ways to overcome obesity essay

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How to Prevent Obesity

Daniel Llao Calvet / Getty Images

• Early Prevention
• Stress Reduction
• Improving Sleep
• Next in Obesity Guide Obesity: What You Need to Know

Preventing obesity involves making healthy lifestyle choices every day. To prevent obesity, you need to stay active, follow a healthy diet, and get adequate sleep. Obesity prevention also involves saying no to certain preferences, like soft drinks, or driving short distances when you could walk instead.

Obesity is generally defined as a chronic disease characterized by excessive body fat. More than 42% of adults and 19% of children and adolescents in the U.S. have obesity, and those numbers are rising. Obesity is often caused by a combination of risk factors, including genetics , poor diet, sedentary behaviors , medical conditions, and lack of access to healthy foods.

While obesity prevention should start in childhood, it is never too late to start making healthier choices. This article discusses how to prevent obesity starting in childhood and later in life. It includes diet, exercise, and lifestyle strategies, along with how these strategies can reduce your obesity risk.

Preventing Obesity in Childhood

Obesity often begins in childhood . Research shows that if a person has obesity at age 5, they are more likely to have obesity as an adult. Conversely, if a child does not have obesity at age 5, their lifetime risk of obesity is significantly lower.

Obesity results from a combination of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Although families cannot change their genes, they can model healthy lifestyle patterns for children to start preventing obesity from a young age.

To prevent obesity in childhood, families can:

• Promote healthy eating: Families can try swapping out processed snacks like potato chips for healthier snacks like baked cinnamon apple crisps. Saying no to soft drinks is another great starting point.
• Get active together: Parents and children can both benefit from engaging in physical activity together. Make a tradition of physical activity, like playing frisbee or riding bikes together after school. Children ages 6 to 17 should get 60 minutes of physical activity per day.
• Ensure consistent sleep: Children who don't get enough sleep have a greater risk of developing obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other health conditions. The amount of uninterrupted sleep your child needs depends on their age group, but the key is a consistent bedtime—even on weekends.
• Minimize screen time: Too much screen time in childhood increases the risk of obesity, poor sleep, unhealthy eating, and more. Whenever possible, it's important to replace screen time with family time or physical activity. At a minimum, screens should be turned off at least one hour before bed.

If you are concerned about your child's weight, reach out to a healthcare provider. Your provider may be able to help you identify lifestyle factors that are contributing to your child's weight gain. They can also assess any health risks your child may have based on their weight or your family history.

Diet to Prevent Obesity

Obesity can be prevented by following basic principles of healthy eating . Here are simple changes you can make to your eating habits that will help you lose weight and prevent obesity.

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables decreases the risk of obesity. Fruits and vegetables contain a variety of beneficial nutrients and are associated with a lower risk for diabetes and insulin resistance . They are also high in fiber, which keeps you feeling full with fewer calories and ensures your digestive system stays regulated.

Focus on filling your plate with whole vegetables and fruits at every meal. Aim for lots of natural colors—carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, bananas, eggplant—the more color, the merrier.

Go easy (or eliminate) protein sources that are heavy in saturated fats, such as red meat and dairy. If you choose to cut out meat entirely, consult with a healthcare provider to ensure you are not at risk for nutritional deficiencies.

Does a Plant-Based Diet Prevent Obesity?

Eating more plant foods and less animal foods lowers insulin resistance and contributes to a healthier body mass index (BMI, an imperfect but commonly used metric). Following a plant-based diet will not increase the risk of obesity. However, more research is needed to evaluate the benefits of plant-based diets for reducing obesity long-term.

Avoid Processed Foods

Highly processed foods , like white bread and many boxed snack foods, are a common source of empty calories, which tend to add up quickly. A 2019 study found that people who were offered a highly processed diet consumed more calories and gained weight, while those offered a minimally processed diet ate less and lost weight.

There are many healthy alternatives to processed snacks that can be just as satisfying, such as:

• Unsalted almonds, cashews, walnuts, and pistachios
• Roasted chickpeas
• Crispy lettuce wraps
• Frozen yogurt-covered blueberries
• Baked banana chips

While it may take a little more time and creativity, planning and preparing healthy snacks can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Limit Sugar and Artificial Sweeteners

It is important to keep your intake of added sugars low. According to current dietary guidelines, most adult women should have no more than 24 grams of sugar per day, while most adult men should have no more than 36.

