University Obesity Report: Causes, Impacts, and Community Relevance

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of obesity, examining its definition, factors, and societal impact. It delves into the significance of obesity, highlighting its effects on both adults and children, including links to heart problems, type 2 diabetes, and various cancers. The report emphasizes the prevalence of obesity in America and explores cultural factors contributing to its rise. It further investigates the role of genetics, family orientation, and global trends in obesity, including the concerning rise of childhood obesity and gender disparities. The study references scholarly resources and concludes that obesity is a complex issue with social, psychological, and economic dimensions, necessitating a multifaceted approach to address it effectively.

Running head: OBESITY
OBESITY
Name of the University:
Name of the Student:
Author Note:

1OBESITY
Introduction:
One of the major issue of the present generation or the current age is the problem
regarding obesity. The health index of the countries are showing a potential increase in the rate
and the intensity of obesity and this is the primary concern of the health sectors of all the
countries. Now, in this portfolio, a complete discussion regarding the concept of obesity and the
extent and the intensity of the same will be discussed. Now, in order to understand the
importance or the graveness of the situation it is important to understand the definition if the
concept. Obesity refers to body fatness, or the excessive accumulation of fat in the body (Dobbs,
& Manyika, 2015). Obesity is the outcome of over consumption of the calories which the body
cannot intake, or it can use. This extra calorie which the body cannot burn is further stored in the
adipose tissue of the body and therefore, results into obesity or extreme fatness. Ideally a 20%
rise of the body weight, is essentially referred to as teaching to the condition of obesity, and in
many instances it is been found that the increase in the body fat, gradually leads towards death.
This concept of ideal weight and the amount of obesity is determined by the body mass index,
which includes the height, age and gender as the determinant (Bray et al., 2016).
Therefore, in the present study a detailed understanding of Obesity and why it become
commonly accepted has will be discussed. Obesity is considered as one of the most harmful
illness by the health professionals, however in today’s society, obesity has become commonly
accepted. Therefore, a detailed research will help to understand about this aspect.

2OBESITY
Body:
Significance:
The concept of obesity and the factors of obesity, are very important to understand, as
there are a number of problems that can take place because of being an obese. Obesity is been
observed birth among the adults and the children, and in either the situation or scenario, this is
equally effective or impactful. Among the adults obesity can result into heart problems, and it is
directly related to the type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, certain cancers and other chronic
conditions (Reddon, Guéant, & Meyre, 2016). However, researches have shown that the
prevalence of obesity is greater and more common among the children rather than the adults, and
this in one of the major concern of the health professionals. Considering the situation of United
States, it can be said that the people of the country must be more serious and aware of the
situations and therefore must include certain precautions. According to the claims of the
researchers after the harmfulness of tobacco, probably obesity is the next factor which has a
major impact all across the society. The impact of obesity upon the health of an individual is vast
and deep (Andersen, Murphy, & Fernandez, 2016). More importantly, apart from the heart
diseases or the high blood pressure there are also outcomes like the asthma, sleep apnea, kidney
stones, high cholesterol, gallstones, and psychological effects and most importantly, there is a
probability of eleven types of cancer to take place, including leukemia, and breast and colon
cancer.
Relevance to the Community:
America has been diagnosed with the most numbers of obese, statistically. The concept
of obesity and obesity as a harmful factor could be identified in America only, and even now, the
statistical data claims that the country holds the largest obese population. Almost 40% of the

3OBESITY
total population of the country is characterized as obese. Now, as per the claims made by the
researchers (Stella et al., 2015). There are certain reasons or factors that lead to a population
characterized by obesity. Therefore, according to the researchers, the population of the country
are characterized as, in- the – car, and sit- behind- the- desk country or society, and this is true
for both parents and their children. They do not involve into any kind of physical works or
conducts and mostly remain at home or go out for their schools or jobs. And their concept of
being active also involves being involved into activities in a particular time of the day (Ludwig,
2018).
More importantly, the culture of the country is driven by food and drink. While this is
paving the way for many of the food businesses, also it is contributing into the rate of obesity in
the country. In one of the study a researcher had claimed that the availability of food stations or
food junctions is even more than the availability of gas stations within the country (Rosenthal et
al., 2017). Also, there is another factor which is contributing to the increase of rates obesity in
the country. That is, the food proportion available both in the home ground and in at the
restaurants are comparatively more than they used to be previously. Also, there has become a
trend or culture of food in the country, and since in the age of technology and increasing pressure
at work, the practice of having food in the entire has been increased at the same time (Popkin, &
Reardon, 2018). Also, as according to the researchers since the country is characterized by
depression as well, therefore the population of obesity is also increasing. One of the major factor
contributing to the increased rate of obesity in the country is the growing food industries.
Now, considering this statistical data, it is observed that, Obesity is gradually becoming a
common illness presented in every other person of the country. Almost the entire population of
the country is suffering from obesity, therefore it has become a common phenomenon. However,

4OBESITY
this does not determine that the people of the country are not aware of the situation, in fact there
are a number of measure which the country has included to fight this disease. A detailed
understanding of the concept is provided in the following.
Learning form the Scholarly Resources:
There are a number of factors which determine the body weight of the individuals. One of
the major factor that determine the body weight of an individual is the orientation of the family,
and as per the scientific research, the obesity is also characterized by the genes as a contributing
factor. The researchers are of the opinion that the trends of obesity are run in the families and the
rise in the obesity, universally, since 19080s has outpaced the rate of genetic mutation (Friedrich,
2017). More importantly, according to the WHO report, places or areas where the expression of
obesity was once rare, are also experiencing a gradual growth in the obese population. This
according to the WHO is considered to be the Obesity Epidemics. Since, 2016 there is a huge
rise in the obese population, and approximately 15% population of the entire world is suffering
from obesity, as claimed by the report published by WHO (Vandevijvere etval., 2015). However,
according to the health professionals the most concerning factor is that the presence of obesity is
not only among the adult population of the world, but the young population of the world or the
children of the world are also characterized by or diagnosed with obesity (Goodwin, &
Stambolic, 2015).
Childhood obesity has become one of the major concerning factors of the health
professional across the world, and especially among the health professionals of America. Thus is
not only creating a physical problem among the children but at the same time it has a
psychological impact upon the same. The overweight children are often stigmatized in the
school, and therefore, they suffer from an emotional, social and psychological problem (Gurnani,

5OBESITY
Birken, & Hamilton, 2015). According to a report over nine million of the children of the
country, aged more than six years, and including the teen agers are either overweight or obese.
Specially, it is present among the rural areas of the country and among the children living in
poverty, are suffering from obesity. More than 40% of the school going children are suffering
from obesity, and more than 41 million school going children, across the world, are suffering
from this disease (Sahoo et al., 2015). According to the Academy of Pediatrics the obesity is the
pediatric epidemic of the new millennium, and what is more interesting is that, initially there was
only one form of diabetes, which was prevailing among the adults. However, since the
prevalence of obesity among the children, it is termed as the type 2 diabetes, making the diabetes
among the children, the type 1 diabetes. According to the health professionals, and the
pediatricians, the obese children are more exposed to the consequences of the health hazards
associated to obesity (Simmonds et al., 2016). Also, the children diagnosed with obesity usually
experience of broken bones and certain problems with joints and movements.
However, the researchers have highlighted that there is a gendered approach in the
prevalence of obesity, and it is claimed that it is more likely that the women are more prone to be
diagnosed with obesity than the men. As per a recent report, there is almost 12% gap between the
numbers of men and women being diagnosed with obesity, and the researchers have claimed that
this disparity is more prevalent in the developing countries (Kanter, & Caballero, 20132).
However, another report has claimed that, in the developed countries, more number of men are
found to be obese than women. According to the researchers, this results out of the socio-
cultural influences and the lifestyle of the individuals, and since there is difference in the
consuming pattern and at the poverty and employment level between the developing and the
developed countries, which then results into gender disparity (Mauvais-Jarvis, 2017).

