Technology Vs. Obesity

by Leslie Brown-Taylor
Dayton, Ohio

In the age of the 20th Century video games, internet, and cell phones have taken over of lives of children.. Yes, the times where they used to go out and play is over. Instead our children would rather sit in the house than get a little exercise outside. In the homes where mothers and fathers work an average of 40 to 45 hours a week, less time is spent at home cooking for the family. Instead the brown bag meal has taken over. More and more, families spend time eating out at fast food restaurants than at home with a healthy meal. For these reasons, obesity the United States is at all-time high. According to the Center for Disease Control 34 percent of U.S. adults aged 20 and over are considered to be Obese. Approximately 15.3 percent of children (ages 6 to 11) and 15.5 percent of adolescents (ages 12 to 19) were overweight in 2000. An estimated 70 percent of diabetes risks in the U.S. can be attributed to excess weight.

Obesity is defined as a medical condition in which a surplus of fat has built up in the body to such an extent that it may eventually have adverse effects on one’s health. Additionally, one must typically have an accumulation of body fat at 20% or more over the individuals ideal body fat in order to be considered obese. One does not have to weigh over 230 lbs to be considered obese. If a female stands at 5”2 in height and weights 175, she is considered to be obese. When one becomes obese there are so many issues that start to occur and the issues continue to happen until one finds it within themselves the change the problem.

The primary cause of obesity is overindulgence, consuming more calories than the body can burn in a period of time. The left over calories are stored as body in the body tissue. If one continues this process for a long period of time the fat continues to build up and store in the body tissue. A calorie is defined as a unit of energy supplied by food. Calories can be found in carbohydrates, fats, sugars, and protein. Carbohydrates include cereals, breads, fruits, vegetables, and protein. This includes fish, lean meat, turkey breast and skim milk. Additionally, a person's genetics, individual metabolism, behavior, environment, and culture can contribute to obesity. Genetic dynamics significantly influence how the body regulates appetite and the rate at which food is turned into energy, which is referred to as the metabolic rate. Behavior and environment can cause obesity because one does not find the time to eat healthily or enough time to work out. Additionally, if one sits at his or her desk all day and snacks while working and does not go for a daily walk or move around at work, he or she is more likely to gain weight. Moreover, low self-esteem, emotional concerns, trauma, alcohol, stress, medicine and medical concerns also plays a role in your weight gain.

Risk factors such as alcohol, low self-esteem, behavior and environment are factors that an individual can control. One can control alcohol by limiting the intake that one consumes. Low self-esteem can be controlled by becoming more positive with ones-self and learning to love themselves all over again. Behavior can be controlled by having the discipline to eat the grilled chicken sandwich instead of eating a bacon cheese burger and fries. Environment can be controlled by being more aware of ones surrounding and not allowing situations to make them stress eat. When one stress eats he or she does not care what they eat or how much one eat. This behavior will put one at risk to become obese. Risk factors that cannot be controlled are genetics, metabolism, trauma, and culture.

For the risk factors that cannot be controlled, one needs to stay aware of these factors. There is no particular race or gender that more inclined to one becoming obese. The fat index that surrounds one conference is what one uses to diagnose obesity. Anyone that does not take care of oneself can be at risk for obesity. Several body systems are affected by obesity such as the heart, skin, joints, and mental awareness. Being obese add extra stress to the heart because more work is required to keep blood pumping. A person’s skin is affected because the skin gets stretched as one gains and/or looses weight. With proper exercise the skin can shrink. However, excess skin does not typically all go away. Joints are affected by obesity because the extra weight causes more pressure on thems. Mental health is affected because more people become depressed because of the increase in weight. It’s a vicious cycle.

The symptoms of obesity include excessive fat tissue, arthritis, and other orthopedic problems. Among them,lower back pain , heartburn , high-cholesterol levels, high-blood pressure, menstrual irregularities and/or cessation of menstruation , shortness of breath, and skin disorders. With proper diet and exercise some of these symptoms go away as the weight comes off. Obesity can have short term and long term effects on an individual’s body. Two years of over eating and eating whatever can have adverse effects lasting 15 to 20 years after recovery. One is diagnosed with being obese by a Medical Doctor. The diagnosis is made by observation and by comparing the patient's weight to ideal weight charts of normal people. Numerous doctors and obesity researchers refer to the body mass index (BMI), which applies a height-weight relationship to calculate an individual's ideal weight. Doctors may also perform a medical checkup to verify ones blood pressure. Blood is taken to check for Type I and II diabetes. The thyroid and liver.are checked high cholesterol levels. In running these tests, the Doctor is evaluating ones personal risk of developing obesity-related health problems.

