Abstract This paper will be discussing the affects that obesity may have on the body; it will also cover the different factors that may contribute to becoming obese. It will explain how doctor feel that emotions may have a big impact on the way that people perceive things and may hurt them when it comes to having a normal and healthy life. I will also be giving facts to try and support this point without becoming bias. This paper will not be a persuasive paper but will merely be giving insight to the ways that obesity is seen and the way that obesity is being discussed among the doctors. RUNNING HEAD: LITERATURE REVIEW-FINAL DRAFT 3
Obesity Obesity has started to become a norm in the United States. We see overweight people and I feel like the right thought that we should be having are not popping into peoples heads. Obesity has been a kind of controversial topic for some people in the community. I know of people who say that obesity depends completely on the person and that they have no self-control and many other harsh things like this. I have done some research and found that many of the doctors believe that obesity is a serious issue, in the article AMA Recognizes Obesity as a Disease by The New York Times writes about the changes happening in the American Medical Association. It also explains that although the AMA has declared obesity as a disease it has no legal influence. They are hoping that having this change will have more physicians taking obesity more seriously and that it will help to fund things like: surgery, counseling and medication to help lower the risks of obesity. This article also says that there are two kinds of people who can have obesity they explain that the first type may be a person who is healthy and only has some levels of body fat. The other type would be the person with the extra fat and the health and metabolism issues. Since there was all the debate about the different kinds of people who can be obese there was a lot of controversy as to classify obesity as a disease. In the beginning stages they were thinking of classifying it as a disorder or a condition. They have also made comments to those who say that being obese is much more that eating too much or exercising too little. Doctors have expressed that there are some people who have no control over their body weight. Another reason that there was so much debate on whether or not to have obesity classified as a disease, because they were afraid of overtreatment of a person if that person really did not need it. RUNNING HEAD: LITERATURE REVIEW-FINAL DRAFT 4
Another study that has been done, is one by the UK. In the article Adult Obesity Linked to Childhood Emotional Problems. They have established that children who had difficulties with emotional problems are at a higher risk to become obese when in their adult life. They showed that things such as: Low self-esteem, being overly worried, or feeling less in control of ones life in childhood actually causes obesity in adulthood. They have proven that some people who had these emotional problems at the age of 10 and were assessed for low self-esteem and other factors. Were assessed again at the age of 30 and those who had any of the factors that were listed previously were most likely to put on extra weight as adults rather than those who did not have any of the other factors and had a more care free childhood. In this article they go on to say that many of the children needed help by those people who were closes to them. They said that it is not only the responsibility of the doctors but for everyone who comes into the childs life. This includes the parents especially, family, and teachers. Teachers can have a big impact on the things that they say to children. This is because they are the people that the child sees more than family. In the eyes of the children they are the second most influential group. They feel like teachers have things that they can say and will come off differently than if the parents or another family member were to. This article really emphasizes the point made in the New York Times article, stating that obesity is much more that the eating habits and the amount of exercise. This shows that the roots of obesity can begin so easily in their life rather than just the future of how they will eat and how their activity will be later on in their life. RUNNING HEAD: LITERATURE REVIEW-FINAL DRAFT 5
I have also found an article from USA Today. Childhood Obesity: A Lifetime of Danger. This article really emphasizes that risks that a child has if they become over weight at such an early age. There are such cases as a child having diabetes and other emotional problems from becoming overweight. In this article is describes how the extra weight can cause health problems later in their adult lives. They are also saying that the people should be more cautious with the things that they eat and the way that they spend their time. In this article they give tips to the parents that should help to lower the risk of having overweight children and in doing this they are able to help themselves become healthier than if they were to live just free and not worry about the things that might happen in the future. In the middle of the article a doctor Daniel Jones states that the rate of childhood obesity is an epidemic. If something is not done about this then later on in the lives of the children will have a greater risk of dying middle aged because of a heart disease and stroke. Because of this Jones is trying to help make sure that children are getting enough Physical Education and that they are served healthy food in school cafeterias. As you know a change cannot be made entirely by one person this is why Jones says to parents to teach their children make wise choices about their health so that they live long, healthy and productive lives. This really helps to emphasize the point made in the study by the UK. This shows that everywhere children need to be taught and told things by all kinds of people. They need to be shown that they are not alone in the journey to a healthy life. They have people who work in the school systems, those who live with and around them, and those who are teaching them about their school subjects and about life. If everyone were to emphasize the way that children should live active and healthy then the children will have a huge support system around them and it will RUNNING HEAD: LITERATURE REVIEW-FINAL DRAFT 6