6OBESITY
Explanation from the Resources:
Therefore, the above discussion provides an understanding of the obesity epidemic that is
prevailing across the countries. The discussion provides a brief idea of certain new aspects of the
obesity which is comparatively new developments in the field. The child obesity and the
prevalence of gender disparity within the aspects of obesity are quite recent development.
Therefore, the most important things that can be claimed or understood from the above
discussion is that the problems or the consequences of obesity are not only the concerns of the
health industry, but there are certain underlying social, psychological, and economic aspects
related to the field. Therefore, people are now more aware of this social and cultural ill. The
concept of obesity is now commonly accepted as an illness, as well as a social issue, and the
government of the countries are taking specific measures to battle this illness. At the same time,
because of its wide acceptance, the people themselves are being cautious and are taking
precautions for the same.
Conclusion:
This portfolio includes a detailed discussion upon obesity and its factors and approaches
the concept from a specific angle. It includes a statistical approach in the discussion of obesity,
and the specific focus of the paper is more on the child obesity, which is a major concern of all
the countries currently. The study has identified that the concept of obesity epidemic, includes
certain sociological, cultural, and economic factors, and therefore this determines the expansion
of obesity. Hence, the aspect of obesity has now become quite common and normalized. People
now, possess an understanding of the concept and therefore, looks at it with a nonchalant
approach while taking certain measures to fight the same.

7OBESITY
References:
Andersen, C. J., Murphy, K. E., & Fernandez, M. L. (2016). Impact of obesity and metabolic
syndrome on immunity. Advances in Nutrition, 7(1), 66-75.
Bray, G. A., Frühbeck, G., Ryan, D. H., & Wilding, J. P. (2016). Management of obesity. The
Lancet, 387(10031), 1947-1956.
Dobbs, R., & Manyika, J. (2015). The obesity crisis. The Cairo Review of Global Affairs, 5.
Friedrich, M. J. (2017). Global obesity epidemic worsening. Jama, 318(7), 603-603.

8OBESITY
Goodwin, P. J., & Stambolic, V. (2015). Impact of the obesity epidemic on cancer. Annual
review of medicine, 66, 281-296.
Gurnani, M., Birken, C., & Hamilton, J. (2015). Childhood obesity: causes, consequences, and
management. Pediatric Clinics, 62(4), 821-840.
Kanter, R., & Caballero, B. (2012). Global gender disparities in obesity: a review. Advances in
nutrition, 3(4), 491-498.
Ludwig, D. S. (2018). Epidemic childhood obesity: Not yet the end of the
beginning. Pediatrics, 141(3), e20174078.
Mauvais-Jarvis, F. (2017). Epidemiology of gender differences in diabetes and obesity. In Sex
and Gender Factors Affecting Metabolic Homeostasis, Diabetes and Obesity (pp. 3-8).
Springer, Cham.
Popkin, B. M., & Reardon, T. (2018). Obesity and the food system transformation in Latin
America. Obesity Reviews, 19(8), 1028-1064.
Reddon, H., Guéant, J. L., & Meyre, D. (2016). The importance of gene–environment
interactions in human obesity. Clinical science, 130(18), 1571-1597.
Rosenthal, R. J., Morton, J., Brethauer, S., Mattar, S., De Maria, E., Benz, J. K., ... & Sterrett, D.
(2017). Obesity in America. Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, 13(10), 1643-
1650.
Sahoo, K., Sahoo, B., Choudhury, A. K., Sofi, N. Y., Kumar, R., & Bhadoria, A. S. (2015).
Childhood obesity: causes and consequences. Journal of family medicine and primary
care, 4(2), 187.

9OBESITY
Simmonds, M., Llewellyn, A., Owen, C. G., & Woolacott, N. (2016). Predicting adult obesity
from childhood obesity: a systematic review and meta‐analysis. Obesity reviews, 17(2),
95-107.
Stella, S. Y., Kwon, S. C., Wyatt, L., Islam, N., & Trinh-Shevrin, C. (2015). Weighing in on the
hidden Asian American obesity epidemic. Preventive medicine, 73, 6-9.
Vandevijvere, S., Chow, C. C., Hall, K. D., Umali, E., & Swinburn, B. A. (2015). Increased food
energy supply as a major driver of the obesity epidemic: a global analysis. Bulletin of the
World Health Organization, 93, 446-456.