Informative Essay on Obesity

“When confronting obesity, it is important to consider different causes such as, genetics and ethnicity. Obesity is affected greatly by poor diet, lack of exercise, and it can be changed by engaging in a healthier diet, more exercise, and sometimes surgery. Obesity is caused by range of different factors. A lack of energy balance, emotional overeating, inactive lifestyle, environment, health conditions, and genetics can all be held responsible for obesity. Energy balance means the calories one takes IN equals the energy they put OUT. Energy IN is the amount of calories consumed through food and drinks and energy OUT is the amount of calories the body uses to breathe, digest, and being physically active. When the energy IN equals more than the energy OUT, the body will eventually gain weight.Another cause is emotional overeating. It is caused when someone is stressed out, depressed or angry. They resort to eating and believe it will make them feel better, when most of the time, the only thing it is doing making the individual gain weight. Inactive lifestyle is another very common cause especially for Americans today. Hours in front of the TV, computer, and playing video games have in fact, been directly linked to obesity. Environment is another reason for obesity, if there is a fast food restaurant on nearly every corner, what's going to stop most people from going to them more often than not? If someone is put into an environment with lots of food and easy transportation is is inevitable that they will put on more weight. Aside from all the previous factors, obesity may just be in in the genes of some individuals and cannot easily be altered. There are many effects of being obese, physical health issues, as well as mental and psychological problems. Physically, being obese puts the individual's health at a high risks compared to that of an average weight person. The two main concerns are diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Diabetes occurs when the insulin levels become unstable and blood sugar cannot be controlled properly. Having diabetes affects everything in general, including emotions. The worst that could happen is when the body goes into diabetic shock and basically shuts down. There are an array of cardiovascular issues including arteriosclerosis, and heart attack. Arteriosclerosis occurs when there is too much fat building up in the blood vessels and it pretty much clogs the vessel and doesn't allow adequate blood flow. The main thing that happens with a heart attack is that the heart cannot pump blood, or the rhythm is not stable. If someone is obese, their heart may have to work twice as hard to pump blood and if their arteries are also narrower, it will double their risks. Another effect is on the entire society. Health Care costs will rise and sick days and knee injuries are more common in overweight people. Being obese can also affect someone's self esteem and confidence. The person may not feel socially accepted, or be subject to bullying and discrimination. Everyone wants to fit in and be a part of society and obesity may make some people feel limited or that they are not accepted by others and are not capable of doing the same everyday regimes. For many teenagers, especially girls, obesity can lead to extreme eating habits, disorders and self harm. Some may think that not eating at all will solve everything. This will only cause rebounds and uncontrollable cravings and eventually it will become a vicious spiral of constant negativity. There are a range of different solutions to obesity, and some are more effective than others. To start out, it is a good idea to switch to a healthy diet with lots of water, supplemented by regular exercise. The most effective change in a diet would be to cut simple sugars, carbs, and fats. Sugar can be obtained from fruits while carbs can come from more complex sources such as whole wheat and grains. When changing a diet, cutting the fat source completely will not help. Fat can come from some vegetables, nuts, and non animal oils. Frequent exercise is not very common for many people today. It is best to start out slowly and eventually build endurance. If it is too challenging from the get go, then the motivation will not last long either. In extreme cases, there are surgical options as well, such as gastric bypass surgery, which removes a part of the stomach to make it smaller in size. Other operations may simply cut the fat off or suck it out with liposuction. Liposuction is a technique for cosmetic surgery that removes fat from under the skin by sucking it out with a vacuum like tool. Obesity is a rising epidemic in developed countries today. It was not an issue only 100 years ago. This is because oily, fatty foods are cheaper than they ever have been before and healthier choices are more expensive. If we continue living at this rate, we will use up all of the resources and eventually hurt the planet.