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Obesity in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction
Obesity as a Healthcare Issue
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

Obesity is considered to be caused by recent changes in the so-called obesogenic environment such as the highly processed and sugar-laden food supply and automated technologies that reduce or replace physical activity (Meldrum et al. 833-834). Obesity has been recognized as a pandemic due to its scope, high prevalence, and severe comorbidity and mortality rates in both adults and children. The numerous arguments explaining the causes of the obesity pandemic in the United States of America might be categorized into two groups, namely those approaching obesity based on internal factors and those dependent on the environment. On the one hand, the inability of individuals to make healthy dietary choices, their genetic predisposition, or mental disorder triggering unhealthy eating is claimed to cause the obesity pandemic. On the other hand, the environment characterized by processed food distribution, popularization of the fast-food, socio-economic situation, and the technological development reducing physical activity is connected with obesity. This paper asserts that obesity is caused by shifts in the economic and technological environment that alters peoples lifestyles. The prevalence of cheap processed food and limited physical activity characteristic of contemporary societies lead to weight gain.

Obesity as a Healthcare Issue

Among obesity causes, the socioeconomic and cultural impact on human decision-making in dietary and lifestyle choices prevails. Indeed, according to Reynolds et al., the high availability and low price of unhealthy foods contribute toward obesity (3). In other words, transitioning the contemporary food production industry to processed food manufacturing with high levels of fast carbohydrates has created a market of unhealthy but affordable products. Indeed, since the production of such low-quality food is not costly, the final product is cheap and available to the majority of the US population. In this regard, it is essential to consider the socioeconomic status of the population who comprise the target market of processed food manufacturers. According to Meldrum et al., the poor are at greater risk of being obese, with the risk being inversely related to wealth and education (834). Indeed, insufficient knowledge about nutrition and limited resources motivating low-income families to choose unhealthy food contributes to obesity. Thus, industrialization of food production, its diminished quality, and decreased costs make unhealthy food the most affordable and accessible product for people with insufficient knowledge to consume.

I agree with the claim that socio-economic status and culture are leading causes of uncontrolled weight gain in Americans. This assertion might be validated by the application of the social cognitive theory that holds that human internal factors are less decisive in motivating behavior than external ones. More specifically, Bagherniya et al. state that human behavior is a result of dynamic interaction between personal, behavioral and environmental factors (2). Therefore, exposure of the public to unhealthy food on media, in advertising, on supermarket shelves, and in fast-food restaurants normalizes an unhealthy diet and justifies obesity as a norm. Such a justification of obesitys dependence on environmental influence is further supported by research-informed evidence. It suggests that social interaction seems to play a role with evidence of contagion as a result of direct human contact (Meldrum et al. 834). Indeed, when so many are overweight, ones perceptions of what is normal are altered (Meldrum et al. 834). These research findings demonstrate that people learn unhealthy behavior from the environment. Consequently, intensified human communication and popularization of affordable but unhealthy dieting contribute to the obesity pandemic.

The technological advancement coupled with the previously discussed socioeconomic aspect has a significant impact on the increase of the obesity rates in the USA. The integration of automated technologies, gadgets, and electronic entertainment and leisure preferences has significantly limited peoples physical activity, which is one of the key attributes of maintaining a healthy body weight. Indeed, research demonstrates that obesity is associated with excess caloric intake without sufficient physical activity for energy use (Jevitt 126). In particular, when analyzing this information on the background of the popularization of processed fast-carbohydrate food, the lack of physical activity leads to the accumulation of excess calories and gaining weight. Moreover, many physical features that reduce the need for physical activity, such as elevators, escalators and other labor-saving devices, along with passive entertainment such as video games, TV watching, and online news, socialization, and entertainment (Meldrum et al. 834). Thus, the contemporary built urban environment and prevalence of technologies eliminate physical effort from peoples daily activities, worsening the problem of the obesity pandemic.

