Cause of Obesity and risk factors

Obesity is one of the public health problems affecting the society. Being obese means having excess accumulation of body fats leading to the enormous amount of weight. Majority of individuals in America suffer from obesity. Recently there are developing cases of obesity not only in adults but children as well. If one would take a keen observation of the surrounding, one would probably notice the common variations in people’s weights and appearances. People often tend to be, ignorant when they gain weight. Failing to take precautions, to think of the implications leads one to be obese. Much need to be in place, especially from the health practitioners, to ensure minimum cases of obesity. There are needs to understand the scope of obesity as well as the impacts that obesity has on the victims to be able to identify the measures of overcoming the issue.

Obesity is an acute care problem that majority of individuals in the United States are experiencing. To determine whether an individual overweight or not, health practitioners usually takes into account the height and the weight of the person. Body mass index is then determined which help in diagnosing the likelihood of obesity. (Locke et al.  197). the Body Mass Index that goes above thirty indicates one is obese. Even so, there must be root causes of obesity in an individual.

Cause of Obesity

 One’s lifestyle primarily determines the likelihood of an individual having obesity. Obesity results from a person being overweight, meaning an individual have a lot of calories in the body. Usually, an individual is required to do daily exercises that help in burning any extra calorie in their body. However, that’s not often the case with everyone.  Persons who don’t exercise regularly thus having calories experiences risks being obese. In addition to, when one grows old, they experience prolonged metabolic rate as well as less muscle mass. Such persons can quickly gain weight leading to obesity. Another possible cause of obesity, specifically to women, is pregnancy. When a woman is pregnant; they tend to weigh more than before their conception. However, when the women conceive, the possibility of losing the weight is low. Such women risks being obese. Apart from lifestyle, there may also be health conditions that may bring obesity. Females sometimes experience hormonal imbalances, a condition known as polycystic ovary syndrome. With hormonal imbalances, one may fail to control their body weight leading to excess body weight thus obesity.

Risks Factors

Both the adults and the young children are vulnerable to obesity depending on the risks factors exposure. Some of the risks elements are psychological, environmental, genetic factors. Psychological Factors

Persons who suffer any mental disorder such as eating disorder, depression, anxiety stand a high chance of obesity. Majority of individuals tend to eat a lot when undergoing a distressful situation (Brownell 48). Overeating results into weight gain as one may not be able to have control over their weight.

Environmental Factors

An individual’s environment has a significant influence on how active they are or even what they eat. For instance, children while at school may get influence from their peers to eat a lot of snacks and fatty meals. Eating such foods does one no good to them but adding more and more calories which are risky, especially when a child does not active. In addition to, a person may be in an environment which encourages say, walking or running. Such an environment reduces the risk to obesity.  However, if one is in an inactive surrounding such as always using a personal car to move around, the person stands high chances of being obese.

Genetic Factors

Waiting gaining for some individuals may be generic. Such individuals have fewer chances of losing weight. Constant weight gaining makes the person risks being obese.

Impacts of Obesity

There are several impacts that an obese individual experiences health wise. The first health effect is diabetes. Obesity act as the primary cause of type II diabetes which is more rampant in adults with few cases in children arising.  Presence of obesity results in individual developing resistance to insulin elevating the blood sugar level (Radziuk 282). Such a person is highly vulnerable to obesity. Another impact is heart diseases, an obese person experiences fat deposits which may build up in the arteries. Arteries are responsible for supplying to the heart. However, the deposits of fats on the vein makes then narrow the artery which leads to the reduction in blood flow. Such an individual may experience a heart attack or pains in the chests. Obesity may also make one vulnerable to cancer. For instance, an obese woman stands chances of contracting uterus, colon, and breast cancers.   Men are also at high risk of getting pastorate or colon cancer if at all they are overweight.  Obesity may even come with psychological impacts mainly in the societies where an obese person is taken to be disadvantaged. 

Problem Statement Draft

There is a tremendous need for creating awareness on the measures individuals can take to limits the impacts of obesity in America. The number of those with obesity keeps rising as stated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The center mentioned above reported that between the year 2015 and 2016, about 40 % of adults and 19% of children in the United States had obesity. So many people in America are losing lives due to obesity something which could be avoided if actions are taken to create awareness. Initially, the disease associated with the adults and older citizens. Unfortunately, the children as young as they are, have to deal with the chronic illness. Majorly, the problem initiates form one’s lifestyle, which can change if only they were aware. Such issues call for the needs on awareness to the individuals on the risk factors. Besides psychological factors that expose one to obesity, there are other more factors as well:

Environmental factors which determine what influences one’s lifestyle.

Behavioral factors such as eating habits.

Genetic factors that one inherits from their generations

 There are needs for obesity campaigns in America where the rate of death due to obesity is worrying. Such camping should aim at helping reduce the number of people who are obese by helping the individuals know how to prevent the illness.

Conclusion

Obesity as one of the public health issue profoundly affecting the society today. A high number of obese individuals are recorded on being both children and adults. To be able to help in the fighting against obesity, individuals must first understand the primary course of obesity, as well as the impact that obesity has on an individual. In addition to, the risk factors that determine one’s vulnerability. Primarily, one’s lifestyles determine the likelihood of them being obese or not. For instance, what one eats food that has a high amount of fats intake the results is that such an individual risks being overweight. In addition to, one’s lifestyle may entail too much inactivity such as lack of walking or playing. The individual stands high chances of obesity. With obesity one risks factors such as blood pressure, heart problems, among others. With so much negative impacts, there needs to be an awareness on how to deal with the lifestyles to reduce obesity.

Works Cited   

Brownell, Kelly D., and B. Timothy Walsh, eds. Eating disorders and obesity: A comprehensive handbook. Guilford Publications, 2017.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “USA.” Classification of Diseases, Functioning, and Disability. [Электронный ресурс]: http://www. cdc. gov/nchs/icd/icd10cm. htm (дата обращения: 20.09. 2014)

(2015).

Locke, Adam E., et al. ”Genetic studies of body mass index yield new insights for obesity biology.” Nature 518.7538 (2015): 197.

Radziuk, Jerry. ”Sensitivity to insulin and its kinetics.” Obesity25.2 (2017): 282-283.