Essay

Is obesity preventable?

Student’s Name” (First and Last)

Panther ID:

Florida International University

May, 2018

Introduction:

Obesity is one of the commonest health conditions if not disease of clinical and public health importance. Undeniably, obesity is a major risk factor for the development of several other non-communicable diseases whose resultant effect is premature death. In this paper, the topic of whether obesity preventable or not will be explored. Background information on why the topic of obesity has been chosen will be given. Further, a problem statement and research questions in regard to the topic of whether obesity preventable or not will be noted.

Background:

In this section, a discussion of the background of the obesity is explored. Obesity as many health practitioners and dieticians note is generally caused by eating too much and having little movement. As Brownell, and Walsh (2017) note, if people consume high amounts of energy, particularly fat and sugars and fail to exercise and engage in physical activity so as to burn off the energy, it is stored by the body as fat. As a consequence, the excessive calories coupled with not noticing weight gain makes the body gain an elevated weight which is referred to as obesity (Baranowski, & Taveras, 2018). Therefore, understanding whether or not this serious health risk is preventable is of vital importance to the U.S population due to the attached health implication.

General Problem Statement

The general problem is whether obesity is preventable or not given that calorie imbalance in an overweight body is what triggers it. Although some associate obesity with heredity, most of it results from poor diet or eating a lot of sugars or fats without physical exercise. There are more obese U.S adults than those who are just overweight. Recent statistics reveal that the estimated obesity rate among American adults stands at 32.2% for men and 35.5% for women (Hales et al., 2017). Over 80% of the obesity is diet related. Therefore, my interest is pegged on whether by eating proper diet, and exercising or engaging in physical activity will burn the excess calories thus preventing obesity among the U.S population.

Specific Problem Statement

The specific problem in regards to obesity prevention is whether it is preventable for the children and adolescents in the U.S which stands at a prevalence level of 17%. The basic reason for seeking to know whether dietary related obesity is preventable for this population is because its prevalence level of 17% is three times the prevalence from just one generation ago (Flegal et al., 2010). More specifically, is obesity preventable among the lower-income individuals who consume higher amounts of calories through fast foods that are high in sugar, fat, and calories (Currie et al., 2010). This is because studies note that eating healthy food in the U.S can cost more than eating junk. Moreover, the poor are unable to access nutritious food, recreational and fitness facilities.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this research is to determine whether a relationship exists between poverty and obesity and whether obesity is preventable upon determine whether the relationship exists. Moreover, the research will seek to understand whether the poor fail to access nutritious food, recreational and fitness facilities due to financial constraints or there is any other underpinning factor. The research will also determine if upon taking the required body calories and exercise adequately they children and adolescents will prevent obesity. Therefore, both financial status and dietary uptake will be the main factors of focus in this research when determining whether obesity is preventable.

Research Questions

In line with the topic; “Is obesity preventable?” there are numerous pertinent questions that need to be answered by the research. Undeniably, financial status, diet and exercising as often as possible are some of the factors that will be explored in relation to preventing obesity among the U.S children and adolescents. The research will address the following research questions:

RQ1: Will taking the appropriate diet and exercising frequently prevent obesity?

RQ2: How does financial status relate to obesity and how can it be used to prevent obesity?

References

Baranowski, T., & Taveras, E. M. (2018). Childhood Obesity Prevention: Changing the Focus.

Brownell, K. D., & Walsh, B. T. (Eds.). (2017). Eating disorders and obesity: A comprehensive handbook. Guilford Publications.

Currie, J., DellaVigna, S., Moretti, E., & Pathania, V. (2010). The effect of fast food restaurants on obesity and weight gain. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2(3), 32-63.

Flegal, K. M., Carroll, M. D., Ogden, C. L., & Curtin, L. R. (2010). Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults, 1999-2008. Jama, 303(3), 235-241.

Hales, C. M., Carroll, M. D., Fryar, C. D., & Ogden, C. L. (2017). Prevalence of obesity among adults and youth: United States, 2015-2016. US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics.