Obesity is a medical condition whereby an individual has abnormal or excessive fat accumulation in their bodies (Alkan, Altunkaynak, Altun, & Erener, 2019). It results from energy imbalance where the calories burned by the body are far less compared to the calories an individual consumes. Because of this, one becomes overweight and to the extreme grows to be obese. Obesity has, over recent decades, become an epidemic with adverse effects. On the global scale, it is actually associated with leading causes of death such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (Dickinson & Torabi, 2018). This essay gives a detailed analysis of the disease as a health challenge with a focus on its causes and related health factors. The aim is critiquing obesity determinants in regard to their relative contribution and social contribution and individual choice of life to prove why the disease is a society concern.
The obesity pandemic is estimated to be killing nearly three million people annually. In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that over 1.9 billion adults were overweight and 13% of these were obese (Dickinson & Torabi, 2018). On the same findings, children under the age of 5 who were overweight or obese were about 41million. It has become an epidemic that affects all age groups, without gender or socio-economic bias. It’s a global pandemic that is spreading faster than it can be managed. Taking an example of the United States, the prevalence rate for obesity in 2015-2016 was at 39.8% for adults according to Center for Disease Control (CDC) statistics (Benazon, Foster, & Coyne, 2014). Dickinson and Torabi (2018) also denote that the annual medical costs estimate for obesity was about $147 billion. It was further estimated that the medical cost for patients with obesity was $ 1,429 higher than patients with normal weight. Clearly, obesity is not just a health issue but an economic issue as well (Jopkiewicz & Nowak, 2018).
To solve any problem, it is paramount to know what the causes are (Kalmykova, Kalmykov, & Bismak, 2018). Obesity and being overweight is basically brought about by an energy imbalance between the calories consumed and the calories expended. A high consumption of calories with low calories expenditure will result into a person’s body accumulating and storing excessive amounts of body fat. The related effects of this are potentially fatal diseases such as breast cancer, diabetes, stroke, ovarian cancer and prostate cancer.
Obesity is actually linked to over 60 chronic diseases, most of which have no cure (Kalmykova, Kalmykov, & Bismak, 2018). The only actions available are for management of the diseases acquired. It means that the available remedies to this epidemic are preventative in nature and are characterized by exercising wisdom and restraint in day to day choices.This calories imbalance can be attributed to the modernization of society which creates an environment that promotes increased calories intake and reduced physical activities. Other causes could be hereditary and hormonal issues like hypothyroidism. The social determinants include: age (child, adolescent or adults), gender (male or female) genetics or heredity, and wealth status. On this list, age and genetics are arguably the most influential factors. However, these factors are inter – related and one may influences the others in one way or another.
According to WHO findings in 2016, children under the age of 5 years – globally – had a population of over 41 million either overweight or obese. The age group of 5 – 19 years had a population of over 340 million either overweight or obese. The adult population hammered a staggering 1.9 billion who are either overweight or obese, a number that Benazon, Foster, and Coyne (2014) point out to be a course for alarm for both the public and the clinical industry. It can be inferred from these statistics that the older the person gets, the more prevalent to obesity they get.
