ENG 112

Argument paper/ Obesity Prevention

Andrew Dodson
An Argument for Health Against Obesity

Obesity has become the norm in America today. The term “fat” is considered

normal and sometimes a compliment, when it should really be offensive. From children

to senior citizens, true obesity is everywhere. Overweight people are not paying

attention to what their weight is doing to their overall health, nor what their influence is

doing to the younger generations around them. This is an especially large problem here

in the South where good tasting food in large amounts that is not healthy at all. Corrina

Hawkes says that how effective food policy changes are “will vary depending on

people's pre-existing preferences and other behavioural, socioeconomic, and

demographic characteristics…” In an article titled How Early Should Obesity Prevention

Start?, they state that “once obesity is present, it is challenging to treat because of

multiple physiological, behavioral, and cultural feedback loops.” This silent killer is

spreading to all of the other people around the world. While there are some that have a

little excess fat who they could lose, the problem lies in the people who have an

extraordinary amount of fat on their body to the point that they are labeled as morbidly

obese.

There are many statistics in today’s world that prove that obesity is in no way

healthy for human bodies. Many people do not take the time to look into them because

the statistics would shock them too much. Humans do not like to see the danger that
their bodies are in when they have to make hard, life changing decisions carried out

over large periods of time to return to a healthy state. According to the National Center

for Health Statistics in 2015 and 2016, 39.6% of Americans today would fall under the

category of obese. This is higher than the 32% measured in 2003 and 2004 (Finkelstein,

Eric A., et al). To put that into perspective, that is roughly around 93.3 million American

people. This also means that the cost of healthcare for these people is astronomical

compared to a healthy person. These costs are measured differently depending on race,

gender, and age (Finkelstein, Eric A., et al). They pay more for healthcare because their

insurance company considers them at higher risk to cover, about $1429 over the course

of a year. Obese people are at a higher risk of developing diseases such as diabetes,

stroke, heart disease, and even cancer. In the past few years, there has been studies

that prove that obesity is a multi-genetic disease, meaning that it is something that is a

part of a person’s genes (Lipek, Igel, Gausche). These risk factors play a large role in the

cost of healthcare for them and their overall quality of life. Children are also counted in

these statistics. They show that on average, about 1 in 6 children, which are between

the age groups from birth to 18, are already considered to be obese. Their overall health

is already starting to be affected. This will only cause even bigger problems as they age if

not taken care of now.

In America, the different cultures play a part in the population’s overall health.

Many cultures tend to enjoy large gatherings of socializing and eating, like Southern

Culture. There is almost always an abundance of food that Americans participate in,

often over-indulging in. Many cultures tend to blame their weight on being “big boned”
or having bad genetics, when in reality the fault is all their own. Children are being made

fun of in schools because of their weight. A family of obese people walk into a

restaurant and there are assumptions made that they need more food than the average

customers. While this may flatter some because of the extra attention they receive, it is

really very detrimental. Often times the food they eat is very unhealthy or if it is healthy,

it is eaten in extra large portions. People eat to deal with their feelings, stresses in their

lives, and because they are not motivated to be strict with their diets and exercise.

Americans are lazy about getting up and doing things. Instead, they want to relax and

have all of the hard work done for them. The problem is that the hard work of staying in

shape can only be done by the person their self, out of their own freewill (Backholer,

Kathryn et al).

Today’s society has even come out with different movements and groups that

praise obesity. They start out by encouraging people to love their bodies the way they

are. They tell them that they do not need to change. This is taken to the extremes. One

group in particular, “The Body Positivity Movement,” has developed into one of these

groups. Originally this group was formed to encourage people with deformities to raise

their self-esteem and love who they are. They originally never intended for “fat” to

become a deformity. The deformities that they focused on were things like amputees,

burn victims, people with birth defects, etc. that people could not control having.

People can control becoming obese. From “The Body Positivity Movement” there has

been another group formed called “The Fat Acceptance Movement.” This group

preaches that obesity is part of a person, and therefore there is no reason for them to
change anything. Some have even gone to the extent of becoming even more obese

because they find a sense of pride in it because of this movement.

The American government has known about this problem for some time and has

starting implementing different programs and such to help reverse it. The programs like

WIC provide the means for families to buy healthy foods (Hawkes, Corrina). Many of our

country’s school systems have started teaching nutrition in their curriculum in hopes of

educating children from a young age to make healthy decisions. Barriers to Obesity

Prevention in Head Start has research that proves that about “one in every three

children entering Head Start is overweight or obese” What children are taught when

they are young will affect them for the rest of their lives. Parents can help with this by

controlling what they buy at the grocery stores. If children are being taught how to be

healthy and are seeing it modeled in their homes, then the hope is that they will

continue it as they grow older and our country will start to become healthier. This takes

a certain mindset. The mindset is that their life is valuable and they can help take care of

it by keeping their body healthy. This mindset takes a daily commitment to choose what

is good for us over just what tastes good. Food is mainly fuel for our body, not

something to bring us comfort. Once people in America decide to live, to do whatever it

takes to be healthy, to put their health first and foremost, and to get the most out of

their life, then obesity will be defeated.

 Citations

*Hawkes, Corinna, Dr, et al. "Smart Food Policies for Obesity Prevention." Lancet, the, vol. 385, no.

9985, 2015, pp. 2410-2421.

*Gillman, Matthew W., and David S. Ludwig. "How Early should Obesity Prevention Start?" The New

England Journal of Medicine, vol. 369, no. 23, 2013, pp. 2173-2175

*Lipek, T., Igel, U., Gausche, R., Kiess, W., & Grande, G. (2015). Obesogenic environments:

Environmental approaches to obesity prevention. Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism,

28(5), 485-495. doi:10.1515/jpem-2015-0127

*Finkelstein, Eric A., et al. "The Lifetime Medical Cost Burden of Overweight and Obesity: Implications

for Obesity Prevention." Obesity, vol. 16, no. 8, 2008, pp. 1843-1848.

*Hughes, Cayce C., et al. "Barriers to Obesity Prevention in Head Start." Health Affairs, vol. 29, no. 3,

2010, pp. 454-462.

*Backholer, Kathryn, et al. "A Framework for Evaluating the Impact of Obesity Prevention Strategies on

Socioeconomic Inequalities in Weight." American Journal of Public Health, vol. 104, no. 10, 2014, pp.

e43-e50.