Skip to main content

Obesity in America

Obesity is a huge problem for many people in the United States.  The textbook, Understanding Nutrition, notes that approximately 69% of adults in the United States are overweight or obese and this has become an epidemic (Whitney et al. 206).  Many factors may affect a person’s tendency to be overweight or obese, including a person’s genes and metabolism.  What is most interesting is the environmental, psychological and socioeconomic factors that affect a person’s eating and physical habits, which in turn affect a person’s weight and overall health (268). 
When someone exercises, some white fat cells are turned into “brite” fat cells.  Brite fat cells help to protect the body against cold and also helps to prevent obesity (270).  A sedentary lifestyle leads to weight gain.  Activities like watching television, surfing the internet, or playing video games are activities that don’t expend kcalories, versus physical activities that could spend the same leisure time, but expend kcalories.  High fat, sugary sweet, and salty snacks are often advertised on television and the internet, increasing the desire for such products.  Time in front of a screen also increases the tendency for mindless snacking (270).
At least 60 minutes of exercise is recommended daily on top of normal physical activities throughout the day (271).  Some obese people are obese not because they eat too much, but due to the fact that they receive no or much too little daily exercise or activity (271).  Spontaneous activities throughout the day can add up to hundreds of additional kcalories used up each day (271).  Exercise and other daily physical activity helps to minimize gaining weight and also helps to lose weight.  About 200-300 minutes of physical activity is recommended each week (281).
            There are some benefits to exercise, even if weight loss does not occur.  Metabolism is increased with physical activity, which helps to burn more kcalories.  After exercise, about 15% more energy is expended for several hours after the activity (282).  Body composition changes with exercise, even if no weight is lost, due to the buildup of lean muscle and lowered levels of fat in the body (282).  Aerobic exercise reduces hunger levels during and after exercise, which also reduces the overall kcalorie consumption (282).  Exercise and other physical activities reduces stress and helps with a positive body image, increases self esteem, and positive feelings about continuing to work on healthy eating and physical behaviors (283).
           



Works Cited

Whitney, Ellie, and Sharon Rady Rolfes. Understanding Nutrition. 14th ed., Cengage, 2016.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Emmett Till

I think the most important event in African American history since Reconstruction is the aftermath of the murder of Emmett Till.  Till was only 14 years old when he was tortured and killed by two white men in Money, Mississippi after flirting with a white woman at a store.  Till was beaten severely, shot and dumped into the Tallahatchie River, tied to a cotton gin fan.  African Americans were killed often in the South, many times by lynching.  The violence in the South towards African Americans was so prevalent that the two men that killed Till felt they were in the right and had no fear of being punished for this horrific crime.  When Till’s body was sent back to his mother in Chicago, she was shocked and horrified at how horrible her son’s body looked, due to the savage way Till was treated before and after he was killed.  Mamie Till Bradley made the decision to have an open casket funeral and to allow media to photograph his body before and during the f...
Post a Comment
Read more

Disaster Management: A State of Emergency

Before the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created in 1979, over 100 agencies had to work together to help people during and after major disasters (Smith).  The result was a conglomerate of uncoordinated efforts that didn’t work very well.  FEMA was created after a series of major natural disasters.  Ironically, after FEMA was created, less severe disasters happened and FEMA didn’t seem quite so important.  Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush used FEMA to make appointments as political favors and the people they appointed to head FEMA had no experience, training, or background in emergency management (Smith).  When a severe storm finally struck, FEMA was unprepared.  After a category 5 hurricane hit Florida City in 1992, it took 5 days for troops to show up to assist.  Over 125,000 homes were destroyed and thousands of people were left without federal assistance or necessities, like water or food (Smith).  Jane Bullock, former C...
Post a Comment
Read more

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women

The United States has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) international agreement.   According to the National Women’s Law Center, only the United States and six other countries have not ratified this agreement ("Issues").   The Co-President of the National Women’s Law Center testified that CEDAW protects basic human rights and aims to stop gender based discrimination against girls and women.   Nearly 200 countries have adopted CEDAW.   The main tenets of CEDAW are to: 1) prevent crimes of sexual assault, domestic violence, sex trafficking and other forced physical and sexual acts primarily experience by women worldwide; 2) give girls and women equal access to education and job training; 3) improve access for women to healthcare and improve maternal mortality rates; and 4) provide critical legal support and legislation to families, mothers and their children (Greenberger). CEDAW seems like a no brain...
Post a Comment
Read more