The number one health issue in the world is obesity. Obesity is defined as the condition of being overweight. It is unhealthy to be obese and it can cause life threatening illnesses. 66 percent of all adults are overweight (Yoffee, B.), meaning that most adults are on the verge of being obese if not already. The health risks that are related to obesity include gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, gout, sleep apnea, polycystic ovarian syndrome, cardiovascular disease and a broad spectrum of cancers, such as pancreatic, liver, breast and kidney cancers. About 1 in 5 health care dollars are spent to treat obesity-related illness (Cusi K, 2019), so this is a well known health risk. Obesity is caused by the lack of exercise, eating high calorie foods, and lack of salary. When Los Angeles decided in 2008 to ban new fast-food restaurants in some of the city’s poorest neighborhood, Sturm was skeptical that it would help lower obesity rates (Charles, D. 2015). This idea was so low income families would have less access to these unhealthy fast foods. The cheapest foods have the highest amounts of fat and sugar. It is predicted that 65 million obese Americans by 2030. Year by year that number increases at a fast rate. 65 million is an insanely broad number and we need a change. This has been an overgrowing problem for decades and I feel like as a nation, we have not done much to provide and support for the people who have these issues. There are many ads of food we see everyday whether it’s on billboards, TV, websites, or social media. This does not help people. If we want to solve this issue, there are solutions that we need to put into action as soon as possible. Promoting healthy eating habits and encouraging exercise need to be a priority especially against all of the promotion we see everyday for unhealthy foods. Exercising goes much further than just lifting weights or running on a treadmill and people need to be knowledgeable on this. When lifting, your form needs to be correct, when exercising you need to make sure to hydrated, when eating you need to watch your calories and etc. Public policies should promote ways to obtain healthier foods with low-fat or high-fiber. There needs to be more messages on how we can improve our nutrition. Also, people should not have to go through the process of this by themselves. Being in school all of my life, I have not heard about the ongoing issue of obesity. Schools should have teachers teach ways to prevent obesity, acknowledge foods that are unhealthy, and have healthier lunches. There are many non profit organizations, yet I’ve never heard of a non profitable gym. Gyms like LA Fitness or 24 Hour Fitness are expensive, and there monthly prices can range from twenty dollars to fifty dollars. Not everyone has the money for extra monthly bills, so this could be a reason why people hesitate. Living in a poorer neighborhood or in a low income household, unhealthy foods are more present because they are much more affordable. When there are issues like money that people cannot control, there is not much they can do when deciding to change their lifestyle. So this is why I believe that the number one health issue is obesity. It is a condition that is growing rapidly. We know how to prevent it, but there isn’t much exposure to people who don’t. People lack the knowledge of this causing life threatening diseases. Obesity is a huge problem and we need to prevent it.
Sources:
Yoffee, B. L., Roan, S., Rauf, D., Vernadakis, G., & Kilroy, D. S. (n.d.). How to Avoid the Obesity Epidemic. Retrieved from https://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living/obesity-prevention.aspx.
Cusi, K. (2019, July 8). Our fight with fat: Why is obesity getting worse? Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/our-fight-with-fat-why-is-obesity-getting-worse-86601.
Charles, D. (2015, March 20). Why Los Angeles’ Fast Food Ban Did Nothing To Check Obesity. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/03/20/393943031/why-los-angeles-fast-food-ban-did-nothing-to-check-obesity.
- Brian Le
Brian L's Blog 