OBESITY IN PREGNANT WOMEN AND HEALTH POLICY

Obesity in Pregnant Women and Health Policy

Obesity in Pregnant Women and Health Policy

The obesity is a chronic disease caused by many reasons and with many complications, is characterized by excess fat in the body and occurs when the body mass index in adults is greater than 25 units. The causes leading to this disease are due to different factors: genetic, socioeconomic, psychological, hormonal, related to development, and reduced activity physical. Obese people are at risk of disease or death increased for any illness, injury or accident. The means of communication and fashion, affect the self esteem of the person suffering from this disease, because the images they broadcast, are images of skinny girls and bulked-up guys, which can reduce a person's ability to develop self-esteem.

Overweight and obesity have become key challenges for public health. Recent data show that 61% of adults in the Unites States are overweight (have a body mass index > 25, see the following definition) and 34% are obese (body mass index > 30, according to the Office of the Surgeon General, 2009). Canada and the United Kingdom show lower levels of obesity (about a quarter of adults are obese), but the long-term trend is similar and visible not only in developed but also developing countries: A growing number of children, youngsters, and adults are overweight. As a result of that trend, public communication on this issue has increased in the last years. Policymakers have coined the term obesity epidemic to label the associated challenge in a simple, illustrative, but at the same time also somewhat misleading way (Community Health Councils, 2001b, pp. 1-2). Increasing the number of people with excess body weight takes epidemic proportions worldwide. Why is this happening? The most puzzling problem in obesity - is that this disease (although I do not like the very definition of "disease" as used in people with excess body weight), which takes the dimensions of world catastrophe, by and large, is voluntary. Not always, though conscious, but always voluntary

This entry starts with an elaborated and precise definition of the key terms overweight and obesity. Medical and economic aspects of the problem are described, and social constructivism and framing are presented as promising theoretical perspectives for a critical analysis of the obesity epidemic from a communication science perspective. Obesity can be counteracted by policies focusing on the individual level or the societal level. Opportunities and challenges for communication about obesity are suggested in the last paragraph.

Obesity is commonly defined as being 20 percent over the midpoint of one's expected weight range (using the height weight charts) or above 30 on the Body Mass Index. Despite this social pressure to be thin, the increasing number of people suffering from obesity is increasing dramatically. For many families, having a child fat, plump, and full of creases is quite an achievement as it shows a sign that the child is strong and full of health. On the other hand, their perception is wrong as ...