Richard Gunderman's Views On Obesity Is Not A Disease

Improved Essays
Expert: Richard B. Gunderman
Quality -Source: I trust this source because Richard Gunderman has his MD, PhD, Professor of Radiology, Pediatrics, Medical Evaluation, Philosophy, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, and Vice Chair of Radiology at Indiana University. He may specialize in radiology, yet this does not mean that he does not know a decent amount of information pertaining to obesity and why it should not be considered a disease. (www.rsna.org)
Author’s Viewpoint: He believes that obesity is not a disease and if it were considered a disease over 78 million adults and 12 million children would then be sick. There is bias because it is clear to see that he believes that obesity is not a disease and he does not include the opposing side into his argument.
…show more content…
Issues/Claims: 1. If obesity truly is a disease, then over 78 million adults and 12 million children in America just got classified as sick. 2. Many sensible people, from physicians to philosophers, know that declaring obesity a disease is a mistake. 3. Obesity is not a disease, it is a risk factor for diseases. 4. It would be false to say that everyone who is obese is sick as to say that every normal-weight person is

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Obesity is a common theme, research point, epidemic running through America. People everywhere are trying to justify, understand, and eradicate this epidemic. Hungry for Change works to expose obesity and why it is so widespread through America, and how it can be attacked and removed from our mainstream media. Obesity is more complex than common knowledge and surface level understanding that one is overweight; there is much more to it. There are factors and society helping to promote obesity.…

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Erik Orr Mr. Farias English Composition 1301 – 047 04 Aug 2014 Title “Americas War on the Overweight” by Kate Dailey and Abbey Ellin gives readers a look at the hardships and judgment’s that come with being obese in todays America. The majority of obese Americans did not choose to be obese; factors such as illness, genetics, and psychological problems play a determining role. The simple assumption that everyone who is obese is lazy, over eats, or is a slob, is far from the truth. There are numerous reasons as to why one ends up being extremely overweight, and many more reasons why they remain that way forever.…

    • 1046 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Rethinking Weight,” by Amanda Spake was featured as a cover story in the February 2004 edition of U.S. News and World Report. The article brings a critical debate among obesity researchers into question: whether or not obesity should be classified as a disease. This dispute is significant to the future of America, and many Americans themselves. The positions of the government and insurance companies on the classification of obesity as a disease will determine the assistance granted to obese and overweight Americans, which have become the majority of the population: 68.5% of Americans, according to the Food Research and Action Center (Overweight and Obesity in the U.S.) Spake states that insurance companies should pay for medical expenses caused by obesity due to it being a biological “disease” and due to the fact that most obese Americans are unable to cover medical expenses themselves.…

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the articles, “What You Eat Is Your Business" and “Don’t Blame the Eater” authors Radley Balko and David Zinczenko present strong but differing view points regarding the growing concern related to obesity. While also bringing forth opinions on whether American policymakers are over involved or under involved. Each does this by bringing forth opinions supported by facts, personal experience and the idea that there is a lack of awareness of what is considered to be unhealthy. Despite their varying opinions it can be agreed that there is still not enough being done, by the American people or by American policymakers, to try and reduce the increasingly high numbers of people impacted by obesity and improper nutrition. For most, this topic is…

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In the article written by Alexandra Sifferlin in June 2015, “Obesity in America: It’s Getting Worse” Sifferlin talks about how most Americans are overweight, with respect to the new study looking at overweight and obesity rates in the United States. To those who are overweight or obese there is also a greater risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Researchers calculate that 40% of men were overweight and 35% of men were obese. As for the women they estimated that 30% were overweight and 37% were obese.…

    • 152 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    It put the missing pieces into research that has been done to increase the fear of being overweight. He demonstrated how people can be overweight and still be healthier than someone overweight and provided clear examples of it in statistics and research. Many people are too afraid of being overweight but this book will open their minds instead of being brainwashed by misleading research. “Yet still, certain things that needed to be said were, in the end,said.” (page…

    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Need more food. Need less food. I’m too thin. I’m too big. How is this diet better than that one?…

    • 1447 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Yoni Heisler Thesis

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Yoni Heisler published an article, “This Is Why America Is Obese”, and explains how food can seriously affect the human body; the message being unhealthy trends can be seen throughout young kids. Throughout this paper, he discusses the consequences such as heart disease and heart attacks that can occur as a side effect of obesity. In addition, he claims that these habits begin at a young age, and kids are the “trend setters” of creating this unhealthy norm. To support this prerogative, the author then provides examples of lunches around the world and compares them to the United States in the sense of the U.S’s choice on what is healthy for children. Although Heisler believes to have the basics down on America’s overweight crisis, his logic…

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Obesity Satire Essay

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The laziness of this generation has allowed for obesity to expand across the country. We create television shows based on the lives of obese people, and we promote living this way in order to gather attention and popularity. We should be explaining the severity of being obese. This common disease is not acceptable. Obesity is a disease that should be fixed in culture today; it can be solved with price changes of foods, education to all, and eating habits…

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Food, a “nourishing substance that is eaten, drunk, or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy, promote growth.” (Dictionary.com) The foundation of all life substance is food. To deprive ourselves from these essential nutrients would immediately lead towards advert repercussions and quite possibly cease life as we know it. People everywhere understand the importance of food, but our mistake was not acknowledging this crucial aliment.…

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The obesity epidemic in the United States is now three decades old, continuing to worsen over the years. Many Americans are fearful of being categorized as obese because of the risk of other developing health conditions that come along with it, including: heart disease, cancer, diabetes or sleep apnea, just to name a few. Obesity is looked at as a simplistic issue because being larger than others automatically means that one is lazy right? This is the attitude taken towards this subject. Many people do not understand the complexity of obesity, but medical professionals and other researchers are starting to take a look into why the number of people being diagnosed as obese is increasing.…

    • 2108 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Controversy of Obesity Obesity is a major problem in America. The numbers of obese people in the United States have steadily increased since the 1970’s. Over a fourth of the population in America is obese, leading it to be the among the most obese countries in the world. Obesity can be solved.…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Despite the researches that have been done by scientist in numerous cases, we have seen their findings being ignored on the effect of public health on people. However, the effects of obesity on people have been left on those that are obese and they are perceived to be the cause of their failure . In addition, they are said to have adopted a lifestyle which is unhealthier. I examine evidence to address these assumptions and discuss their public health implications.…

    • 1398 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Obesity in America becomes a more relevant issue as time progresses and people develop terrible habits. Yvette C. Terrie, a writer from U.S. News Health states, “In the past two decades in the United States, there 's been an alarming increase in obesity rates among all age groups, even children. It 's estimated that more than one-third of adults and 17 percent of children and adolescents are obese.” These numbers are alarming because of the massive amounts of health problems that obesity causes such as diabetes, Coronary artery disease, and cancer (Terrie). Although it may not seem like it, some obese people have diseases or health complications that result in excessive overweight.…

    • 869 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In fact, since many people seem to view the disease as a fashion, where they say it is a sign of prosperity. It is very strange but true that obesity carries a social stigma and the public does not want to try and understand its negative social, economic, and health…

    • 1128 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays