Essay 3...Environmental Causes of Obesity

Kimberly Hutchison

Dr. Kerr

EN101H-1

20 Oct 2010

Environmental Causes of Obesity

            In America, the prevalence of obesity has been increasing since the 1970s (Flegal, Carroll, Ogden, and Curtin).  Obesity is a label for a range of weight that is considered unhealthy for a certain height, and is determined using the “Body Mass Index,” or BMI; a BMI of 30 or higher is considered to be obese (“Defining overweight and obesity”).  Since 1980, the number of Americans diagnosed as obese has doubled, making it six million Americans now considered morbidly obese (“General Causes of Modern Obesity”).  To understand this rise, it is important to look at the different causes of obesity.  Environmental causes play a key role in the increasing number of obese Americans, including a person’s society, diet, and family and friends.

            Society and where people live is a very big contributory cause of obesity in America.  Many adults and children today spend a lot of time sitting, whether at work, home, or school  (“Causes”).  A sedentary lifestyle plays a large part in the rise of obesity.  Workplaces, communities and homes all influence health decisions, especially when it comes to physical activity (“Causes and consequences”).  Surveys suggest that only 20 percent of adults in America exercise regularly, and only 1 in 5 kids participate in after-school activities; since 1990, the percentage of adults who exercise frequently has declined by 15 percent, and in teenagers and youth the decline is 41 percent (“General Causes of Modern Obesity”).  A large reason for this decline and for the increase in obesity across the country is the built environment; things like parks, sidewalks, and streetlights encourage physical activity, whereas a lack of side walks and high speed traffic discourages exercise in the community (Lopez and Hynes).  Other aspects of society, such as land use for factories and crime rates, discourage physical activity outside of the house (Lopez and Hynes).  Russell Lopez and Patricia Hynes from the Department of Environmental Health at the Boston University of Public Health report that “evidence is mounting that the design and form of many, if not most, U.S. suburbs contribute to the growing prevalence of obesity and overweight among children and adults” (Lopez and Hynes).   Societal pressures also have an impact on the rise in obesity—some people overeat due to depression, anger, or boredom caused by society (“Obesity Causes”).  Society has played a large part in the rise of obesity in America.

            Another contributory cause to the increase of obesity is diet.  Weight management is largely due to balancing the number of calories consumed and burned off (“Causes and consequences”).  A diet high in calories, eating fast foods, eating oversized portions, skipping breakfast, and eating a lot of calories late at night all contribute greatly to weight gain (“Causes”).  Americans have increased calorie intake in the past 30 years, evident in the growth of fast food chains, soft drink consumption, and the increase in calories of food per day for every American produced by the US agribusiness (“General Causes of Modern Obesity”).  The documentary Supersize Me showed America just how dangerous fast foods can be, and the effect they have on weight and health.  By the end of his experiment, Morgan Spurlock had gained 25 pounds, not to mention other health issues he suffered (McManamy).  In order to gain a pound of fat in one day, someone would need to consume 3,500 calories; however, eating the wrong food can result in quicker weight increase (McManamy).  Americans’ diets have impacted the rise in obesity across the country.

            Friends and family life are a large cause in the presence of obesity in the United States.  Robert S. Wieder, a reporter for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News, poses the question “are we fat because of our friends, or friends because of our fat?” (Wieder).  Either way, our friends influence the way we act, including our eating habits.  Not only friends, but parents play a large role in the rise of obesity.  Their behaviors and choices in respect to shopping, cooking, eating, and exercise affect their children (“General Causes of Modern Obesity”).  After conducting research, Sharon Keeler from Arizona State University states, “most significantly, when children grow up in families with bad eating habits and sedentary lifestyles…they are 33.3 percent more likely to become overweight or obese as young adults” (Keeler).  Bad eating habits start at young ages, demonstrated when parents do not control children’s diets, and allow them to do things like skip breakfast (Keeler).  Also, if the parents are obese, the child’s risk of obesity doubles (Crothels, Krehle, Bray, and Theodore), but the risk decreases if the parents’ level of education is higher (medical news today).  Parents also control their kids’ bedtimes; getting less than seven hours of sleep a night can alter hormones that increase appetite and also cause cravings for foods higher in calories (“Causes”).  A group of four students who studied the causes of obesity report, “sleep, which has been found to be necessary for children’s healthy social and cognitive functioning, also appears to be related to children’s weight” (Crothels, Krehle, Bray, and Theodore).  The influence of friends and family contributes to the rise in obesity in America.

