Comprehensive Literature Review: Obesity in USA, Causes, and Solutions

This literature review analyzes the issue of obesity in the United States, highlighting its alarming prevalence, particularly among children and adolescents. The review synthesizes findings from various articles, including those by Balog et al. (2015), Barnas et al. (2018), CDC (2009), Lee et al. (2017), Mokdad et al. (2001), and Ogden et al. (2006, 2014). It explores the economic impact of obesity, the causes, and intervention strategies. The review underscores the link between economic disruption and child obesity, the role of physical activity, and the association between obesity and health comorbidities like type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Intervention recommendations emphasize the importance of physical activity and dietary changes to combat rising obesity rates and reduce healthcare costs. The review concludes that while physical activity and diet are crucial, further research is needed to pinpoint specific causal factors and design targeted interventions.

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW ON OBESITY
Literature review on obesity
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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LITERATURE REVIEW ON OBESITY
Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................2
Literature review:.......................................................................................................................2
Obesity and its economic impact:..........................................................................................2
Causes of obesity:..................................................................................................................2
Intervention recommendations:..............................................................................................3
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................3

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LITERATURE REVIEW ON OBESITY
Introduction:
According to the recent statistical reports that has been shared, obesity rates has been
reported to be the highest in the USA as compared to the rest of the world. There are various
causes and risk factors that are pertaining to the alarming increase in the obesity statistics.
This assignment will put across a literature review on the obesity taking the assistance of the
articles used in the annotated bibliography.
Literature review:
Obesity and its economic impact:
As per the article by Balog et al. (2015), the impact of the economic disruption on
child obesity has been discussed. The authors have utilized the economic growth by the
Simon Szreter to explore the deleterious effect on the health of the children during the
industrial revolution. The article provides a comprehensive perspective that describes the
relation of the economic growth in the post-industrial United States and how it has taken
away the attention from a grave public health concern. The strength of the article had been
the comparing the data between the pre-industrial and post-industrial USA.
Causes of obesity:
On the other hand, the article by Barnas, Wunder II & Ball (2018) focussed on the
level of physical activity and child obesity epidemic and how each of the factors relate to the
aspects of childhood obesity epidemic in the USA. The results of the article had been
successful in discovering the fact that the childhood obesity is the primary cause of childhood
obesity in USA. Along with that the article also identified that obesity is also one of the most
significant causes to type 2 diabetes as well which is also affecting the economic burden of
the American taxpayers. On a similar note, the article by Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (2009), the article suggests that the health issue of being overweight contributes

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LITERATURE REVIEW ON OBESITY
alarmingly to the health care costs along with significantly deteriorating the quality of life.
Along with that the data findings also indicated the fact that obesity enhanced the risk of the
target population acquiring a number of other health co-morbidities such as hypertension and
type 2 diabetes. Hence, it can be deduced that the impact of obesity on enhancing the health
care costs and leading to hypertension and type two diabetes. On the other hand, the article by
Ogden et al. (2006) discovered the prevalence of obesity to be enhancing in the children and
adolescents; hence, there is need for an intervention more focussed on these target groups.
Intervention recommendations:
In support, the article by Lee et al. (2017) discussed the imperative role of the
physical activity in preventing the risk of obesity. The article emphasized on the need for the
parents of the children to be focusing on the exercise regimen and proper diet to improve
their overweight statistics. The economic and health impact used in the article also predicted
the cut down on the rates of obesity will in turn decrease the health care costs. The article by
Mokdad et al. (2001) also supported the above mentioned data by predicting the efficient
intervention to combat the ever-rising obesity statistics is with physical activity and diet. The
article by Ogden et al. (2014), stated that the prevalence of obesity among the youth is 16.9%
which is alarming. Hence there is undoubtedly need for such physical activity and diet based
intervention to improve the rates and statistics.
Conclusion:
On a concluding note, obesity is a major public health issue in the United States of
America. This literature review discovered the prevalence increasing for children and
adolescents as compared to the rest of the age groups. The intervention recommendations
highlighted by the review indicates at physical activity and diet, although, there is need for
extensive research to identify exact causal factors and design interventions accordingly.

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LITERATURE REVIEW ON OBESITY
References:
Balog, J. E. (2015). Economic disruption and childhood obesity: Distraction, disconnection,
displacement of children’s health, and a need for social change. Health Education &
Behavior, 42(1_suppl), 67S-75S..
doi: 10.1177/1090198114566802
Barnas, J., Wunder II, C., & Ball, S. (2018). In the Zone: An Investigation Into Physical
Activity During Recess on Traditional Versus Zoned Playgrounds. Physical
Educator, 75(1), 116-137. Doi: 10.18666/TPE-2018-V75-I1-7594
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2009). Differences in
prevalence of obesity among black, white, and Hispanic adults - United
States, 2006-2008. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 58(27),
740–744. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19609247
Lee, B. Y., Adam, A., Zenkov, E., Hertenstein, D., Ferguson, M. C., Wang, P. I., ... & Falah-
Fini, S. (2017). Modeling the economic and health impact of increasing children’s
physical activity in the United States. Health Affairs, 36(5), 902-908. Doi:
10.1377/hlthaff.2016.1315
Mokdad, A. H., Bowman, B. A., Ford, E. S., Vinicor, F., Marks, J. S., & Koplan, J. P. (2001).
The continuing epidemics of obesity and diabetes in the United States. Jama, 286(10),
1195-1200. Doi: 10.1001/jama.286.10.119
Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Curtin, L. R., McDowell, M. A., Tabak, C. J., & Flegal, K. M.
(2006). Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States, 1999-
2004. Jama, 295(13), 1549-1555. Doi: 10.1001/jama.295.13.1549

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