Why People Are More Obese in The Modern World
The incidence of obesity in the present day is showing all signs of turning to be the next epidemiologic challenge. In the United States, for example, the prevalence of obesity has risen steadily over the last three decades, qualifying this as a ticking health time bomb waiting to explode (Abiola & Mello, 2019). Of more significant concern is the variety of diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, which are more prevalent in obese individuals. The purpose of this paper is to explore the recent spikes in the incidence of obesity by evaluating the interplay of various determinants of health and how they predispose an individual to get obese. Obesity does not result from merely overeating or reluctance to exercise; instead, it is a result of complex factors generated by modern life.
Obesity has been defined as the accumulation of fat and calories in the body, which may be toxic for a person’s health (Susan, 2018). The body fat in question can usually be stored predominantly around the waist in men or around the hips among females. The universal parameter of measuring obesity is body mass index (BMI), which compares a person’s weight and the height, thus indicating the distribution of fat in the body. It is important to note that a person can be overweight but not obese, depending on their BMI (Lv, Xiao, Majd, Lavori, Smyth, Rosas & Lesser, 2020). Among children, overweight is usually defined as weight higher than two standard deviations of standard deviations established by the world health organization.
The issue of obesity has become an epidemic in most parts of the world, as evidenced by surveys over the last few decades, which have captured an exponential prevalence of obesity across the globe. According to research, approximately 40 % of adults experience obesity, and among these, 19% are projected to experience depression in the course of their lifetime (Lv, Xiao, Majd, Lavori, Smyth, Rosas & Lesser, 2020). More research documents the doubling of the incidence of obesity among children aged between 2 to 11 years and tripled among teenagers in America. Caregiving organizations, for example, have been required to make infrastructural changes in the hospitals to accommodate the obese patients (Susan, 2018). In 2016, health care was struggling with a staggering 33.7 percent of individuals with obesity and half the percentage among children (Abiola & Mello, 2019).
Additionally, the indirect costs of obesity have been registered in efforts to contain the increased incidence of cardiovascular diseases and depression. The government laws have for long been focused on policy; encouraging people especially the younger generation to adopt healthier lifestyles such as reducing the quantity of food, lowering the amount of fat contained in the food they take and also more exercise (Lv, Xiao, Majd, Lavori, Smyth, Rosas & Lesser, 2020). However, the evidence available has revealed that calories expended have not registered significant changes, but the calorie consumption has increased remarkably in the last three decades. This complicates the puzzle and paints the inefficiency of the government’s initiatives to reduce obesity. Health care administrators and other stakeholders are aware that like climate change, obesity is the result of the interplay of various intricate factors.
The primary aspect that has been used to explain the prevalence of obesity in the present day is the overindulgence in unhealthy eating behaviors. There is sufficient evidence that today, more than ever, fast food outlets are on the increase in a wave of modernism (Cutler, Glaeser & Shapiro, 2003). Nowadays, there are fast foods strategically located across all corners of the world. These outlets deal in fast and canned foods most, of which contain high sugar and calorie content (Susan, 2018). There has also been an increase in genetically engineered products being sold in the fast-food outlets. For instance, French fries and cheese are the most-traded foods in the fast-food industry. Around three decades ago, French fries were rare both at home and in restaurants due to the bulk of work involved during their preparation. Presently, French fries are cooked in one location and shipped to various locations after being frozen (Cutler, Glaeser & Shapiro, 2003). In the fast-food outlets, they are heated using modern technology and then sold.
Research has established a high correlation between access to food technology and the incidence of obesity. The fast foods prepared using advanced technology contain high sugar levels and calories, which then increase the energy levels on the body. The problem arises from the frequency of intake and the rate of calorie burn out. This is where modernism comes in; people prefer traveling by vehicles instead of walking and cycling, which reduces the rate of calorie burning. Among children, most of the obese cases have been reported to be mainly glued on screens playing video games or watching, which compounds their risk of contracting obesity (Lv, Xiao, Majd, Lavori, Smyth, Rosas & Lesser, 2020). This transition from the traditional lifestyle, cooking habits, and the typical day of physical activities comes as a risk factor placing the current generation highly vulnerable to obesity. The incidence of obesity is higher among people from low economic backgrounds, especially marginalized groups such as non- Caucasian populations in the USA. This is attributed to their low income and the unavailability of healthy foods in their neighborhoods. In these neighborhoods, the residents have a limited choice of food and fewer services, such as gymnasiums for physical exercises. Their reduced access to optimal health care then compounds this problem and makes this population at a higher risk of being obese.
