Obesity Essay, Research Paper
Obesity is a disease that affects at least 39 million Americans: more than
one-quarter of all adults and about one in five children. Some people are more
susceptible to obesity than others. Each year, obesity causes at least 300,000
excess deaths in the U.S. and costs the country more than 00 billion.
Obesity is a chronic, metabolic disease caused by multiple and complex inherited
and acquired factors, including excessive calorie and food intake, decreased
physical activity, and genetic influences. The defining characteristic is excess
body fat. Long-term treatment and management are required to achieve and sustain
weight loss. Today more than 70 million Americans are overweight. Obesity,
particularly when associated with unhealthy patterns of body fat distribution,
results in 300,000 preventable deaths each year in the U.S. and 00 billion in
health care costs. In the last ten years, the proportion of the population that
is obese has increased from 25 percent to 32 percent – a level that may be
considered epidemic.
An excess of body fat results from an imbalance between energy inta
output (i.e., consuming more calories than are needed to support your body’s
energy needs). The reasons for this imbalance are unclear, and the relationship
between energy intake/expenditure and body fat storage and distribution varies
from person to person. Factors that promote obesity include a genetic
predisposition, family history of obesity, age behavioral factors (such as a
high fat diet and sedentary lifestyle), and biochemical differences (lower
metabolic rate or decreased ability to oxidize fat).
A number of conditions worsen as obesity increases and often improve as obesity
increases and often improve as obesity is successfully treated. Some of these
conditions are:
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Cardiovascular disease
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High blood pressure
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Gallstones
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Type 2 diabetes
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Elevated blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels
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Gout
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Sleep apnea/obesity hyperventilation syndrome
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Osteoarthritis of the weight bearing joints
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Infertility