Not only has the prevalence to obesity been increasing with age, the general percentages, across all age groups, have been increasing over the years. For instance, a little less than 1% of children and adolescents aged 5 – 19 were obese. In 2016 the figure had increased by 124 million (Benazon, Foster, & Coyne, 2014). So, it can be inferred that age is a factor that influences a population to being overweight or obese. In fact obesity becomes common around the middle ages. The older a person gets the more the freedom they have to practice certain lifestyle habits that predisposes them to being overweight or obese. The older an individual gets, the more they work and earn. This gives the financial muscle to go for desired lifestyle habits (Alkan, Altunkaynak, Altun, & Erener, 2019). Also, the adult population is less likely to engage in physical activities such as exercise due to the nature of their work or simply they just lack the drive/time. Therefore, the adult population is the most prone to obesity compared to the adolescent and children ages. For children under the age of 5, obesity is associated with adverse cardio-metabolic outcomes such as hypertension, and type II diabetes. Other factors include child’s diet, infant feeding practices, physical activity and sedentary practices (Kalmykova, Kalmykov, & Bismak, 2018). There is an 80% chance for overweight or obese children to be obese by adolescent. Thus, prevention at childhood age is very crucial
Men are, generally, more likely to become overweight than women. There are exceptions however. For example, American statistics show that 40.4% of American women are obese while their male counterparts are at 35% (Hite, Victorson, Elue, & Plunkett, 2019). In the UK it is estimated that one in every four men is obese. The research also suggests that this number could increase with time. Men have been (for the most part) the major beneficiaries of the industrial revolution. As a result, they have had more financial muscle to indulge in unhealthy habits that predisposes them to becoming overweight or obese. They were, also, more likely to experiment on risky lifestyle habits. They are also less likely to join weight loss programs for healthier body weights. In other words, they are less concerned over weight issues compared to their female counterparts. This makes them more prone to obesity and being overweight. Obesity in men may cause fatal diseases such as diabetes and stroke; but uniquely to men, prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction.
In women, the causes are more or less physiological rather than habitual (Dickinson & Torabi, 2018). Although in recent times, with technological revolution and gender equality, women have come in on board to unhealthy habits and risky behavior. In women, obesity is associated with alterations in the reproductive cycle, infrequent or no ovulation, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and pregnancy (maternal obesity). The related effects for women are diseases such as breast cancer and ovarian cancer. It, therefore, requires that timely lifestyle interventions be applied before pregnancy and maintained during pregnancy so as to have both mother and child healthy
In a broad sense, there are convincing indicators that rapid overweight emergence in recent decades in developing nations is because of technological and economic progress (Dickinson & Torabi, 2018). National level growth has a correlation with increased household progress. Therefore, country level growth/ decline influence household wealth, which consequently affects the predisposition to obesity. There is a correlation between obesity and social inequality. To the contrary, in the US, the state with the highest number of people with obesity is also the fourth poorest state! The poorest state, Mississippi, has the third highest number of overweight people. This illustration can also be seen in England where the highest number of obese people is found in the ninth poorest council, Brent (Bartunek, Terzic, Behfar, & Wijns, 2018). This is quite contrasting and shows that both sides of the argument have some weight. So, whereas richer people or developed countries may be inclined to lifestyle habits that lead to obesity, poor people and developing countries, on the other hand, are subjected to unhealthy eating which may also lead to obesity (Benazon, Foster, & Coyne, 2014). The fact is, income influences food choices and low income earners are subjected to unhealthy diets.
Stress, also, has been one of the major suspects of obesity to people with low income with certain disparities (Kalmykova, Kalmykov, & Bismak, 2018). Generally, obesity rates tend to increase with decreased income among women and tend to increase with increased income in men. Among the adolescent, obesity rates tend to increase with increased income. However, some evidence suggests that where the gap between the high and low income groups is high, adults with higher income tend to become more obese. Disparities persist with the adolescent and children.
As an environmental factor, stress is another influence to dietary preference, food consumption, and regional distribution of adipose tissue. Stress is a real or perceived threat to homeostasis. It is a critical and perhaps normal response for survival (Feiereisen, Delagardelle, Vaillant, Lasar, & Beissel, 2017). But often times it is used in an unhealthy way by humans. For a while it has been suspected that stress and obesity are linked but now there is evidence from human and animal studies that links sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hyper activity with visceral obesity so that stress tends to alter food consumption patterns and promote cravings for nutrient dense comfort foods (Kalmykova, Kalmykov, & Bismak, 2018). Consequently, too much exposure to stressing conditions could result into unhealthy eating habits and being overweight/ obese becomes inevitable. Different individuals may respond differently to stressful conditions depending on their sensitivity – glucocorticoid exposure. However development and maintenance of obesity has certainly been affected by stress.
