Why Is Child Obesity an Important Health Problem in America

Why Is Child Obesity an Important Health Problem in America? Webster University Unknown Student Techniques of substance Abuse Counseling Dr. Barbara Omer July 28, 2002 Abstract Obesity is a chronic state of being overweight. It s a life threatening condition and current research has shown that obesity is the leading cause for the increased health threats that persons of the developed world face. Obesity increases a person s threat for contracting diabetes, strokes, heart problems, certain kinds of cancer etc. What s worse is the over two thirds of the industrialized world s population is suffering from obesity and that s putting them in greater health dangers. In recent years, policymakers and medical experts have expressed†¦show more content†¦Each included about 40,000 adults; one survey was carried out in 1991 and 1992; the other was done a decade later, in 2001 and 2002. According to researchers, Flegal,Carroll, Odgen,amp; Johnson (2002), the people surveyed were asked whether a relative had â€Å"been an alcoholic or problem drinker at any time in his/her life,† a question repeated for several types of relative — mother, father, brother, sister, half-sibling and children. Participants also reported their own weight and height, so body mass index could be calculated (B.M.I. is a calculation of weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared, and a result of 30 or more is considered obese).The first survey, from the early 1990s, found no link between a family history of alcoholism and obesity. â€Å"There was an almost perfect overlap between the B.M.I. distribution of people without a family history of alcoholism and people with a family history of alcoholism. In 2001 and 2002, adults with a family history of alcoholism were 30 to 40 percent more likely to be obese than those with no alcoholism in the family. Women were at pa rticularly high risk: they were almost 50 percent more likely to be obese if there was family alcoholism than if there wasn’t. (Men were 26 percent more likely to be obese.)Why the change over time? He says our so-called obesigenic, or obesity-inducing, food environment has changed in the decade between the two surveys. The most likely culprit, heShow MoreRelatedObesity : Obesity And Obesity1554 Words   |  7 Pages2016 Obesity in America What is obesity? Obesity simply means to be overweight. There are 4 classifications of weight; underweight, healthy weight, overweight, and obese. Doctors classify the different types of weight by Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI measures body fat based on height and weight. Many people think that they are not overweight. But America has a very high percentage of obese people. America is the number one leading country of obesity. 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