help to really solidify the points into their head and make them realize that this is a very serious thing. I have also included a video link, this video is from a popular show on TLC called My 600 Pound Life. Here they show the life of a person who has trouble and it is usually early in their lives meaning they might have had some of the issues that were listed before. These issues may have a direct impact on the way that the people featured in the show may have continued to live their lives. This may be the reason that they have allowed themselves to get to the point that they are now, and needing surgery to try and get their weight under control to try and now live a healthy life. Many of the people who are featured in this show have a difficulty maintaining their diets given to them after they get their surgeries. Another reason they might have a hard time trying to stay on track and keep a healthy life is because they have been living this way for so long, and now that it is time to change for the better they do not know how to handle it and this proves to be a very challenging time. Some of them when going into this journey they feel that simply getting the surgery is going to be a quick fix, when the Doctor feels that this is the case, then he is sure to put a stop to it as soon as he can. He is very strict when it comes to having them lose a certain amount of weight before he can do anything to their bodies. I came across a study that Stanford and Clinics did. In this article they explain the different things that can happen to the body and cause permanent damage that can last throughout the remainder of their lives. In this study they are explaining how obesity can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. It explains how having the extra weight can cause early death. These things have an affect not only on the people who are obese but the RUNNING HEAD: LITERATURE REVIEW-FINAL DRAFT 7
people around them as well. These eating habits are passed down and all the distress that comes with dealing with a person who is over weight. Having to deal with the medical bills and all the stressors that comes with having someone who is overweight, and being a sort of caregiver can cause a lot of pain to those put in that situation. Another article found by CBS News shows that obesity is a growing issue in America. It is estimated that obesity is going to affect 42% of Americans by the year 2030. This shows how rapid and so widely spread obesity is in America. Obesity has easily become one of the most talked about issues in the United States. Obesity is growing more and more rapidly with the growing food industry and the fact that being healthy is becoming more and more expensive to do. It shows that in many fast food restaurants are selling burgers for less than they sell salads. This kind of pricing is not helping the people who are trying their hardest to be healthy and they are on a tight budget. Especially for the households that have many children they are not able to always live the healthy life that they want because they need to get their children things that they may need for school or some kinds of clothing and buying food that is double the budget is going to be out of the question they are going to go with the less expensive options and get the necessary things that are more important. Another article I came across was a kind of nutrition blog, this blog explains the different ways that people can eat healthy and still have very tasty foods. This blog shows people the right foods and the proper amounts that are going to help them become healthier and healthier through out their lifes. RUNNING HEAD: LITERATURE REVIEW-FINAL DRAFT 8
One thing that parents and children do not understand is that they are creating habits that are going to be very hard to break when they get older and they might want to change their lifestyles. It will be so much harder to change their eating habits for the good and have a healthier life. This then causes people to binge diet or can cause people to have eating disorders. These things can become life threatening and have horrible effects on peoples lives. This is one of many nutrition pages available on the web, it is easy for someone to go one and learn to be healthy the right way. There are also many groups that are trying to make the world a more healthy place. There are more fitness places available for working out. There are places where there are free classes to show you how to work out and be more active all around. These kinds of things that make someone healthy are ways that prove that being healthy is possible and it is an achievable goal. But these are the things that people normally want to avoid. If it affects their schedule in anyway I can bet that many of the people who are talking about how hard it is to be healthy are going to find some way out of it. Because they want something fast and easy, and the truth that most americans do not like to face is that this change is not temporary it needs to be a lifestyle change. They also are hesitant to realize that a process like this is going to take some time. It is going to take a lot of effort and time to get to the point that they want to reach. Like I said before this nutrition blog is one of the many out there, there are different styles of diets, and workouts. You just need to find out what works for you, because in the end you are the person that is going to have to do it and you are the person who needs to stay motivated and happy.
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References Hellmich N (2008) Childhood obesity: A lifetime of danger. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2008-01-13-childhood- obesity_N.htm Zoller-Ciatto. D Film. 26 (2014).'My 600-Lb. Life' revisits Supersized: Zsalynns Story on TLC. Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/article/my-600-lb-life-revisits- supersized-zsalynn-s-story-on-tlc Stanford Hospital & Clinics (2014). Health affects of Obesity. Retrieved from http://stanfordhospital.org/clinicsmedServices/COE/surgicalServices/generalSurgery/bari atricsurgery/obesity/effects.html Collins J. MA., Bentz J. PH.D (2009) Volume 4 No.4. A Record of Medical Progress. Retrieved from http://www.jlgh.org/Past-Issues/Volume-4---Issue-4/Behavioral-and-Psychological- Factors-in-Obesity.aspx Paddock C PH.D (2009) Adult Obesity Linked to Childhood Emotional Problems. Retrieved From http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163650.php Pollack A. (2013). A.M.A. Recognizes Obesity as a Disease. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/19/business/ama-recognizes-obesity-as-a- disease.html?_r=0 Nelson J. Zertasky K. (2010). Nutrition- wise Blog Obesity: Doctors slow to address the problem. Retrieved From http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and- healthy-eating/expert-blog/obesity/bgp-20056233
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References cont. Jaslow R. (2012). Obesity to affect 42% of Americans by 2030 with $550 billion in costs, say researchers. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obesity-to-affect-42-of- americans-by-2030-with-550-billion-in-costs-say-researchers/