The Underlying Challenge of Obesity

The Underlying
Challenge of
Obesity
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Background
The current health problems in the United States
are becoming potential hazards to the economic
wellbeing of the country. On the other hand, the
number of individuals with obesity has
significantly increased in the last decade. A
research by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) reveals that the rate of obesity
has increased among adults from 33.7% to 39.6%
(Hales et al., 2016). Obesity has been linked to
infections such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, high
blood pressure, stroke and heart disease in the
country. Obesity is also a fundamental problem
among children (Skinner et al., 2018).

General Problem
The overall problem is the burden of obesity in the
country.
More than 2/3 of adults in the US are overweight
with almost a third who are obese.
The cost of managing obesity in the US is currently
between $147 and $210 per year.
The disease is also associated with absenteeism
costing of approximately $4.3 billion on an annual
base.
Every obese worker in the country presents a
lower productivity which cost employers
approximately $506 per obese employee per anual.

Specific Problem
The specific problem is the negative effect of
obesity on the associated patients in the USA.
The United States is Ranked position 12
among the most obese countries in the world
(Barbour et al., 2017).
The country also ranks high in obese related
complications like hypertension, diabetes
type 2, cancer and heart disease.