            Society, diet, and friends and family all contribute to the environmental causes of obesity in America.  It is important to be aware of these causes because obesity is a risk factor for many chronic conditions, like diabetes, hypertension, and certain cancers, and it is also associated with earlier death (Flegal, Carroll, Ogden and Curtin).  Dr. Katherine Flegal and coworkers, after much research on the topic, concluded, “enhanced efforts to provide environmental interventions may lead to improved health and to future decreases in the prevalence of obesity” (Flegal, Carroll, Ogden, and Curtin).  It is important to be aware of the causes of this dangerous condition, especially environmental causes that can be fixed, such as the layout of communities, diet, and the influence of friends and family.

Works Cited

"Causes." Obesity. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 09 Oct 2010. Web. 20 Oct 2010. <http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/obesity/DS00314/DSECTION=causes>.

"Causes and Consequences." Overweight and Obesity. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 07 Dec 2009. Web. 12 Oct 2010. <http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/causes/index.html>.

Crothers, Laura, Thomas Kehle, Melissa Bray, and Lea Theodore. "CORRELATES AND SUSPECTED CAUSES OF OBESITY IN CHILDREN." EBSCOhost. EBSCO Industries, Inc., 2009. Web. 22 Oct 2010. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&hid=9&sid=6b0a8c11-372d-44b6-94a2-24ccff1359f5%40sessionmgr4>.

"Defining Overweight and Obesity." Overweight and Obesity. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 21 Jun 2010. Web. 12 Oct 2010. <http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/index.html>.

Flegal, Katherine, Margaret Carroll, Cynthia Ogden, and Lester Curtin. "Prevalence and Trends in Obesity Among US Adults, 1999-2008." The Journal of the American Medical Association. American Medical Association, 13 Jan 2010. Web. 20 Oct 2010. <http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/303/3/235?ijkey=ijKHq6YbJn3Oo&keytype=ref&siteid=amajnls>.

"General Causes of Modern Obesity." Causes of Obesity. Anne Collins, 2007. Web. 20 Oct 2010. <http://www.annecollins.com/obesity/causes-of-obesity.htm>.

Keeler, Sharon. "Teen obesity and family environment." Medical News Today. MediLexicon International Ltd, 15 Aug 2005. Web. 20 Oct 2010. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/29129.php>.

Lopez, Russell, and Patricia Hynes. "Obesity, physical activity, and the urban environment: public health research needs." Environmental Health. BioMed Central Ltd, 18 Sep 2006. Web. 20 Oct 2010. <http://www.ehjournal.net/content/5/1/25>.

McManamy, John. "Diet and Obesity." McMan's Depression and Bipolar Web. John McManamy, 2010. Web. 22 Oct 2010. <http://www.mcmanweb.com/diet_obesity.html>.

"Obesity Causes." emedicine health. WebMD, 2010. Web. 20 Oct 2010. <http://www.emedicinehealth.com/obesity/page2_em.htm>.

Wieder, Robert. "Fatness and Friendship, Part I: Why do They Often Go Hand in Hand?." Obesity Causes. CalorieLab, 26 Aug 2010. Web. 20 Oct 2010. <http://calorielab.com/news/categories/obesity-causes/>.

Essay Number Three

Alrighty. Number three.  This time I think I'm going to write about the effect of television on growing.  So I could do effects due to violence on television.  Or focus on obesity due to television.  Thoughts?

Now I'm thinking about doing three causes of obesity in America.
diet?
inactivity?
television?
culture?
technology?

Thanks for all the comments guys!  After researching I think I'm writing on environmental causes of obesity.  my three points will be individual activity/exercise, diet, and family/friends/society.

Essay Number Two

Kimberly Hutchison

Dr. Kerr

En 101H-1

01 Oct 2010

Televisions Now and Then

            Today, televisions play a large part in American culture and society.  Studies find that 99% of households in the U.S. own at least one TV, and that the average amount of TVs in an average U.S. house is 2.24 (Number of Televisions).   However, it has not always been this way.  In the 1960s, nine out of ten houses owned one TV; about 87% of households owned black and white TV sets (The History and Evolution of Television).  There were about 52 million televisions in America during this time, whereas now there are approximately 285 million in use in households across the country (Number of Televisions).  Many different factors contributed to the changes in television in America.  In order to see how TV changed from the 1960s to today, it is important to compare the different programming, technology, and standards of the different times.

