Obesity And Personal Fitness

Improved Essays
In a generation of people so deeply involved in the idea of personal image, and motivated by wanting to look better than their peers, the question of obesity’s prevalence remains. With the number of personal fitness outlets opening, and the growing market of health food stores one can reasonably ask why does obesity still affect such a large number of individuals throughout the nation? Is it because they are content with being overweight and ignoring the growing fad of gluten free and physical fitness? While some view this as the main cause of obesity, others argue that this stems from something much more complex and deeply rooted in the DNA of the general population. Through in-depth research following this controversial topic, one can hope …show more content…
They think of these restaurants that are serving food filled with fats, oils, and an abundance of other unhealthy preservatives leading to weight gain; however, that may not always be the case. It’s come to the attention that many “healthy” alternatives are equally as bad for one as the simple fast food fix. Joseph Pizzorno, a naturopathic doctor, explains that, “even those who try to eat healthy are sabotaged by conventionally grown food,” he then goes on to explain that the foods thought to be healthy are actually lacking nutrients and high in toxins (Pizzorno 2015). People often need to see results in order to accurately come to a conclusion about a specific issue. For those who look at what people eat in order to draw conclusions about obesity may be inaccurately depicting the issue due to the information that Pizzorno shares. People who attempt to lose weight the conventional way often start with their diet. They analyze what foods they are eating and what foods they think they should eat in order to get to their goal weight. However, what happens when the foods they’re eating to lose weight actually cause their weight loss to stagnant? Pizzorno’s view on this topic leads to a false representation of obesity. It can be easy for people to assume that obesity is a disease when attempting to eat healthier foods does not show results, when in fact their …show more content…
According to a recent study conducted by the CDC, obesity rates are influenced by race, gender and socioeconomic variables. In addition to this, they also have concluded that the highest rates of obesity in the United States were found in locations with a lower socioeconomic status (Broady 2015). After reading this information, one must ask why exactly do these socioeconomic factors play such a large role in determining our weight? It is because people cannot afford healthier options, which are often times more expensive? Or is it because they lack the education to make informed decisions about their well being? While both of these could potentially be a factor in leading obesity, one must also look at the harsh reality the perhaps the people simply do not care. Often times people of a low economic status are plagued with difficulties of finding a steady job, supporting their families, and potentially even drug or alcohol abuse. When it comes down to it, these people may simply just be trying to survive each day rather than looking at the long run of their wellbeing. While this may be the case for some families that come from less economically stable neighborhoods, one factor triumphs all for these individuals. The factor being relative distance to local grocery stores and convenience stores. This source argues that, “residents

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Obesity In America's War

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Obesity is a disease that plagues America’s old and young more than any other country in the world. Despite efforts to resolve this issue from the communities affected, and by local, state, and federal government this epidemic has yet to come to an end. The most common solutions offered to address the obesity epidemic are ones derived from an economic and dietary approach. Although seemingly worthy solution are commonly agreed upon, however pinpointing an incontestable culprit guilty for this monstrosity cannot be so easily done.…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are many factors that come into play when understanding the causes of obesity. The causes must be recognized before solutions can be made. The authors of Hungry for Change effectively discuss the many layers of the detrimental situation, and why food is the new drug of America. The society of America disguisedly favors obesity by insinuating addiction and marketing on the emotions and stresses of people unable to understand the biochemistry of what is happening in their own bodies. Hungry for Change’s biochemical, societal, and cultural take on obesity exemplifies the complexity of the issue, and provides an understanding of what is wrong, why it is wrong, and how to mend this epidemic and eradicate this new drug from killing…

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Obesity in the United States is an epidemic that affects many but, looking at the areas it affects the most the lower income areas the most this is only because of parents in lower income areas not being able to find any healthy natural foods to feed their children also, parents work schedule and city life so some. Living in a lower income area the choices of healthy foods are extremely hard to find, this is due to the fact lower income areas are in cities and are food insecure, which means being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable nutritious foods. . The food research and action center (2011) says, "all segments of the population are affected, food insecure and low-income…

    • 1460 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Many people in thousands of communities believe that the word poverty and the word obese don’t even belong in the same category. Obesity is defined as being overweight or grossly fat. Nearly one-third of the world’s population is obese or overweight , which is 2.1 billion people and 30 percent. People becoming obese have increased substantially in the past 30 years. In “The Obesity-Hunger Paradox,” by Sam Dolnick the article discusses how poverty and being insecure of food increases the cause of obesity. Many people argue over this topic and how it can end up being wrong or right. Adults and children have many opinions over this huge topic. Many people have different and somewhat descriptive viewpoints on this topic and many articles believe in how poverty is somewhat connected with obesity because cheap food is unhealthy, healthy food is highly taxed, and lunch programs can be healthy,but include less food.…

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the past 20 years the obesity rate of America has increased dramatically. One Third of adults are now obese today, compared to only 23% of adults being obese in the late 1980’s, but why is this? Poor nutrition plays a very important part in the way people live today. The adding of fake sweeteners to most all foods and drinks adds to obesity and medical issues. People not staying active also play a role in this. Living a healthy lifestyle is expensive, but what most people don’t see is that it’s worth it in the end. While it seems obvious why our bodies need a good amount of healthy nutrition from foods, a large number of people still lack understanding to make them want to change their diets and eating habits.…

