The Increasing Problem of Obesity in America

Is obesity an Epidemic?

As shocking as it is, one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese. Also approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2-19 years are obese. (“U.S. Obesity Trends”). The rate is alarming and starting to get out of control and no one is doing anything about it. It seems that people don’t care enough about the situation and the more you start caring less, the sooner everyone is going to become obese and have numerous health problems.

Obesity is an epidemic in the U.S. The numbers are increasing and it has contributed to a variety of problems. Many people may not know that most of their actions are causing them to gain this excessive weight. It could be because of the environment and what surrounds them, it could be that people are not getting enough physical activity, it could be psychological, or many other reasons. If it has to do with the environment, be aware of certain lifestyle habits and certain eating and dieting habits because they may be potentially unhealthy for the body.

If it has to do with physical activity, increase daily physical activity and it also helps decrease your appetite. If it is psychological, then reevaluate why your eating. Don’t eat because of negative emotions. For instance, don’t eat when your feeling bored, sad, or angry. It is unnecessary to eat when your not hungry. (“What is Obesity”).

According to the data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, men between the ages 20-39 are 33.

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2% obese, men between the ages of 40-59 are 37.2% obese, men ages 60 and over are 36.6% obese, and altogether men ages 20 and over are 35.5% obese. Also, according to the survey, women between the ages of 20-39 are 31.9% obese, women between the ages of 40-59 are 36% obese, women ages 60 and over are 42.3% obese, and altogether women ages 20 and over are 35.8% obese. Adults aged 60 and over were most likely to be obese than the younger adults in this survey. The survey also shows results of obesity in children. Children between the ages 2-5 are 12.1% obese, children between the ages 6-11 are 18% obese, children between the ages 12-19 are 18.4% obese, and altogether ages 2-19 are 16.9% with boys being 18.6% obese and girls being 15% obese. (“U.S. Obesity Trends”).

While some countries have no major problems with obesity and some do, America is definitely one of those countries compared to China, India, Japan, and France, but they might also have problems as well in their country. America is sitting at number nine on the list of Fattest Countries according to Forbes Magazine and WHO(World Health Organization). When comparing between France and America, France has a 40.1% obese population, sitting at number 128 on the list, which is lower than America’s rank. When comparing America to China, America has a 74.1% obese population and China has a 28.9% obese population. America has twice as more obese people in their country than China when China’s average population is more than twice the size of America’s. When comparing Japan to America, Japan sits at 163 on the list with 22.6% of an obese population. India, who is ranked even lower on the list, sits at 176 with 16% of an obese population. These results show that Obesity is a major problem in America and it needs to be solved. (Streib).

There are many problems obesity can cause. It could cause psychological, physical, and medical problems. The psychological problems that obesity can cause is that it affects people’s body image, and damages their self-esteem. In severe cases, it could potentially cause social anxiety and depression. The physical problems obesity can cause is that people may have difficulties with breathing, walking, and running. People may also have increased sweating, pain in the knees and back. Skin conditions may even occur and there is a higher risk of developing gallstones. The medical problems that obesity contributes to is a very serious issue. They are more common in obese people than in normal weight people. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, heart attack, stroke, and certain types of cancer all increase your risk of death before the age of 75. (“Obesity”).

Obesity is on the rise and will soon cause even bigger problems for society. Obesity is an epidemic in the U.S. The numbers are slowly increasing and creeping up on society. Obesity will continue to contribute to major psychological, physical, and medical problems. The only way to stop obesity from growing is if people want to make a difference in changing in their lives by gaining the proper nutrition information, being able to commit themselves to a healthy and rich diet, setting aside time to exercise a certain amount of time per week, and overall learn about their body and how to take care of it.