Obesity in America

Tonya Thomas
Gen499 General Education Capstone
Mark Bowles
2/22/16

Introduction:
An epidemic that has caused much suffering in Americans is Obesity, and the rates has
increase significantly over the last two decades. Many situations are due upon people
being victims of their own environment. The causes are due to majority of poor choices,
because of the beyond control of low income families, food insecurity, food oppression.
The American Medical Association declared obesity a disease in June of 2015, this open
the door to drugs like Belviq to be able to profit alone with the medical pharmaceutical
companies. The American Medical Association has officially recognized obesity as a
disease, a move that could induce physicians to pay more attention to the condition and
spur more insurers to pay for treatments (Pollack, 2013, par.1). Instead of just focusing
on low cost lifestyle that is cause by obesity, it will aim to help businesses and drug
companies who receive federal aid while they still oppress people with unhealthy food
choices.
Bibliography
Freeman, Andrea Fast Food: Oppression Through Poor Nutrition. California Law
Review. Dec2007, Vol. 95 Issue 6, p2221-2259. 39p.
The authors talks about how fast foods has become one of the major source of nutrition in
low income homes. Freeman talks about how the popularity of fast foods industry is
targeting markets and infiltrating schools. The author describe food oppression being the
government subsidies and federal food policy which are the key to cities access to healthy
food choices. Also , Freeman finds that a solution to the issue is starting a reform at the

federal level. The goal is to let the government know that food oppression is a form of
institutionalized.
ADLER, NANCY E. and STEWART, JUDITH (2009) Reducing Obesity: Motivating
Action While Not Blaming the Victim. Milbank Quarterly, 87 (1). pp. 49-70. ISSN
0887378X

This article is about how the industry and the individual play a role in the obesity
epidemic. Instead of blaming people for their bad choices they try to focus on treatments
and addressing the individual about their choices. Their are some tension between
empowering the individual to be able to manage their own weight through diet and
exercise and then blaming them for the their failures. This article proposes the concept of
"behavioral justice" that individuals are responsible for engaging in health-promoting
behaviors.
Kumanyika, Shiriki; Grier, Sonya. Targeting Interventions for Ethnic Minority and LowIncome Populations In: The Future of Children, 4/1/2006, Vol. 16, Issue 1, p. 187-207;
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and
the Brookings Institution Language: English, Database: JSTOR Journals
This article talks about how child hood obesity is a high rate in low income populations
as it compare to upper and middle class. The article looks at factors that could influences
bad decisions like stress. It also talks about how they counseling and having mentors to
parents. Solving the issue is to attack the food market that exploits this with a extensive
policy reform.
Kumanyika S; Grier S; Targeting interventions for ethnic minority and low-income
populations.Future of Children, Spring2006; 16(1): 187-207. 21p. (Journal Article tables/charts) ISSN: 1054-8289 PMID: 16532664, Database: CINAHL with Full Text
This article talks about how the rates of obesity are high in the low income communities.

Policymakers and the practitioner are planning a strategy to prevent obesity. This article
will be summarizing the difference in childhood obesity by race and ethnicity status.
They found that the minority children watch more TV than white children. In the
neighborhoods of the low income families their a quite a few of fast food restaurants and
schools are not targeting on obesity.
Pruchno, Rachel; Wilson-Genderson, Maureen; Gupta, Adarsh K.; American Journal of
Public Health, May2014; 104(5): 924-929. 6p. (Journal Article - research, tables/charts)
ISSN: 0090-0036 PMID: 24625148, Database: CINAHL with Full Text
Neighborhood Food Environment and Obesity in Community-Dwelling Older Adults:
Individual and Neighborhood Effects
In this article will have data collected from the neighborhood level of food source. Fast
foods are in the store fronts ,grocery stores, bars and it has something to do we the
obesity of the different age, and gender. The stores in the low income neighborhoods do
not have information on what makes the community obese. Without any help the
neighborhood will have people with obesity.

Reference

A.M.A. Recognizes Obesity as a Disease - The New York

Times
www.nytimes.com/2013/06/.../ama-recognizes-obesity-as-a-disease.html