Not only is obesity a growing
concern in the United States, but according to the World Health Organization
(WHO) worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980. Obesity is identified
by having a BMI (body mass index) of over 30. The scary part of becoming
overweight or obese is that a raised BMI is a major risk factor for developing
chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension,
musculoskeletal disorders, some cancers, and can even result in a decreased
quality of life due to immobility and low self-esteem. Especially in America,
maintaining a healthy weight and living an active lifestyle is very difficult.
The advertising of unhealthy foods is ubiquitous, unhealthy foods tend to be
cheaper and more convenient, and we lead very busy lives working 40+ hours a
week, taking care of our families, etc. Although becoming overweight or obese
in today’s society is difficult to prevent, it is exactly that- preventable. Although
food scarcity is of great concern as well, most of the world’s population live
in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight.
We must make a change to avoid the preventable deaths caused by obesity.
One of my main public health passions
is decreasing the rate of obesity. I have always led an active lifestyle and
want to promote the same to others. I think the most important variables are education
and accessible resources, followed by health behavior change and motivation. Many
people are unaware of their own health status, unaware of the risks of their
unhealthy habits, and uneducated about how to attain their optimal health. Once
that is achieved, people must value their health and be motivated to exercise
regularly, eat healthy foods, and practice other healthy habits. I am eager to
learn more about health disparities throughout the world and learn different
theories on how to most effectively elicit change.
Resources: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/
Hey Hannah! I enjoyed reading your blog post. I definitely agree that it can be hard to avoid becoming overweight or obese in America these days. It is way more common to walk around and see fast food chains, convenience stores and unhealthy restaurants instead of grocery stores with produce, farmers markets and healthier options. This was a huge issue in Marion County where I worked for Purdue Extension this summer. A large portion of their county is located in food desserts where they literally do not have healthy options and are forced to buy groceries from corner stores or off of the dollar menu. It is so hard to be public health practitioners trying to fix problems like obesity when the built environment doesn't make it easy.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a good job of highlighting the behaviors and circumstances that contribute to this epidemic. While people are often quick to blame the American healthcare system for not being affordable/accessible enough, contributing to worse health outcomes for some Americans, I think obesity/overweight shows that it is not only our healthcare but our attitudes and habits as a society that are seriously contributing to this problem. Our go-go-go mentality has made us dependent on quick fixes, fast food, too much work and too little exercise. On the bright side, this disease does not always require expensive medical treatment: through education, increased availability of fresh foods, and encouragement to enjoy physical activity, public health officials could make a big difference here.
ReplyDeleteyes, yes, yes...all of you have made great points. OBesity is a complex multi-layered issues involving community contexts, policies, environment, individual and family behavior, histories and also genes. We need a reasonable blend of all in the program interventions with sustainability. In the global health scenario, we also have to factor in meanings, constructions of Obesity, their cultural meanings behind it.
ReplyDelete