Essay Example: Extent to Which Obesity is Really a Health Problem

The contemporary world is experiencing some health issues, and epidemics and obesity is one of them. The number of people suffering from obesity has increased in the recent years, and the trend is worrying to the policy makers because the number of obese people is increasing day in day out across the globe (Shah 2010). Most of the epidemics that people are suffering from across the world are primarily related to pollution of the environment. On the contrary, obesity is linked to the kind of meals one takes and the frequency of taking the meals. Obesity is a lifestyle disease that refers to the state of being overweight. The body mass index is used to determine whether one is obese or not obese. One is seen as overweight when the body mass index is between 30- 40.

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Obesity affects both children and adults across the globe both in the developed and developing countries. However, 85% of children and adults suffering from obesity come from developed countries (Wardle 2009). This can be linked to the fact that there is sufficient food in the developed countries than the less developed countries. Also, the developed countries rely heavily on processed foods which have high-fat content, and this increases the propensity of suffering from obesity. Developed countries have environments that might hinder physical activities needed to help people cut weight (Wardle 2009). Most of the people suffering from obesity are ignorant about their weight and only become concerned when the weight becomes too much and a nuisance to their well-being. Most of the parents of obese children are to blame for their children's conditions because most of the parents feed their kids on junk foods and they end up gaining a lot of unnecessary weight.

Obesity does not only make the individual add a lot of weight, but it also makes him or her have a lot of fat in the body, and this increases the risk of suffering from other illnesses. Poor nutrition and diet is the primary cause of obesity but is not the only cause of obesity. A large number of people who are obese are poor and live in unhealthy living conditions. The poor people engage in unhealthy practices such as heavy drinking as result of joblessness and this further drag them to poverty (Armstrong, et. al 2012). Lack of decent earnings means that people have no access to balanced diet and this leads to obesity. The other cause of obesity is limited physical activity. Individuals who are overweight rarely engage in physical activities during their leisure time, and this leads to accumulation of fat in their body since the lack of physical activities mean those extra calories in the body are not burnt (Wardle 2009). As pointed earlier, developed countries have a high number of people suffering from obesity, and this can also be attributed to the environment in the developed countries. Some conditions in the western countries do not allow for physical activities such as bicycle riding, walking and running and this limits physical activities that can help fight obesity. The family history determines the propensity of getting some health issues such as obesity. Some people get obese as a result of their family lineage that has a history of being obese (Armstrong, et. al 2012).

Obesity is a health problem because a person suffering from obesity is at risk of suffering other lifestyle diseases. Obesity affects the performance of several organs in the body such as liver, kidney, and heart that carry out essential functions in the body (Shah 2010). The organs are affected by the fat accumulated in the body, and their performance affects the overall health of the individual (Wardle 2009). As a result of obesity, the individual suffers from illnesses that are caused by improper functioning of the organs. The poor performance of the organs of the body puts obese people at a risk of prostate and breast cancer that come as a result of organ failure. Obesity leads to high cholesterol in the body which if accumulated near the heart lowers the work rate of the heart. Obesity is a health problem because it increases chances of suffering from diabetes and blood pressure (Shah 2010). Cholesterol is essential in the body as it facilitates functioning of some organs in the body. However, obesity increases the cholesterol levels in the body, and this means that an obese person has difficulties performing physical activities. An obese person also experiences sleep apnea and excessive snoring as a result of having a lot of cholesterol in their body. According to Wardle (2009), individuals who snore heavily have problems having partners because their snoring affects the sleep of their partners. Most of the overweight people snore, and they report that they have problems maintaining a long term relationship because once their partner discovers they breathe heavily at night, they dump them.

Obesity is a health problem because it affects the performance of the organs of the body that support human life. Proper performance of the body is facilitated by proper functioning of all organs in the body. Obese people are likely to have reproductive issues, and most of them end up without children because of suffering from sexual health problems. A fat person has problems of mobility as a result of suffering from joint diseases (Wardle 2009). The illnesses of the joints affect the movement of the obese person, and with time they become totally immobile and without the capacity to perform any physical activity. Most of the obese people spend most of their time in bed and can't even afford to take themselves to the hospital, and they have to be bedridden to the hospitals by their close relatives and acquaintances.

As pointed earlier, unhealthy food and lack of physical activities solely cannot cause obesity. The genetic makeup of an individual determines if he or she can become obese. This means that some people have a hereditary disposition to being obese than others and thus need to check the lifestyle to avoid becoming obese (Wardle 2009). The chance of becoming obese for a person suffering from a genetic predisposition to being obese is increased by the environment one lives and the lifestyle he or she adopts. Lifestyle factors that increase the chances of being obese include the type of food one eats, the activities he or she engages in and the kind of work. Obesity becomes a health problem to the people with a genetic makeup of being obese because they have to keep track of the food they eat as well as try engaging in physical activities from time to time to burn excess calories in their bodies.

Obese is a health problem to the poor and the jobless people in the society. However, this does not mean that obesity only the poor, it also affects the rich but the poor are affected more than the wealthy. The rich people often suffer from obesity as a result of a lot of food because they can afford it. Children from wealthy backgrounds often become obese because their parents feed them on junk food that is often advertised on the various media platforms (Armstrong, et. al 2012). Most of the obese people eat foods rich in excess carbohydrates because some of them cannot afford a balanced diet. The social class determines whether one can suffer from obesity or not. People from poor neighborhoods have a high propensity of becoming obese because they cannot afford balanced diet and also because they cannot afford quality health care. Obesity is a health issue because it serves to widen the gap between the rich and the poor in the society (Shah 2010). Despite the fact that the illness is a lifestyle disease, it seems to favor people from upper social classes. The wealthy in the society can afford a balanced diet, quality health care and engage in physical activities in gyms and through other recreational avenues (Wardle 2009).

The issue of obesity should be addressed because it increases social segregation in the society between the rich and the have-nots. The wealthy neighborhoods have facilities that promote physical activities and healthy living, unlike the poor suburbs. In a way, obesity helps to strengthen the various social classes that have different living standards and ways of life. People from the lower classes are inferior and thus struggle to put food on the table. The economic hardships faced by the people of lower social status make them have stress which contributes to obesity (Armstrong, et. al 2012). Stress is a form of a mental disorder that in the long run can lead to increase in the body and hence lead to obesity. The social environment where one lives also determine the people one lives with as his or her neighbors. Individuals who live with friends, who know the value of healthy eating he or she is likely to be influenced to make a decision to take a balanced diet (Wardle 2009). On the other hand, if one lives with neighbors who see nothing wrong with putting a lot of weight he or she is likely to see no big deal becoming overweight, and this will lead to obesity. The poor neighborhoods know little about healthy living due to lack of sufficient education, and thus people from such areas are likely to become obese as there is nobody to guide them on proper nutrition. In a nutshell, obesity is a health problem because it largely affects the illiterate and poor people in the society (Armstrong, et. al 2012). Obesity seems to be a lifestyle disease that targets individuals who lack sufficient information on proper nutrition as well as people who cannot afford a balanced diet.

Most of the people suffering from obesity suffer from a mental disorder such as depression, schizophrenia, stress, and anxiety. The mental illness brought by obesity affect how the individual relates to other people in the society (Waine & Wiley InterScience 2012). As a result of mental disorder, most of the obese people become suicidal in the long run as they feel that people have neglected them because they feel that they are a burden to them. The mental disorders are brought by the fact that obese people have problems partaking in physical activities such as cooking or cleaning, and they have to rely on family members and friends to help them with the domestic chores. The inability to partake in simple domestic tasks increases the stresses in the obese people and they feel that the society does not want them and that's why they become suicidal and temperamental. In the long run, the mental disorders brought by obesity make an obese person become addicted to eating, and this further increases their weight because what they do is eat all the time. The fat person sees food as solace to challenges one is facing and the food is the only source of pleasure. Most of the obese people are ignorant of the fact that eating a lot of food does not solve any of their problems, but it only serves to increase their weight and suffering (Waine & Wiley InterScience 2012). Obesity makes people less attractive physically due to the accumulation of a lot of weight, and this means that obese people have difficulties finding partners. beseFat people have low self-esteem and majority of them claim that they hate themselves and this makes them think that everyone around them including their family members do not love them very much.

Obesity is a health problem because it increases the chances of suffering from other ailments such as indigestion, arthritis, and gallstones (Armstrong, et. al 2012). An obese person is a higher propensity of suffering from the illnesses mentioned above than a person with an average body mass index. The fact that an obese is at risk of suffering from many other diseases increases the individual's suffering as well as morbidity. This means that an obese person has a low life expectancy as compared to a healthy person. According to...