PUBH630 Essay: Is Obesity Determined by Social or Individual Factors?

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of obesity as a significant health challenge, examining its causes and related health factors. It critiques the determinants of obesity, focusing on the relative contributions of social determinants and individual lifestyle choices, arguing why obesity is a societal concern. The essay explores the impact of factors such as age, gender, wealth, and genetics on obesity rates, highlighting the complex interplay between these elements. It also addresses the economic burden associated with obesity and emphasizes the need for preventative measures and lifestyle interventions. The conclusion underscores the importance of addressing social determinants to reduce health inequities and mitigate the obesity epidemic. Desklib offers a platform to access more solved assignments and study resources for students.

Running head: OBESITY HEALTH CHALLENGE
Obesity Health Challenge
Student’s Name
Affiliate Institution

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Introduction
Obesity is a medical condition whereby an individual has abnormal or excessive
fat accumulation in their bodies (Alkan, Altunkaynak, Altun, & Erener, 2019). It results
from energy imbalance where the calories burned by the body are far less compared to
the calories an individual consumes. Because of this, one becomes overweight and to the
extreme grows to be obese. Obesity has, over recent decades, become an epidemic with
adverse effects. On the global scale, it is actually associated with leading causes of death
such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (Dickinson & Torabi, 2018). This essay
gives a detailed analysis of the disease as a health challenge with a focus on its causes
and related health factors. The aim is critiquing obesity determinants in regard to their
relative contribution and social contribution and individual choice of life to prove why
the disease is a society concern.
The obesity pandemic is estimated to be killing nearly three million people
annually. In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that over 1.9 billion
adults were overweight and 13% of these were obese (Dickinson & Torabi, 2018). On the
same findings, children under the age of 5 who were overweight or obese were about
41million. It has become an epidemic that affects all age groups, without gender or socio-
economic bias. It’s a global pandemic that is spreading faster than it can be managed.
Taking an example of the United States, the prevalence rate for obesity in 2015-2016 was
at 39.8% for adults according to Center for Disease Control (CDC) statistics (Benazon,
Foster, & Coyne, 2014). Dickinson and Torabi (2018) also denote that the annual medical
costs estimate for obesity was about $147 billion. It was further estimated that the
medical cost for patients with obesity was $ 1,429 higher than patients with normal

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weight. Clearly, obesity is not just a health issue but an economic issue as well
(Jopkiewicz & Nowak, 2018).
Causes of Obesity
To solve any problem, it is paramount to know what the causes are (Kalmykova,
Kalmykov, & Bismak, 2018). Obesity and being overweight is basically brought about by
an energy imbalance between the calories consumed and the calories expended. A high
consumption of calories with low calories expenditure will result into a person’s body
accumulating and storing excessive amounts of body fat. The related effects of this are
potentially fatal diseases such as breast cancer, diabetes, stroke, ovarian cancer and
prostate cancer.
Obesity is actually linked to over 60 chronic diseases, most of which have no cure
(Kalmykova, Kalmykov, & Bismak, 2018). The only actions available are for
management of the diseases acquired. It means that the available remedies to this
epidemic are preventative in nature and are characterized by exercising wisdom and
restraint in day to day choices.This calories imbalance can be attributed to the
modernization of society which creates an environment that promotes increased calories
intake and reduced physical activities. Other causes could be hereditary and hormonal
issues like hypothyroidism. The social determinants include: age (child, adolescent or
adults), gender (male or female) genetics or heredity, and wealth status. On this list, age
and genetics are arguably the most influential factors. However, these factors are inter –
related and one may influences the others in one way or another.

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Age factor
According to WHO findings in 2016, children under the age of 5 years – globally
- had a population of over 41 million either overweight or obese. The age group of 5 – 19
years had a population of over 340 million either overweight or obese. The adult
population hammered a staggering 1.9 billion who are either overweight or obese, a
number that Benazon, Foster, and Coyne (2014) point out to be a course for alarm for
both the public and the clinical industry. It can be inferred from these statistics that the
older the person gets, the more prevalent to obesity they get.
Not only has the prevalence to obesity been increasing with age, the general
percentages, across all age groups, have been increasing over the years. For instance, a
little less than 1% of children and adolescents aged 5 – 19 were obese. In 2016 the figure
had increased by 124 million (Benazon, Foster, & Coyne, 2014). So, it can be inferred
that age is a factor that influences a population to being overweight or obese. In fact
obesity becomes common around the middle ages. The older a person gets the more the
freedom they have to practice certain lifestyle habits that predisposes them to being
overweight or obese. The older an individual gets, the more they work and earn. This
gives the financial muscle to go for desired lifestyle habits (Alkan, Altunkaynak, Altun,
& Erener, 2019). Also, the adult population is less likely to engage in physical activities
such as exercise due to the nature of their work or simply they just lack the drive/time.
Therefore, the adult population is the most prone to obesity compared to the adolescent
and children ages. For children under the age of 5, obesity is associated with adverse
cardio-metabolic outcomes such as hypertension, and type II diabetes. Other factors
include child’s diet, infant feeding practices, physical activity and sedentary practices

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(Kalmykova, Kalmykov, & Bismak, 2018). There is an 80% chance for overweight or
obese children to be obese by adolescent. Thus, prevention at childhood age is very
crucial.
Gender factor
Men are, generally, more likely to become overweight than women. There are
exceptions however. For example, American statistics show that 40.4% of American
women are obese while their male counterparts are at 35% (Hite, Victorson, Elue, &
Plunkett, 2019). In the UK it is estimated that one in every four men is obese. The
research also suggests that this number could increase with time. Men have been (for the
most part) the major beneficiaries of the industrial revolution. As a result, they have had
more financial muscle to indulge in unhealthy habits that predisposes them to becoming
overweight or obese. They were, also, more likely to experiment on risky lifestyle habits.
They are also less likely to join weight loss programs for healthier body weights. In other
words, they are less concerned over weight issues compared to their female counterparts.
This makes them more prone to obesity and being overweight. Obesity in men may cause
fatal diseases such as diabetes and stroke; but uniquely to men, prostate cancer and
erectile dysfunction.
In women, the causes are more or less physiological rather than habitual
(Dickinson & Torabi, 2018). Although in recent times, with technological revolution and
gender equality, women have come in on board to unhealthy habits and risky behavior. In
women, obesity is associated with alterations in the reproductive cycle, infrequent or no
ovulation, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and pregnancy (maternal obesity). The

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related effects for women are diseases such as breast cancer and ovarian cancer. It,
therefore, requires that timely lifestyle interventions be applied before pregnancy and
maintained during pregnancy so as to have both mother and child healthy.
Wealth factor
In a broad sense, there are convincing indicators that rapid overweight emergence
in recent decades in developing nations is because of technological and economic
progress (Dickinson & Torabi, 2018). National level growth has a correlation with
increased household progress. Therefore, country level growth/ decline influence
household wealth, which consequently affects the predisposition to obesity. There is a
correlation between obesity and social inequality. To the contrary, in the US, the state
with the highest number of people with obesity is also the fourth poorest state! The
poorest state, Mississippi, has the third highest number of overweight people. This
illustration can also be seen in England where the highest number of obese people is
found in the ninth poorest council, Brent (Bartunek, Terzic, Behfar, & Wijns, 2018). This
is quite contrasting and shows that both sides of the argument have some weight. So,
whereas richer people or developed countries may be inclined to lifestyle habits that lead
to obesity, poor people and developing countries, on the other hand, are subjected to
unhealthy eating which may also lead to obesity (Benazon, Foster, & Coyne, 2014). The
fact is, income influences food choices and low income earners are subjected to
unhealthy diets.
Stress, also, has been one of the major suspects of obesity to people with low
income with certain disparities (Kalmykova, Kalmykov, & Bismak, 2018). Generally,