Major sources of added sugar to avoid include: 

• Sugary beverages, including sodas and energy or sports drinks
• Grain desserts like pies, cookies, and cakes
• Fruit drinks (which are seldom 100% fruit juice)
• Dairy desserts like ice cream

Artificial sweeteners have been linked to obesity and diabetes , too. While some natural sweeteners like agave do not raise glucose as fast as table sugar, they still raise blood sugar and should also be used in moderation.

Reduce Saturated Fats

Numerous studies show that eating foods high in saturated fat contributes to obesity. Foods that are high in saturated fats include:

• Whole and reduced-fat milk
• Butter and dairy desserts
• Meat products, such as sausage, bacon, beef, hamburgers
• Cookies and other grain-based desserts
• Many fast-food dishes

Focus instead on sources of healthy fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats) like:

• Olive oil and canola oils
• Pumpkin and sesame seeds

Although these fats are healthier for you, they should still be limited to about 20% to 35% of daily calories. People with elevated cholesterol or vascular disease may need an even lower level.

Pay Attention to Beverages

A single, 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola contains 39 grams of sugar. That means one can of Coke alone exceeds the recommended daily intake of sugar.

Sugar and calories in soft drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks, and juices quickly add up and may contribute to weight gain. But drinks marketed as "sugar-free" and "low-calorie" aren't much better. Artificially sweetened drinks also carry a risk of numerous health problems, including obesity.

Rather than focusing on which artificial sweetener is best, it's better to avoid sweeteners in general. Make water or unsweetened drinks and your go-to instead.

Cook at Home

People who prepare meals at home are less likely to gain weight or develop type 2 diabetes, studies show.

One such study found that people who ate home-cooked meals more than five times per week were 28% less likely to have an overweight BMI than people who ate home-cooked meals less than three times per week. Eating more home-cooked meals was also associated with having less body fat.

BMI is a dated, flawed measure. It does not take into account factors such as body composition , ethnicity, sex, race, and age. Even though it is a biased measure, BMI is still widely used in the medical community because it’s an inexpensive and quick way to analyze a person’s potential health status and outcomes.

Exercising to Prevent Obesity

Most national and international guidelines recommend that the average adult get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week. That means at least 30 minutes per day, five days per week.

Researchers have also found that people who walk at a brisk or fast pace are more likely to have a lower weight, lower BMI, and lower waist circumference compared to individuals doing other activities.  

In addition, experts recommend keeping active throughout the day, whether by using a standing desk, taking frequent stretch breaks, or finding ways to work in walking meetings throughout your day.

Reducing Stress to Prevent Obesity

Chronic stress raises levels of the stress hormone cortisol and leads to weight gain. It can also result in poor dietary choices, as cortisol and other stress hormones can increase “carb cravings” and make it difficult to exercise good judgment and willpower.

Look into the many healthy ways to beat stress, and find what works best for you. This might include:

• Going for a daily walk
• Engaging in regular yoga or tai chi
• Listening to music you love
• Getting together with friends

Studies show having a pet can lower blood pressure. Additionally, pets, especially dogs, can increase your level of physical activity and help you stave off weight gain.

Improving Sleep to Prevent Obesity

The role of sleep in overall well-being cannot be overstated. This extends to the goal of preventing obesity, too. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends seven or more hours of sleep for adults 18 and over and even more sleep for younger people.

Studies have linked later bedtimes to weight gain over time. One of these studies included 137,000 people from 26 countries. It showed that, compared to people who go to bed before 10 p.m., people who go to bed after 10 have a 20% greater risk of general and abdominal obesity. Meanwhile, the risk is up to 38% higher in people who go to bed after 2 a.m.

If you are having trouble falling asleep earlier, it may help to:

• Set a consistent bedtime.
• Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, and a comfortable temperature.
• Keep phones, computers, and televisions out of the bedroom.
• Cut off screen time within one hour of going to bed.
• Avoid large meals and caffeine before bedtime.
• Increase physical exercise to help your body relax better at night.

There are several possible contributors to obesity. The fact that the two biggest ones—diet and activity—are ones you can influence is good news. A healthy lifestyle that puts exercise and eating at its center can also bring myriad other health benefits. Getting good sleep and finding ways to reduce stress is important, too.

