Arshad 1 Juwaria Arshad English 111 Brain Milward December 7, 2013 Obesity in United States America is the only

nation in history which miraculously has gone directly from barbarism to decadence without the usual interval of civilization. By Georges Clemenceau, French Journalist, physician and statesman. Obesity is an important issue nation wide. Obesity is a lifestyle disease, which is spreading rapidly worldwide. This disease affects people of all ages and gender. According to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, more than one-third (37.7%) of United States children and adults are obese. Obesity is a medical condition; it is define as abnormal accumulation of body fat, when 20% or more body fat is produced over an individuals ideal body weight and height. Body fat can be measured in several ways. Some are simple and required only a tape measure. The most efficient basic method and common is the body mass index (BMI). Doctors can easily use BMI for measuring obesity. BMI it is a scale that calculates by measuring a ratio from the height and weight. BMI tables and online calculate also make it easier for individuals to calculate their own BMIs. A Body Mass Index between 25 and 29.9 is "overweight", and greater than or equal to 30 is "obese. Source: National Center for Health statistics (Lloyd).

Arshad 2 Depending on the age level, certain types of obesity can cause high risk of medical conditions that can affect individuals present and future health and quality of life. These affects include high blood pressure, heart disease, asthma, high cholesterol and Cancer. The American Cancer Society published that one-third of more than 572,000 cancer deaths can be attributed to diet and physical activity habits such as being overweight and obesity. "Cancer is becoming a chronic disease because we can treat people better now and they can live longer," says Rachel Ballard-Barbash, associate director of the applied research program at NCI. "But we are beginning to see the effect of health behaviors on the outcomes for cancer survivors. There are things you can do to improve prognosis and quality of life, such as losing weight, improving nutrition and exercising. It is similar to what we learned about heart disease (Lloyd). There are three different types of obesity: simple obesity (Alimentary Obesity), secondary obesity and Childhood Obesity. Simple obesity accounts for approximately 95% of obesity cases. Alimentary obesity is another word for simple obesity. Obese people will consume more calories than the body can burn. The number of calories that the body can burn varies on individuals bodys metabolic activity and lifestyle. Most people can burn more calories and can consequently eat more. Where as the obese people burn much fewer calories. Medical professionals can help people with simply obesity by providing them guidelines that suggest how much a person of their height, age and gender should consume. These guidelines also help them to gain control over their body weight. Many people with simple obesity are able to lose weight by adopting healthy lifestyle, dieting and exercising (Obesity).

Arshad 3 Secondary obesity (Morbidly) is caused when a body experiences a hormone imbalance. In such cases, people gain weight even when their lifestyle is healthy. Certain thyroid conditions can also cause weight gain as a side effect and many serious lifethreatening disorders, including Cushings syndrome, polycystic ovary syndrome, insulin tumors and 2 types of diabetes. (Obesity). Childhood obesity is when children and adolescents are above the normal healthy weight range for their height and weight. Obese children are at risk for life long problems on health and well-being. Such as diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, joint problems and high cholesterol. All of these effects are considered adults diseases. Obesity in children may affect in lack of growth and development (Obesity)

(Wikipedia). Child obesity is number one issue in America. Obesity in child causes many different factors and for each child is a different cause. The percentage of overweight or obese children is 7% to 20% from the ages of 6-11 years old. Child obesity is caused when a child has too much unnecessary fat above the average of a childs height and weight. Kids that are unhappy with their weight develop unhealthy diet and eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Anorexia nervosa is a disorder where a child refuses to eat food by an obsessive desire of weight loss. Bulimia on the other hand is a disorder followed by feelings of guilt or shame, which results in eating a large

Arshad 4 amount of food in a short period of time. Obese child are more prone to depression and at risk of being teased, bullied and rejected by peers. Another lifestyle factor that contributes to childhood obesity is that in todays world much of what people eat is quick and easy, such as fast food to microwave and prepackaged meals. Some families are so busy that theres very little time to prepare healthier meals. They also dont have enough to exercise, plus they portions sizes of food have grown in the home and out. Nowadays, once kids get home from school they spend all of their spare time in front of one screen or another. They spend most of their time watching TV, DVDs or playing Videogames up to 4 to 5 hours a days. An average child should not spend more than of 2 hours a day of watching TV or DVDs. In other words, kids who spend their time watching TV or playing Videogames rather than physical activity are more likely to be overweight. The obvious goal of obesity is to reach and maintain a healthy diet. All weight loss programs provide obese people with guidelines that help them reach their desire goal by just eating healthy and adopting physical activity habits. These treatments depend on individuals level of obesity and willingness to participate in weight loss plan. Weight-loss plan include: Dietary changes, exercise and activity, behavior change, prescription weight-loss medications and weight-loss surgery (Clinic). Dietary changes reduce calories and provide healthy diet to overcome obesity. Doing this will help people lose weight on steady level which is considered the safest and best way to lose weight permanently. The key to this is to avoid unrealistic diet changes; for example, crash diets are unlikely to keep excess weight off for the long term. Obese people should also reduce as many calories as possible. The dietary plan provides

Arshad 5 guidelines on how many calories a normal person should consume (The chart below provides information on how many calories should a person eat based on the gender, age, and activity level). Increase physical activity or exercise also helps treat obesity. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that people who are overweight should spend 150 minutes a week of intense physical activity to prevent further weight gain. But to achieve significant weight loss, people need to spend 200 to 300 minutes of exercising and gradually increase the amount of exercise to start seeing results. Behavior changes can help make lifestyle changes. Behavior therapy can help address emotional and behavioral issues related to eating. They also guide people why they overeat and also help them learn healthy way to manage behavior (Clinic). Gender Child Female Age year 2-3 4-8 9-13 14-18 19-30 31-50 51+ 4-8 9-13 14-18 19-30 31-50 51+ Sedentary 1,000 1,200 1,600 1,800 2,000 1,800 1,600 1,400 1,800 2,200 2,400 2,200 2,000 Moderately Active 1,000-1,400 1,400-1,600 1,600-2,000 2,000 2,000-2,200 2,000 1,800 1,400-1,600 1,800-2,200 2,400-2,800 2,600-2,800 2,400-2,600 2,200-2,400 Active 1,000-1,400 1,400-1,800 1,800-2,200 2,400 2,400 2,200 2,000-2,200 1,600-2,000 2,000-2,600 2,800-3,200 3,000 2,800-3,000 2,400-2,800

Male

(Zelman) Another way to maintain weight-loss is by prescription weight-loss medications. Such as these medications, Orlistat (Xenical) is weight-loss medication for long-term use in adults and children. Lorcaserin (Belviq) is another a long-term weight-loss drug. This drug affects persons brain and makes them feel full, so they eat less. Phentermine-

Arshad 6 topiramate (Qsymia) can also help reduce 3 percent of body fat in 12 weeks and it is recommended for adults use only. Phentermine (Adlpex-P, Suprenza) is 3 months weight-loss treatment for adults only (Clinic). In conclusion, people should take action to this serious issue. This growing issue can be slowed if families and communities take action on the causes. The most important part to cure obesity is parents. They should manage their time and supervise the children at home by giving them the right choices of food and have regular physical activities. Adapting these habits may overcome and decrease adult and childhood obesity and lead us to a brighter and healthier society.

Arshad 7 Work Cited Lloyd, Janice. "USA TODAY." USATODAY.COM. USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2012. Web. 06 Dec. 2013 "Obesity." Symptomfind. Symptomfind.com, 6 Feb. 2012. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. Clinic, Mayo. "Obesity." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 07 June 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2013 Zelman, Kathleen M., MPH, RD, LD. "How Many Calories Should You Eat? Based on Gender, Age, and Activity Level." WebMD. WebMD, Web. 08 Dec. 2013