Is obesity a disease?

Introductions

Obesity is a chronic disease of multifactorial origin that is characterized by excessive accumulation of fat or hypertrophy, overall adipose tissue in the body. This means that when the natural energy reserve of humans and other mammals, stored as body fat increases to a point where it is associated with numerous complications such as certain health conditions, or diseases and increased mortality. The WHO (World Health Organization) defines obesity as BMI or body mass index (calculated by height and weight of the individual) is less than 30 kg / m². It is also considered a sign of obesity an enlarged abdominal circumference in men greater than or equal to 102 cm and in women greater than or equal to 88 cm (Adams, Murphy, 2000).

Obesity is part of the metabolic syndrome, still a risk factor known is that predispose to various diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, sleep apnea, stroke, osteoarthritis and some forms of cancer, dermatological disorders and gastrointestinal. Although, obesity is an individual clinical condition, it has become a serious public health problem that is increasing, and WHO considers that, “Obesity has reached epidemic proportions worldwide; at least 2.6 million of persons die each year because of obesity or overweight (Adams, Murphy, 2000). Although, previously considered a problem confined to high-income countries, obesity is now also prevalent in countries of low and middle income".

Thesis Statement

Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems, which is leading to death of many individuals in America.

Obesity in America

As known to all long, obesity represents the popular disease that has coiled and plagued the United States, being strongly prevalent in the western societies. It is because obesity affects the health of individuals in a direct way. To begin with the analysis as to why these problems prevail is because of a major reason: the climate. People living in the warmer areas of the world, such as Asia and the Third World countries are at a benefit of living and pertaining to lose weight at every other second with their exposure to warm environment. This creates a problem for people living in the cooler areas of the world, namely Europe and the Green belt, which are generally cover in snow, ice and freezing temperatures all around the year.

Another factor contributing towards the problems of obesity implies the eating habits that are being faced by people. Since everyone is working around the clock, keeping track of food and eating patterns has become a serious issue. This is why fast food joints, frozen foods and microwavable, edible items are popular among the masses in the United States.

One particular concern is the incidence in childhood and adolescence, and that condemns millions of children to be overweight adults, with fatal consequences for their health. America needs to take seriously this problem, based on a solid education from infancy ...