getting people to change their exercise and eating behaviours, usually framing the problem as one in which basically recalcitrant populations refuse to do what is good for them. No doubt some readers will have noticed in the above passage that all of Bouchard and Blair's 'remarkably simple' solutions all relate to the behaviour of individual citizens and say nothing about the actions of governments, corporations and other institutions. Even so, having described the solution to the problem of obesity as 'remarkably simple', Bouchard and Blair apparently believe it is still too 'daunting' a task for most people.

To put our argument simply, the ‘obesity epidemic' story of sloth and gluttony is one which has a number of ingredients. The first is certainty in the face of uncertainty. There is a great deal we do not know about overweight and obesity and their effect on human health, and there are a number of different ways of interpreting current overweight and obesity levels. However, at present, only one story is told. Where there are gaps in empirical knowledge, people, including scientists, often fill these gaps with assumptions and generalizations. This is not to ignore the fact that the existence of comparatively solid empirical findings may not be enough to stop some people from generalizing. However, the existence of uncertainty probably encourages many who would not otherwise do so.

Second, the assumptions which are used to fill these gaps appear to be supported by entrenched and widely held popular beliefs. For example, the assumption that technology per se has a corrupting influence, particularly on children, and that it corrupts both our bodies and our minds, is virulent in ‘obesity epidemic' thinking. This is a belief that persists despite an obvious lack of empirical support.

Third, the ‘obesity epidemic' relies, in part, on a particular form of morality. It is a morality that sees the problem as a product of individual failing and weakness. Some readers will be aware that many contributors to the scientific literature claim that overweight and obesity have 'exploded' in Western countries over the last twenty to thirty years. Does this mean that at some point during the 1970s or 1980s huge numbers of people around the world suddenly went into moral decline? Despite what would appear (at least to us) to be the obvious implausibility of this argument, we will show that this is exactly the argument put forward by some commentators. On the whole, those who make this kind of argument are not obesity scientists and researchers. By the same token, the science of overweight and obesity is strongly influenced by a usually (although not always) unstated moral agenda. As such, it is easily interpreted and used by others to construct dubious moral arguments about why the ‘obesity epidemic' has happened.

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Both Michael Russell & Kevin Kager are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Michael Russell has sinced written about articles on various topics from Celebrities, Dieting and Diabetes Treatment. Michael RussellYour Independent guide to . Michael Russell's top article generates over 2240000 views. to your Favourites.

Kevin Kager has sinced written about articles on various topics from Obesity, World Wars and Abortion. This article is written by Daren K. Livingstone, professional writer working at . Daren has more than 10 years of essa. Kevin Kager's top article generates over 480 views. to your Favourites.

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