            Television programming has dramatically changed from the 1960s to today.  Today, the average American watches more than four hours of TV everyday (Number of Televisions); people find it important to stay updated on the latest shows.  In the early sixties, people would be embarrassed to admit they spent more than a couple hours in front of the “tube;” this showed a lack of intelligence (Television of the 1960s).  Shows in the sixties were limited to a few categories (Television of the 1960s), but today shows range from all different categories, and people can generally watch whatever they want.  During the 1960s, educational TV and stations like PBS started to emerge (History of Communications; The History and Evolution of Television), and important events in the country also began to be aired on television, including events like debates between presidents, the speech of Martin Luther King, and the shooting of Kennedy (History of Television).  News stations today air the most current news every night, and all types of events going on in the country are watched on TVs daily.  Primetime television has also changed; in the sixties it consisted of three networks, each with a half an hour newscast (United States: Networks), but today there are multiple stations, not just limited to news, that air simultaneously during primetime.  Not only has television programming changed, but its technology has changed as well.

            Television broadcasting technology has drastically changed since the 1960s.  At the start of this decade, color TV had just recently been introduced, and by the middle of the decade the majority of programs were broadcast in color (History of Communications; History of Television).  It is very rare to find black and white TVs nowadays; the majority of televisions are high definition color, some even having 3-D technology.  Many new technologies started being used in the sixties that are very commonplace today.  In 1962, the first transatlantic reception of a television signal occurred with the TELSTAR satellite (History of Communications).  Another aspect of the television that came about in the sixties is instant replay.  Sports today almost rely on this, but it did not become standard technique until 1963 (History of Television).  During this time, cable TV began to emerge, but was present in less than 2% of households (The History and Evolution of Television), whereas today, satellite TV is almost nonexistent and TVs run off of cable, along with “on demand” programs.  What used to be large consoles with small screens has now become large plasma screens.  All of these advances in technology demonstrate the change television has gone through in America; the changing standards also give insight into its transformation.

            Television standards have changed considerably since the sixties.  This decade brought about the first cable regulation and the beginnings of debate over banning cigarette ads (History of Television).  Today violence, sex, and controversial issues are found all over TV; however, in the 1960s, TV shows reflected good, old-fashioned ideas and family values, and were clean, pure, and innocent (Television of the 1960s).  Also during this time the National Association of Broadcasters code put restrictions on non-program material, such as a time limit (Standards and Practices).  During the 1960s, topics along the lines of racism and sexuality were excluded from content; for example, married couples were shown in two twin beds instead of sharing a bed (Censorship).  This is drastically different from television today, where sexuality and political issues are aired on almost every station.  Not only that, but coarse language was also omitted from broadcasting (Censorship), but today bad language is easily found in shows.  The changing standards of television shows demonstrates the change TV has undergone in the past 50 years.

            Television in the 1960s was completely different from TV today.  The changes in programming, technology, and standards demonstrate the advancements television has undergone and the growing impact television has had on society.  What used to be a nice, leisurely activity  has become a large part of society in America, present in the majority of homes across the country.  The most drastic changes in shows, methods of broadcasting, and principles are easily seen, and reveal the growing impact TV has had on society.

Works Cited

"Censorship." The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Web. 01 Oct. 2010. <http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=censorship>.

"The History and Evolution of Television: The 1960s and 1970s - by Mona Gallagher - Helium." Helium - Where Knowledge Rules. Web. 01 Oct. 2010. <http://www.helium.com/items/569934-the-history-and-evolution-of-television-the-1960s-and-1970s>.

"History of Communications - Historical Periods in Television Technology: 1960-1989." Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Home Page. Web. 01 Oct. 2010. <http://www.fcc.gov/omd/history/tv/1960-1989.html>.

"History of Television." High-Tech Productions. Web. 01 Oct. 2010. <http://www.high-techproductions.com/historyoftelevision.htm>.

"Number of Televisions in the US." Hypertextbook.com. Web. 01 Oct. 2010. <http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2007/TamaraTamazashvili.shtml>.

"Standards and Practices." The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Web. 01 Oct. 2010. <http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=standardsand>.

"Television Of The 1960s - Nostalgic Family Values." AAA Information and Entertainment. Web. 01 Oct. 2010. <http://www.information-entertainment.com/Television/tv60.html>.

"United States: Networks." The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Web. 01 Oct. 2010. <http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=unitedstatesn>.