AnaRodriguez

MartiSchwartz
English10
March23,2015
Obesity

Problem:
Imaginetheworldwithonlyfastfoodrestaurants,DunkinDonuts,andcandystores.
Mouthsstartdroolingjustbyhearingthesetypeoffoods.Whilesomepeoplemightthinkthatit
wouldbeawonderfulideafortheworldtobelikethat,especiallykids,theydontthinkbeyond.
Whenpeopleareeatingfoodtheyarefocusingonenjoyingtheirfoodplate,butnotonhow
manycaloriesithas.Manypeopleeatandeatuntiltheyfeelliketheyaregoingtoexplode.All
thiscanaffectpeople,resultinginbecomingorbeingobese.
Beingobeseorbecomingobeseistheconditionofbeingfatoroverweight.Obesityisa
probleminmanystatesandcitiesintheUnitedStates.Oftenitcanaddupthehealthproblems
foradultsandchildren.Beingobesecanraisebloodcholesterol,triglyceridelevels,lower
goodHDLcholesterol,heartdisease,strokes(HowareOverweightandObesityTreated).
Beingobesecausespeopletohavemoreoftheprobabilityofgettingsickanditcaneventually
causetheirdeath.
Obesityaffectspeopleofallages.Amongchildrenfromagestwotofive,8.4percent
haveobesity.Kidsfromsixtoelevenyears17.7percentareobese,and20.5percentkidsfrom
agestwelvetonineteenareobesetoo(ChildhoodObesityFacts).Butchildrenarenotthe

onlyonesthatareobese.Adultsareobesetoo.MorethanonethirdoftheU.Sadultsare
overweight,whichis34.9percent(AdultsObesityFacts).Thesestatisticsarenotjust
numbers,everynumberisapersonwhocanhaveadiseaseorsicknessbecausetheydontlimit
whattheyareeating.Eitherpeopledonthavethebackgroundknowledgeofthecaloriesfoods
haveandwaystolimittheirfood,ortheyaredisregardingthisimportantinformation
Obesityisntjustcreated,itiscausedbyanumberofenvironmentalandphysical
factors,suchasrestaurants,candy,andadvertising(WhatCausesOverweightandObesity?).
Obesityisnotinfluencedjustbyenvironmentalfactorsbutitisingeneticstoo.Obesityriskis
twotoeighttimeshighertoapersonwithafamilyhistorythanafamilywithoutahistoryof
obesity.Alsoheritabilitymaydependonthephenotypebutis40%to55%morelikelywhen
phenotypesarelinkedtoadiposetissuedistribution.Obesitycanbecausedbygenetic
mutations.Only78casesworldwidehavebeenattributedofsevendistinctgenes(Genetic
factorsofoverweightandobesity).
Therearemanypeoplewhothinkthatobesityhappensovernightbutitdoesnt.Obesity
happenswhenhavingapoordietandandlifestylechoices.Ithappenswhenpeopleeatinlarge
amountsofprocessedandfastfood,drinkingtoomuchalcohol,eatingouttorestaurants,and
drinkingtoomuchsugardrinks(ObesityCauses).Alsolackofphysicalactivitycanmakeyou
becomeobese.Ifpeopledontdoexerciseorsometypeofphysicalactivitytheyarenotusing
theenergyfromwhattheyeat,sothentheextraenergyisstoredinyourbodyasfat.
Solution:
Peoplecanstopbeingobeseorgainingweightinseveralways.Followingahealthy
eatingplan,learninghowtoadopthealthylifestyles,keepingahealthyrecordofhabitsmaking

aneatingscheduletoseewhathealthyfoodstheyareeating,andbalancingenergyIn
(caloriesfromfood)withtheenergyoutlikephysicalactivitycanhelpinreducingobesity(How
AreOverweightandObesityTreated).Therearespecificprogramsthatcanhelppeople
combatobesity.Forexample,theLetsMovewillgiveparentsthesupporttheyneedandgive
themhelponknowingwhatarethekindofhealthyfoodsthereare.TheActionCommunitiesof
Health,Innovation,andenvironmentalchange(ACHIEVE),isaprogramwhohelpsmanage
healthfactorssuchasobesity(Prevention/WellnessPrograms).Famouspopstarsandsports
starsmaybebannedfromadvertisingfastfoodandhighfat.Also,vendingmachinesfrom
schoolhavealreadybeenchangedforhealthysnacksonly(Whatsbeingdoneaboutthe
problem?).Therearemanyeffortsbeingdonetohelpthekidsandadultstopreventbeing
obese.
Rememberthatobesityisnotjustbeingoverweight;itcanbeharmful.Humansmay
justseethegoodfactorsandexperiencesineatingfood,butpeopledontseethecaloriesthey
takein.Thecommunityhastoseethatobesityisanenormousproblemintheworldthatcan
affectnotonlychildrenbutadults.Societyisathingitispeoplewhoareobese.

WorksCitedpage:
AdultsObesityFacts,
CentersofDiseaseControlandPrevention,
April27,2012,WEB,March
12,2015.
ChildhoodObesityFacts,
CentersofDiseaseControlandPrevention,
April27,2012,WEB,
March12,2015.

GeneticFactorsofOverweightandObesity,
ResearchChairinObesity,
WEB,March20,2015.
HowAreOverweightandObesitybeingTreated?,NationalHeart,Lung,andBloodInstitute,
June13,2012,WEB,March12,2015.
Prevention/WellnessPrograms,
AmericanObesityTreatmentAssociation
,WEB,March20,
2015.
WhatCausesOverweightandObesity?,NationalHeart,Lung,andBloodInstitute,July
13,2012,WEB,March12,2015.
Whatsbeingdoneabouttheproblem,
BBCNewsround,
March12,2015.