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obesity rates tend to increase with decreased income among women and tend to increase
with increased income in men. Among the adolescent, obesity rates tend to increase with
increased income. However, some evidence suggests that where the gap between the high
and low income groups is high, adults with higher income tend to become more obese.
Disparities persist with the adolescent and children.
As an environmental factor, stress is another influence to dietary preference, food
consumption, and regional distribution of adipose tissue. Stress is a real or perceived
threat to homeostasis. It is a critical and perhaps normal response for survival (Feiereisen,
Delagardelle, Vaillant, Lasar, & Beissel, 2017). But often times it is used in an unhealthy
way by humans. For a while it has been suspected that stress and obesity are linked but
now there is evidence from human and animal studies that links sympathetic nervous
system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hyper activity with visceral obesity so
that stress tends to alter food consumption patterns and promote cravings for nutrient
dense comfort foods (Kalmykova, Kalmykov, & Bismak, 2018). Consequently, too much
exposure to stressing conditions could result into unhealthy eating habits and being
overweight/ obese becomes inevitable. Different individuals may respond differently to
stressful conditions depending on their sensitivity – glucocorticoid exposure. However
development and maintenance of obesity has certainly been affected by stress.
Genetics factor
Recent studies indicate that 40-70% of obesity can be attributed to
genetics. It has been observed that there are over 50 genes that are closely linked to
obesity. Our predisposition to obesity is certainly influenced by the presence or absence
of genetic factors (Jopkiewicz & Nowak, 2018). The facts around this remain quite

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unknown, but it is believed that most obesity is as a result of complex interaction among
multiple genes in conjunction with environmental factors. Feiereisen, Delagardelle,
Vaillant, Lasar, and Beissel (2017) refer to as multifactorial obesity. Monogenic obesity
on the other hand, is whereby a specific variant of a single gene causes a clear pattern of
inherited obesity. All explanations on obesity linked to genetics have also to consider the
environment. Instructions for the body to respond to changes in the environment are
given to it by its genes.
Behaviors such as drive to overeat and tendency to be sedentary or increased
tendency to store body fat are all gene influenced (Hite, Victorson, Elue, & Plunkett,
2019). The studies have revealed variants among genes that could be contributing to
obesity by increasing hunger and food intake. One such gene is the fat mass and obesity
associated gene (FTO) and 43% of the population has this gene. In an environment where
food is readily accessible, individuals with FTO would have a challenge to limit their
calories intake (Benazon, Foster, & Coyne, 2014). This gene could bring about increased
hunger levels, reduced satiety, and increased tendency to be sedentary and increased
tendency to store body fat.
Usually such traits are inherited by families and likely to be passed on for
generations (Dickinson & Torabi, 2018). Whereas families cannot change their genes,
they could create an environment that promotes healthy eating habits and physical
activities. Therefore, it is a social responsibility to adopt strategies that will help curb and
perhaps prevent further damage caused by obesity.
Conclusion

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These social determinants clearly are responsible for the health inequities and the
general distribution of prevalence to obesity among populations. There is not a simple
solution to the obesity epidemic. Its complexity requires a multifaceted approach and
prevention is better than cure. It is cheaper. There are a few steps that can help in the
prevention which are relatively accessible to all walks of life. Lack of physical activities
and poor eating habits are the major causes of obesity. The step for curbing the vice is
requiring both individual and clinical response. For instance, avoiding foods that are high
in energy density such as cheeseburger or a large order of fries daily, routine physical
activity, and maintaining a healthy balanced diet all through their day are essential steps
that can help to defeat the disease.

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References
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effects of topiramate on the hypothalamic levels of fat mass/obesity-associated
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Bartunek, J., Terzic, A., Behfar, A., & Wijns, W. (2018). Clinical Experience With
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Health Promotion, 33(2), 217–224. Retrieved from

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aged 20-59 years from the Świętokrzyskie Region. Baltic Journal of Health &
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