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

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"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>.

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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/>.