I agree with the argument that supports the contribution of technological development to the epidemic of obesity in the United States. Indeed, people face less necessity to engage in physical labor due to the inventions that make household chores and transportation effortless. Moreover, the rapid shift toward social media, streaming, and video games have occupied a predominant part of peoples leisure time, thus reducing the opportunity for practicing physical activity in daily life. On the other hand, technological advancement has influenced food production as well, triggering more sugar use. Indeed, food producers use sugar and other carbohydrates to enhance taste and caloric content and consequently exaggerated the subsequent epidemic of obesity and cardiovascular disease (Meldrum 835). In other words, advancement in technology and science has allowed for facilitating product longevity through the use of additional sugar, which consumers excessively intake from their everyday food. Thus, the lifestyle dependent on the social, economic, cultural, and technological environment makes people gain weight and develop comorbidities that diminish their quality of life and well-being in a long-term perspective.

Despite the external factors being decisive in the development of obesity on a large scale, mental health issues related to eating disorders have been identified as a contributing factor to unhealthy weight gain. Such behavioral impairments in food consumption are related to emotional eating and neurobiological processes beyond human willpower or conscious decision-making. Indeed, as stated by Van Strien, emotional eating is associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (2). In other words, eating disorders are the aftermath of emotional disturbance or mental trauma. Indeed, people might be over-eating in a state of depression, continuous stress, or under other psychological pressure. Therefore, there is a cause-effect connection between mental health and obesity. Similarly, research shows that there is a contribution of epigenetic issues and prenatal fetus development is the driver of an individuals metabolic syndromes leading to obesity later in life (Jevitt 127). Such a statement implies that the internal neurobiological triggers of obesity might be caused by maternal health and deteriorate a childs predisposition to be overweight after birth.

However, I disagree with the statement that mental health issues constitute the main cause of obesity in the USA. In the context of multifaceted triggers of unhealthy eating and conscious choices of processed food over a nutritious diet due to limited resources or education, eating disorders are unlikely to be the main cause. On the one hand, studies conducted with neonatal patients reveal non-environmental triggers of obesity in children; however, the prevalence of such cases is insufficient in comparison with obesity due to lifestyle (Jevitt 126). Maternal healths influence on obesity later in life might explain obesity in children; however, it does not provide a solid justification for adult obesity. Thus, it is unlikely that the development of obesity is predominantly dependent on mental health or prenatal health issues only.

Conclusion

In summation, the problem of obesity is a healthcare issue that has gained a scope of a pandemic, threatening the lives of many people due to comorbidities and hindering longevity. When analyzing preventable health issues with severe outcomes, obesity is commonly discussed concerning the factors that might be mitigated to reduce the burden of the condition. Indeed, this essay has presented specific claims validating the argument that the main cause of obesity is the impact of the environment with its socioeconomic, cultural, and technological particularities. Due to the increased volumes and affordability of unhealthy processed food, low-income populations with insufficient nutritional knowledge choose unhealthy diets on a daily basis. Such a state of affairs is coupled with limited physical activity due to the popularization of automated appliances, gadgets, and other inventions, reducing physical effort in human labor and leisure. Although mental health disorders, genetic, and neonatal health issues might impact the likelihood of obesity, they cannot be accounted for in most cases, leaving the role of the most significant cause to environmental factors. Therefore, the combination of the external factors plays a decisive role in peoples regular consumption of unhealthy food, diminished calorie use, and ultimate obesity development.

Works Cited

Bagherniya, Mohammad. et al. Assessment of the Efficacy of Physical Activity Level and Lifestyle Behavior Interventions Applying Social Cognitive Theory for Overweight and Obese Girl Adolescents. Journal of Research in Health Sciences, vol. 18, no. 2, 2018, pp. 1-6.

Jevitt, Cecilia M. Obesity and Socioeconomic Disparities: Rethinking Causes and Perinatal Care. The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing, vol. 33, no. 2, 2019, pp. 126-135.

Meldrum, David R. et al. The Obesity Pandemic: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions but do We Have the Will?. Fertility and Sterility, vol. 107, no. 4, 2017, pp. 833-839.

Reynolds, James P. et al. Communicating Evidence about the Causes of Obesity and Support for Obesity Policies in British and US Populations: Two Population-Based Survey Experiments. Research Square, 2020, pp. 1-23. Web.

Van Strien, Taiana. Causes of Emotional Eating and Matched Treatment of Obesity. Current Diabetes Reports, vol. no. 6, 2018, pp. 1-8.

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