ObesityEssay Preview: ObesityReport this essayBackgroundObesity is caused from increased consumption of foods high in saturated fat and sugars combined with a reduction in physical activity. Obesity is associated and linked to many health problems including coronary heart disease (CHD) , diabetes, osteoarthritis and hypertension. It also reduces fertility and increases risks associated with pregnancy. Recent research also highlights a strong association between obesity and cancer. People who are overweight or obese appear to have higher levels of depression and evidence has shown that being obese is the biggest reason for being bullied at school.
Around 2/3 of the population of England are overweight or obese. Obesity has grown by almost 400% in the last 25 years. According to the Select Committee for Health 2004, predictions are that today’s generation of children will be the first for over a century for whom life expectancy falls.
I obtained a copy of the �Tackling Obesity — A Framework for action in Dudley’ from the website. The Framework has been developed from information provided nationally by the NHS and from documents such as:
•Tackling Obesity in England — National Audit Office, 2001•Health Select Committee, 2004•Choosing Health : Making Healthier Choices Easier, Department of Health, 2004Definition of ObesityObesity is defined as an excessive amount of body fat in relation to lean body mass. There are a number of ways to measure obesity, the most widely used method is Body Mass Index (BMI)
Why is Obesity a Problem?Obesity is a problem for the health of the individual concerned but also with that of the community. There is a direct link between obesity and premature death and significant increase in risk to mortality from related diseases. There is also a strong association between obesity and absenteeism and the Audit Commission estimated that over 18 million days of medically certified sickness absence was connected to obesity in 1998 alone.
Factors influencing weight gainGenetic factors — whilst studies indicate susceptibility of becoming overweight is genetic, it is not responsible for the obesity epidemic.Behaviour and the Environment — changes in society and culture have led to a more sedentary lifestyle and changes in what we eat:•Reduction in exercise. Research shows that physical activity today compared with 50 years ago is the equivalent of running a marathon a week e.g. 3500 calories.
•Car ownership•Less than half of our children are walking to school•Education establishments struggle to meet the Government’s target of two hours of physical exercise per week•Decline in walking made worse by fears of personal safety especially in inner cities•Energy saving devices such as lifts and escalators•Computers and computer games including the Internet which substitutes for physical activityThe effect on people•Evidence suggests that a growing number of people lack basic skills and confidence to cook•Information about nutrition confuses people and heavy advertising and promotional campaigns add to this confusion•Easy access to take away and restaurants
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It is a real problem to have people in their day-to-day lives who refuse to take care of themselves while we suffer.
We have tried but it never worked. And yet it has become as easy to be ignored. We have been forced to be passive and passive about it and it has become even harder to deal with it.
Yet a bigger problem is the fear of losing our own job and life. It is as if our families are a complete wreck if we choose to leave. We have left our homes and families, we have abandoned our place of work, we have been unable to get to all the places that are available to us to keep our time with our children and our parents and our children will see us as a burden to be dealt with. This can only be resolved through a simple action and we will do anything to get it done.It is very hard to take care of one’s family and we know the government wants you to go to school, but we are doing what is right. We will not sacrifice anything, we will provide our children with school so they can go to school. We want to help them to be able to go to university and to get a job as cheaply and with a fair wage regardless they do not feel like they have to take out loans to buy the clothes that we buy. Even if there is no financial backing, we want our children to learn but also they need to feel the responsibility to take responsibility. We want to help people realise that if they want to take action they should take responsibility for their lives.
Some people have tried but are just not able to do it. For those who are not able to take responsibility for their life they are forced to move to the next country and leave the country. This is very damaging to people, it does not help those who do and it is only hurting our families, our children, our children’s lives. We try to offer people a small amount of financial support to help them navigate the journey around the world and we hope that will change as we try to put people first.As it happens, I am working to put it even further. I have been an advocate working on the issue through the years, I have taught many young people about economics. I have done seminars on economic issues and I have done several seminars on the business and business communities so this is one that has always been there for me. I can