If you have made significant lifestyle changes and are still gaining weight or unable to lose weight, see a healthcare professional to rule out other possible causes of weight gain.

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Hall KD, Ayuketah A, Brychta R, et al. Ultra-processed diets cause excess calorie intake and weight gain: an inpatient randomized controlled trial of ad libitum food intake . Cell Metab . 2019;30(1):67–77.e3. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2019.05.008

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Mills S, Brown H, Wrieden W, White M, Adams J. Frequency of eating home cooked meals and potential benefits for diet and health: Cross-sectional analysis of a population-based cohort study . Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act . 2017 Aug;14(1):109. doi:10.1186/s12966-017-0567-y

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Miyake K, Kito K, Kotemori A, et al. Association between pet ownership and obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis . Int J Environ Res Pub Health . 2020 May;17(10):3498. doi:10.3390/ijerph17103498

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. How much sleep do I need?

Tse L, Wang C, Rangarajan S, et al. Timing and length of nocturnal sleep and daytime napping and associations with obesity types in high-, middle-, and low-income countries . JAMA Netw Open . 2021;4(6):e2113775. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.13775

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Asarnow LD, McGlinchey E, Harvey AG. Evidence for a possible link between bedtime and change in body mass index . Sleep . 2015;38(10):1523-1527. doi:10.5665/sleep.5038

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By Yasmine S. Ali, MD, MSCI Yasmine Ali, MD, is board-certified in cardiology. She is an assistant clinical professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and an award-winning physician writer.

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How to Fight Back Against Obesity

Last Updated: January 4, 2024 Approved

This article was co-authored by Eric Martinez . Eric Martinez is a Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist and the Vice President of Infinity Sports Institute in Miami, Florida. With over a decade of experience, Eric specializes in clinical exercise physiology, human optimization, and sports science. He works with professional and Olympic athletes as well as high-risk patients. Eric holds an MS in Exercise Physiology from Barry University and is a Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologists in the State of Florida. Eric holds 15 different certifications in specialties such as strength and conditioning, injury prevention, neuro biomechanics, and Kinesio taping. He trains hundreds of coaches in Nero and Clinical Physiology certifications. There are 20 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, several readers have written to tell us that this article was helpful to them, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 134,342 times.

Obesity is usually a lifestyle disease, though it may be related to other medical conditions. Obesity is most common amongst adults but can affect the elderly, teens, and even children. Obesity is not only a cosmetic concern – it increases your risk for ailments like heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancers, back pain, sleep apnea, mental health problems, and more. [1] X Trustworthy Source MedlinePlus Collection of medical information sourced from the US National Library of Medicine Go to source Obesity can, in many cases, be overcome! If you are keen to overcome obesity or help someone else who is obese, consider working with a professional towards your goal and altering your diet, activity level, and lifestyle choices.

Eating for Weight Loss

• It may help to keep a food journal . Record what you eat, how many calories you're getting from your foods, and how many servings you're eating. Remember that if the food label lists an item as 100 calories but you're eating three times the serving size, that's 300 calories.

• Avoid white bread and other refined sugars.
• Eat a variety of vegetables – dark leafy greens, red and yellow veggies, peas and beans, and starches.Aim to eat 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily.

• Cook with olive oil instead of butter; olive oil contains good fats that are better for you.
• Switch red meat like beef and pork with poultry and fish; fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and herring are good healthy options.
• Choose low-fat or fat-free dairy.
• Get protein from unsalted nuts, seeds, soy, and beans.

• Limit eating takeout or fast food to once a week at most.

• Invigorate regular water with natural flavors like citrus slices, mint, or cucumber.

• If you don't drink alcohol, don't start.

Getting Active

• For more extreme results, aim for 300 minutes per week of exercise.
• What counts as a “moderate-intensity aerobic workout” varies and can be quite creative: Walk briskly (fast enough to break a sweat), bike, swim, play tennis, dance, do workout videos at home – anything that gets your heart rate and breathing rate up and makes you sweat.
• Consult your healthcare professional about an appropriate exercise regime, especially if you have medical conditions or are over age 40 (for women) or 50 (for men).