Recent studies indicate that 40-70% of obesity can be attributed to genetics. It has been observed that there are over 50 genes that are closely linked to obesity. Our predisposition to obesity is certainly influenced by the presence or absence of genetic factors (Jopkiewicz & Nowak, 2018). The facts around this remain quite unknown, but it is believed that most obesity is as a result of complex interaction among multiple genes in conjunction with environmental factors. Feiereisen, Delagardelle, Vaillant, Lasar, and Beissel (2017) refer to as multifactorial obesity. Monogenic obesity on the other hand, is whereby a specific variant of a single gene causes a clear pattern of inherited obesity. All explanations on obesity linked to genetics have also to consider the environment. Instructions for the body to respond to changes in the environment are given to it by its genes.
Behaviors such as drive to overeat and tendency to be sedentary or increased tendency to store body fat are all gene influenced (Hite, Victorson, Elue, & Plunkett, 2019). The studies have revealed variants among genes that could be contributing to obesity by increasing hunger and food intake. One such gene is the fat mass and obesity associated gene (FTO) and 43% of the population has this gene. In an environment where food is readily accessible, individuals with FTO would have a challenge to limit their calories intake (Benazon, Foster, & Coyne, 2014). This gene could bring about increased hunger levels, reduced satiety, and increased tendency to be sedentary and increased tendency to store body fat.
Usually such traits are inherited by families and likely to be passed on for generations (Dickinson & Torabi, 2018). Whereas families cannot change their genes, they could create an environment that promotes healthy eating habits and physical activities. Therefore, it is a social responsibility to adopt strategies that will help curb and perhaps prevent further damage caused by obesity.
Conclusion
These social determinants clearly are responsible for the health inequities and the general distribution of prevalence to obesity among populations. There is not a simple solution to the obesity epidemic. Its complexity requires a multifaceted approach and prevention is better than cure. It is cheaper. There are a few steps that can help in the prevention which are relatively accessible to all walks of life. Lack of physical activities and poor eating habits are the major causes of obesity. The step for curbing the vice is requiring both individual and clinical response. For instance, avoiding foods that are high in energy density such as cheeseburger or a large order of fries daily, routine physical activity, and maintaining a healthy balanced diet all through their day are essential steps that can help to defeat the disease.
References
Alkan, I., Altunkaynak, B. Z., Altun, G., & Erener, E. (2019). The investigation of the effects of topiramate on the hypothalamic levels of fat mass/obesity-associated protein and neuropeptide Y in obese female rats. Nutritional Neuroscience, 22(4), 243–252. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=s3h&AN=134919575&site=ehost-live
Bartunek, J., Terzic, A., Behfar, A., & Wijns, W. (2018). Clinical Experience With Regenerative Therapy in Heart Failure. Canadian Modern Language Review, 122(10), 1344–1346. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.118.312753
Benazon, N. R., Foster, M. D., & Coyne, J. C. (2014). Expressed emotion, adaptation, and patient survival among couples coping with chronic heart failure. Journal of Family Psychology, 20(2), 328–334. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.20.2.328
Dickinson, S., & Torabi, M. R. (2018). Population-Level Measures to Predict Obesity Burden in Public Schools: Looking Upstream for Midstream Actions. American Journal of Health Promotion, 32(3), 708–717. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=s3h&AN=127969941&site=ehost-live
Feiereisen, P., Delagardelle, C., Vaillant, M., Lasar, Y., & Beissel, J. (2017). Is Strength Training the More Efficient Training Modality in Chronic Heart Failure? Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 39(11), 1910–1917.
Hite, A., Victorson, D., Elue, R., & Plunkett, B. A. (2019). An Exploration of Barriers Facing Physicians in Diagnosing and Treating Obesity. American Journal of Health Promotion, 33(2), 217–224. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=s3h&AN=135191491&site=ehost-live
Jopkiewicz, A., & Nowak, S. B. (2018). Incidence of overweight and obesity in women aged 20-59 years from the ?wi?tokrzyskie Region. Baltic Journal of Health & Physical Activity, 10(4), 72–80. Retrieved from
Kalmykova, Y., Kalmykov, S., & Bismak, H. (2018). Dynamics of anthropometric and hemodynamic indicators on the condition of young women with alimentary obesity in the application of a comprehensive program of physical therapy. Journal of Physical Education & Sport, 18(4), 2417–2427.
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