Health related issues associated with obesity are gallbladder disease, heart disease, hypertension or high blood pressure, dyslipidemia or high cholesterol, osteoarthritis, type I and type II diabetes, stroke, sleep apnea, and cancer. Arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, are especially common among the overweight and obese. However, cardiovascular disease is even more commonly caused by overweight and obesity. There is a higher prevalence of colon, prostate, endometrial, and possibly, breast cancer. An estimated 70 percent of diabetes risk in the U.S. can be attributed to excess weight.

The primary treatment for obesity is dieting and physical exercise. One the other hand, treating a patient for obesity depends primarily on the degree of a person's overweight state as as his or her’s overall health. However, if diet and exercise fails, anti-obesity drugs may be taken to reduce appetite or prevent fat absorption. In extreme cases surgery is performed or an intragastric balloon is placed to reduce stomach volume and reduced ability to absorb nutrients from food. However, to be successful, any treatment must affect life-long behavioral changes rather than short-term weight loss. Trying to get on a quick fix short term dieting, in which weight one repeatedly lose and regain the weight, has been shown to increase a person's likelihood of developing fatal health problems than if the weight had been lost gradually or not lost at all.

Approximately 300,000 deaths a year are attributed to obesity. Nonetheless, obesity is considered to be the leading preventable cause of death worldwide. Obesity experts suggest that the answer is to prevent excess weight gain by monitoring fat consumption rather than counting calories. The most important step to preventing obesity is diet and exercise. Americans spend $33 billion annually on weight-loss products and services. Exercise and eating in modesty is the key to preventing obesity.

While researching a local program that educates people on obesity I found a program called Spaces & Places for Physical Activity in Hamilton County (Cincinnati, Ohio). The program was established to help the community focus on exercise to try and educate individuals about the events that come along with not maintaining a healthy lifestyle. These inevitably include diet and exercise. The information was delivered in an informative manner. Besides the website; there are also pamphlet’s that individuals can take to read. The programs motto is, “a lifestyle program designed to help you be active and healthy”. The information is helpful as it is very comprehensive, and supportive in tone. The information is in plain enough that anyone can read and understand what the program is trying to relay. What is done well is the program has a question and answer section that allows an individual to evaluate themselves before they start a workout plan. This questionnaire will try to eliminate an individual getting hurt or let’s them know if they need to consult a doctor first.

I would propose a plan that sends out information via text message or instant messenger. With the growing technology, the internet and cell phones are everywhere. I would also have a website that is easily remembered. For teenagers and adults I would select Queen Latify as an example because she would be able to relate. For years she has been considered to be obese. Through lifestyle changes and a healthy diet, Latify has not only dropped pounds, but looks great too! For small children I would select a cartoon character that promotes a healthy lifestyle such as Barney or perhaps a newly created character.

With the rapid increase in the incidents of obesity in the United States, researchers have been forced to look for new treatments. One advancement envolves the application of anti-diabetes drugs to treat obesity. Metformin (Glucophage), a drug that was approved by the Food and Dug Administration (FDA) in 1994 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, now shows promise in treating obesity associated with insulin resistance. Another field of obesity for researchers is the study of hormones. For the most part, scientist have focused on Leptin, which is produced by fat cells in the body, and Ghrelin, which is secreted by cells in the lining of the stomach. Both hormones are identified as affecting appetite and the body's energy balances. Further studies of these two hormones may lead to the development of new medications to control appetite and food intake. A third approach to obesity treatment involves research into the social factors that encourage or reinforce weight gain in humans. Researchers are looking at such issues as the advertising and marketing of unhealthy food products.




Note: This work was originally published as part of Mrs. Taylor's undergraduate studies at Phoenix University. Copyright 2009.

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