Research has presented physical activities as the solution for burning out calories accumulated in the body (Susan, 2018). However, people are presently engaged in jobs that involve sitting behind a desk for long periods. The sedentary lives led by people as a result of modernism result in the accumulation of fat in a person’s body, making them overweight. In a research purposed to examine the effectiveness of a collaborative care for obesity and depression, the analysis revealed that poor adherence to session attendance was as a result of perceiving unsatisfactory progress in weight loss (Abiola & Mello, 2019). This study outlined the deficiencies in the existing intervention measures that certain factors, such as progress, have not been put into account when designing intervention measures for obesity. It is also possible to pick from the study results that obesity is self-perpetuating; the more fats a person accumulates, the more time it will take to burn (Abiola & Mello, 2019). This would help explain why individuals engaged in intervention programs for weight loss fail due to decreased dedication when they perceive less progress.
An interplay of these factors has led to the development of a complex obesogenic environment. This is comprised of the discussed personal factors such as diet and reduced physical activities, physiological factors, modern life, and environmental factors at work and home. In the present era of technological advancements, junk food companies have become more aggressive in marketing their products, often with misleading claims about their products, which targets children. This explains the tread whereby; children are becoming obese at an early age even before they are in a position to make informed decisions about their choice of food (Lv, Xiao, Majd, Lavori, Smyth, Rosas & Lesser, 2020). There is a limited body of evidence about the possibility of being obese and healthy. However, an extensive collection of research points at obesity being the doorway to many other health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, depression, and hypertension (Susan, 2018). As a result, health care incurs additional direct and indirect costs as a result of increasing cases of obesity. These comorbid conditions increase the risk of mortality among obese individuals, which is transparent in most of the countries’ health reports (Susan, 2018).
This paper dispels the myth that weight gain results from a person’s actions such as over-indulgence or laziness. Treads in lifestyles and technology has directly or indirectly made weight gain being an unavoidable phenomenon for the majority of the population. With people leading sedentary lifestyles, fast foods being cheaply available for the less affluent in the society, and fast food companies being more aggressive in marketing their products, obesity has become a consequence of modern life. Given the complexity of the obesity epidemic, there is no single magic bullet that could reverse the adverse impacts of obesity. Significant progress has been made with improving physical exercises in schools, restricting advertisements, and pushing for clearer food labeling (Abiola & Mello, 2019). However, there is still a long gap to be closed. The continuous increase in obesity calls for more proactive actions such as mass education and increasing the health care services for the afflicted individuals.
In conclusion, obesity is a multi-faceted phenomenon that is calling for more attention from the involved stakeholders in public health. The present spike in the cases of obesity and overweight is a consequence of modern life people have embraced. Everyone must be made aware of the constituents of a healthy lifestyle. The existing intervention measures must be polished upon promptly, and bad habits quitted. This would be a good beginning point to reverse the problems created by the obesity problem.
References
Abiola, S. E., & Mello, M. M. (2019). Multilevel legal approaches to obesity prevention: A conceptual and methodological toolkit. PloS one, 14(10).
Lv, N., Xiao, L., Majd, M., Lavori, P. W., Smyth, J. M., Rosas, L. G., … & Lesser, L. (2020). Variability in engagement and progress in efficacious integrated collaborative care for primary care patients with obesity and depression: Within-treatment analysis in the RAINBOW trial. PloS one, 15(4), e0231743.
Susan S, (2018). Obesity Crisis: should governments do more to control rising rates? CQ press: Sage publishers vol 28 (42)
Cutler, D. M., Glaeser, E. L., & Shapiro, J. M. (2003). Why have Americans become more obese?. Journal of Economic perspectives, 17(3), 93-118.