CAUSE AND EFFECTS OF OBESITY ON TEEN POPULATION OF USA

The aim of the following essay is to demonstrate a descriptive analysis of various physical,

psychological and social impacts that are caused by obesity on the basis of both primary and

secondary data. The essay will also address some of the main causes of obesity. In order to collect

primary data, 1 teenager suffering from obesity and her parents have been interviewed, where

they were engaged in an in-depth discussion on how obesity has impacted her and the lives of

her family members. In addition to the analysis of this interview conducted, the following

contains an account of various arguments, assertions, and perspectives regarding the topic in

question, produced by previous researchers.

Ruth is one of the 70 million people of the United States who suffer from obesity. Weighing 153

pounds, the 13-year old teenager is already at high risk of developing heart disease and diabetes.

These are the two most common diseases that obese people are most likely to develop at a very

early age, as has been mentioned by Sharma (2019). He indicates that obesity reduces life

expectancy by at least 6 to 7 years on an average. According to his assertion, the additional body

weight is responsible for increasing the risk of various terminal diseases including type 2 diabetes,

heart diseases, stroke, and even cancer. On a similar note Park, et al. (2012) points out that,

despite the radical improvement of medical science which has been able to reduce the death rate

caused by these diseases, is failing to keep the rates down at many cases due to the patient’s

obesity-related conditions. Type 2 diabetes which is directly related to body weight can be an

example of this argument as the rate of this disease is increasing rapidly and currently, more than

100 million adults are diabetic in America. Moreover, the American Cancer Society characterizes
obesity as the second major reason for preventable cancer, after smoking, which they believe

might be replaced by obesity within the next decade.

Ruth also suffers from sleep apnea which is another disease resulted from her excessive weight.

There are also some other diseases that her doctors have warned about which includes different

gastrointestinal problems, pancreatitis, and fatty liver diseases and degenerative joint disease

resulted from the additional weight put on joints.

While categorizing the cause of obesity unhealthy food habit and lack of exercise come first.

Although often genetics are held responsible for the obese condition, the direct relation between

parents’ genes and gaining weight is weak. Sharma (2019) clarifies that children rarely inherits

some obesity causing disorders like Prader-Willi syndrome from their parents however there is

no apparent reason behind not being able to lose weight. He points out, often children inherit

some traits like having a big appetite which something that makes it difficult to lose weight but

it surely does not make it impossible.

Park, et al. (2012) also blames unhealthy food habits and no body movement as the prime reason

for obesity. The interview with the family also revealed that obesity has not been passed to Ruth

from her parents, as both of her parents are not obese. One of the fundamental factors that often

contribute to obesity is ignorance as has been mention by Park et al. (2012) They indicate that

people are not very aware or concerned about the maintaining a healthy dietary practice for the

children which often leads to obesity. Moreover, it is very difficult to impose dietary restrictions

on the child which exactly had happened with Ruth.

The psychological impact of obesity of a teenager is also profound as they are constantly under

pressure and stress. Carter (2002) points out that obese children are constantly taunted and

bullied in the school which leads to depression, anger issues, anxiety, and frequent panic attacks.

He believes that these psychological conditions also contribute to physical issues and makes the

overall situation worse. The interview has also revealed that Ruth is constantly bullied at school

and she had to change school twice for excessive bullying. These incidents had a strong effect on

her mental state and right now she is seeking psychiatric help. According to Park et al (2012),

there is a substantial body of evidence that specifies that due to their overweight obese

population has to face a significant amount of stigmatization in the society which includes

educational institutes, workplace environment, and even health care institutes as well. However,

there is no clear distinction on how exactly such stigmatization could impact the psychological

functioning of a person. He additionally indicates that people including teenagers suffering from

obesity and who have been subjected to various stigmatizations in most cases develop some

strategies to cope. However, some of the strategies, like averting of medicinal treatment for

reducing undesirable encounters with care professionals can actually be detrimental. There are

some studies that point out that obese people who had to experience a greater amount of serious

stigmatization tend to have greater mental distress. Most of the studies used only those obese

people who pursued psychological help as their sample, therefore, these studies do not represent

the general population of the obese.

According to a few epidemiological studies people suffering from obesity are more likely to

develop depression, compared to the normal population. Some of the studies indicate that this
correlation is stronger in women however, the evidence is somewhat inconsistent (Sharma,

2019).

The above description clearly indicates a strong correlation between the mentioned physical,

social and psychological issues, and obesity. It can be easily observed that the primary data and

secondary data both are greatly relatable and bear a clear resemblance.

REFERENCES

Carter, R. (2002). The Impact of Public Schools on Childhood Obesity. JAMA, 288(17), 2180. doi:

10.1001/jama.288.17.2180-jms1106-6-1

Park, M., Falconer, C., Viner, R., & Kinra, S. (2012). The impact of childhood obesity on morbidity

and mortality in adulthood: a systematic review. Obesity Reviews, 13(11), 985-1000. doi:

10.1111/j.1467-789x.2012.01015.x

Sharma, S., Vandewater, E., Chuang, R., Byrd-Williams, C., Kelder, S., Butte, N., & Hoelscher, D.

(2019). Impact of the Coordinated Approach to Child Health Early Childhood Program for Obesity

Prevention among Preschool Children: The Texas Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration

Study. Childhood Obesity, 15(1), 1-13. doi: 10.1089/chi.2018.0010