    • 768 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Health and nutrition have been an essential part of life since the beginning of time, but more recently these topics are shared and examined more frequently than ever, especially in America. In Michael Pollan’s article “Our National Eating Disorder,” Claudia Kalb’s “Food News Blues,” and Karin Kratina’s “The Right Thing to Do?” it is made apparent that how we eat may be just as important as what we eat. These three authors make very valid points about American’s obsession with health fads and negative thinking towards many food groups. However, an estimated 160 million Americans are either obese or overweight. (Mokdad) Even with constant media coverage and new studies being conducted and released daily, American’s quest for a quick and simple…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Conflict Theory Obesity

    • 1657 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Obesity in the United States continues to grow at an alarming rate and is currently at an all-time high. Approximately 66% of Adults are overweight and 36% are considered obese while 33% of the children and adolescents in America are overweight with a staggering 17% of them are obese according to the Center for Disease Control in November, 2015. Due to this epidemic, sociology has taken a look into the major sociological perspectives and I will be addressing some of the problems that the obese run into due to economic and social hindrances as well as the conflict theory perspective and interactionist perspective in this paper.…

    • 1657 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    People who have less money have been know to be more obese in recent years due to economic disadvantage. Healthy food in places like ShopRite and whole foods are more expensive than to get a family of 4 a meal from McDonalds or Wendys. Not only is the cost more convenient, but it’s also a time saver. Instead of the family taking 30 minutes to an hour to cook dinner, they buy it and save on time and money. Higher cost of healthy meals, as well as limited access to quality foods in poorer neighborhoods. This decreases the ability of poorer families to be able to buy better and healthier…

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Recently, New York City has decided to build supermarkets around neighborhoods that are less populated and have low income families. The New York Times discussed because of the fresher and healthier food options accessible people would buy, but it didn’t happen. There isn’t any change in the items people purchased, they only get cheaper said Barry Popkin, a professor of Nutrition at the University of North Carolina.This is the first realization that our food preferences are dominant and lead to obesity and other health problems. It seems that everyone knows that obesity is a huge problem that the U.S struggles with, but not everyone knows that obesity is much deeper than being overweight. Obesity is linked to eating disorders that are traced to…

    • 1481 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout the year’s obesity has become a major concern in America. As you grow older your weight tends to increase along with it. The evolution of obesity is not well understood and the role of socioeconomic status (SES) contributing with this type of health issue has been documented by many researchers. Socioeconomic status is a measure of an individual’s or a family’s social position and economic well-being that combines three related, but not completely overlapping, variables: years of education, the prestige of one’s job and the skill it requires, and income (Berk p. 47). Obesity has been associated to increasing the risk of health problems and deaths such as type 2 diabetes, a few cancers, and strokes. As obesity increases in all socioeconomic groups, coming from a low socioeconomic association has a bigger impact in individuals becoming obese.…

    • 799 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Over the years, the U.S. has seen a tremendous increase in the obesity rates in both children and adults. Many have stopped to question what is causing this increase. Researchers have found that poverty links to obesity, leading to a huge impact in the obesity epidemic. Because poor people can not afford a healthy lifestyle, obesity rates are increasing, and it’s affecting humans health.…

    • 1490 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Individualism And Obesity

    • 127 Words
    • 1 Pages

    This article highlights the individualistic perspective on health and obesity in America. It explains that despite substantial evidence that obesity is largely due to external factors, Americans still choose to look at individual level factors to blame. The article focuses on the data collection method of surveys to yield results that America’s society, and even some doctors, put the blame on personal factors such as lack of willpower and laziness. However, lead researcher, Jennifer Benz attributes the causes of obesity on a more sociological perspective between the environment and outside influences. I think this article is a good representation on how Americans treat obesity as a personal problem, when they should be treating obesity as…

    • 127 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Unfortunately, not all Americans have the same amount of access to foods that would enable them to enact a healthier lifestyle. Scholarly research has shown that low-income neighborhoods offer greater access to food sources that promote unhealthy eating, like fast food restaurants and convenience stores (Hilmers et al., 2012). When the only options available for feeding an individual’s family are unhealthy ones, it is no wonder that there is such a clear link between poverty and obesity. According to scholar James Levine, “43% of households with incomes below the poverty line are food insecure”, meaning that they are uncertain of having or unable to acquire sufficient food, due to either a lack of money or psychosocial reasons such as drug addiction or mental illness (2011). When an individual is faced with the reality of whether or not he or she will get the opportunity to eat anything at all, it is clear that selectivity in regard to whether or not the food consumed is nutritious is not…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    What’s even more interesting aside from the economic correlation between income and obesity is the correlation between education and obesity. In regards to education 33% of adults who don’t graduate high school are obese and only 21.5% of college graduates are obese. These rates of obesity push on to their children where 30.4% of children whose parents didn’t graduate high school are obese and only 9.5% of children whose parents are college graduates are obese (The State of Obesity, 2011). Many would argue that the rise in obesity in the lower income segment of the population is due in part to low priced but poor nutrition foods available such as fast food or processed food at the grocery store and a conflict theorist may even assert that this is done on purpose by the ruling class to keep lower classes locked down. It’s not a certainty that the fast/junk food industries are the direct cause in obesity throughout the country but they are the most common scapegoat. Looking at the intersectionality of economic class and race/gender brought forth many conflict results depending on the class/gender and didn’t feel concrete enough to be definitive fact. One interesting factor to mention was that men of color were consistently shown to have gained a higher BMI as their economic class…

    • 1816 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In this modern world, the more time people spend on working and making money, the less time they spend on cooking and making healthy food choices, and this leads to the rise of fast food culture and an increasing rate of obesity all over the world. Some critics may state that the spread of fast food restaurants plays a big role in the growing obesity rate and people often put the blame for obesity on those restaurants, but many studies have pointed out that fast food restaurants are definitely not the ones to blame in the situation. The term “obesity” can be…

    • 1537 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics