Obesity: a Sociological Epidemic
Obesity: A Sociological Epidemic
Abstract
The sociological aspect of obesity shown through the impact of families, the government and the economy. The rapidly growing, fast-paced, technological society creates an epidemic of sorts. Families pursue the use of technology, restaurants and fast-paced eating as well as single parenting and parental denial. The government sets a significant health care cost to obesity, which prevents a solution and increases risks. A non-stable economy brings about a society filled with unemployment or multiple jobs as well as both parents working to stay above absolute or relative poverty leading to distractions from a healthy lifestyle. Obesity is a concern, not just for an individual but also for society as a whole.
Obesity: A Sociological Epidemic
Many people have researched the biological side of obesity but there is more to obesity than just the biological side, there is a sociological aspect as well. Sure, what is biological could be proven, but society has a large impact on things in our everyday lives, let alone our bodies. Obesity is a major health problem in our society. “The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has released a statement that one third of all Americans, children through adults, males and females are obese.”(Big, 2010) The origination of obesity includes not only genetics but environmental factors as well. Besides being influenced by genetics, the way our society runs, impacts obesity. Family members share genes as well as culture, diet and many other aspects in life. There are many factors brought about by families, the economy and the government, that lead to obesity, such as, environmental factors related to lifestyle and cultural or socio-economic conditions and psychological factors. When examining the sociological approach to obesity you can see how the externalities help explain the increasing development of obesity in a population. Just genetics alone does not give reason for an
Abstract
The sociological aspect of obesity shown through the impact of families, the government and the economy. The rapidly growing, fast-paced, technological society creates an epidemic of sorts. Families pursue the use of technology, restaurants and fast-paced eating as well as single parenting and parental denial. The government sets a significant health care cost to obesity, which prevents a solution and increases risks. A non-stable economy brings about a society filled with unemployment or multiple jobs as well as both parents working to stay above absolute or relative poverty leading to distractions from a healthy lifestyle. Obesity is a concern, not just for an individual but also for society as a whole.
Obesity: A Sociological Epidemic
Many people have researched the biological side of obesity but there is more to obesity than just the biological side, there is a sociological aspect as well. Sure, what is biological could be proven, but society has a large impact on things in our everyday lives, let alone our bodies. Obesity is a major health problem in our society. “The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has released a statement that one third of all Americans, children through adults, males and females are obese.”(Big, 2010) The origination of obesity includes not only genetics but environmental factors as well. Besides being influenced by genetics, the way our society runs, impacts obesity. Family members share genes as well as culture, diet and many other aspects in life. There are many factors brought about by families, the economy and the government, that lead to obesity, such as, environmental factors related to lifestyle and cultural or socio-economic conditions and psychological factors. When examining the sociological approach to obesity you can see how the externalities help explain the increasing development of obesity in a population. Just genetics alone does not give reason for an
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