• Turn off the TV! People who watch fewer than 2 hours of TV a day tend to gain less weight than those who watch more. [13] X Research source Take a walk outside after dinner instead of sitting in front of the TV. If you can't miss your favorite program, do light to moderate exercises while you watch such as squats , crunches , or jogging in place.

Cultivating Healthy Habits

• Losing even 5% of your body weight can reduce your risk for developing diabetes, and it may even help improve liver function.
• The more weight you lose, the bigger the health benefits – but set small, attainable goals in order to stay positive and dedicated.

• 40 and higher: Extreme/morbid obesity (class III obesity)
• 35-39.9: Class II obesity
• 30-34.9: Class I obesity
• 25-29.9: Overweight
• 18.5-24.9: Normal/healthy

• Set regular times to go to bed and wake up.
• Avoid napping during the day.
• Leave your bedroom for sleeping – don't watch TV or do other activities in bed.
• Sleep in a cool, dark space.
• Avoid caffeine after 4pm, or earlier if you're sensitive to caffeine.
• Create a relaxing ritual before bed, like taking a hot bath or having a cup of (decaffeinated) tea.

• To join, you must be 18 years old. You need to have lost at least 30 pounds and to have kept 30 pounds off for at least a year.
• Questionnaires are sent out every two months.

Working With a Professional

• It's also important to see your doctor regularly to monitor for and treat other health conditions affected by obesity, such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.
• Ask your doctor if any medications you take may make it harder to lose weight. Some medicines like antidepressants, antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, steroids, and beta-blockers (a type of heart medicine) can cause weight gain.
• Consult with your doctor before starting any big changes in your diet or exercise regimen. Discuss any health conditions you have, and any medications you take, so you can approach your goals safely and effectively.

• Often, your doctor can refer you to a nutritionist or dietitian. Tell your doctor something like, “I'd like extra help creating a healthy diet. Can you suggest someone to help me?”

• If a personal trainer is out of your price range, try joining a class at the gym or YMCA. You won't get as much individualized attention, but you'll still have camaraderie and support from others.

• Take all medications as directed by your doctor.

• You've unsuccessfully tried other methods to lose weight
• You have a BMI of 40 or higher or 35-39.9 with other related health problems
• You're committed to also making diet and lifestyle changes during and after your use of medicine

• Hypothyroidism (low thyroid function): some common symptoms include fatigue, feeling cold a lot, dry skin, weight gain, changes in your menstrual cycle, thin/fine hair, and depression.
• Cushing's syndrome (too much cortisol in your body): symptoms include a fatty hump between your shoulder blades, changes in your menstrual cycle, a wide, round face, and purplish stretch marks.
• Prader-Willi syndrome : those born with this disorder feel hunger and a need to eat constantly.

Expert Q&A

• It's common to regain weight after you lose a lot. The best way to keep weight off is to stay active for 60 minutes per day. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Because muscle weighs more than fat, someone who is very muscular may be considered “obese” by their BMI even if they're at a healthy weight for their body type. Discuss any concerns about your BMI with your doctor. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• It is important to be a role model for young children. Show them healthy eating habits, and serve them healthy, well-balanced meals. Childhood obesity is considered an epidemic in the United States. One-third of all children in the US are overweight or obese. These children often grow up to be obese adults. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• Consult your doctor or other medical professional before embarking on any dramatic lifestyle change. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000348.htm
• ↑ https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/weight-loss-fewer-calories-in-more-calories-out
• ↑ https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/managing-your-weight/12-tips-to-help-you-lose-weight/
• ↑ https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/
• ↑ https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/genes-junk-food-weight
• ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/womens-health/in-depth/menopause-weight-gain/art-20046058?pg=2
• ↑ https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/weight-loss-and-fad-diets
• ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obesity/basics/preparing-for-your-appointment/con-20014834
• ↑ https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/aha-recs-for-physical-activity-in-adults
• ↑ Eric Martinez. Clinical Performance Specialist & Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist. Expert Interview. 18 May 2021.
• ↑ https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-016-3931-y
• ↑ https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/losing_weight/index.html
• ↑ https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm
• ↑ https://www.agingcare.com/articles/sleep-and-aging-133153.htm
• ↑ https://www.apa.org/topics/obesity/support
• ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obesity/basics/causes/con-20014834
• ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obesity/basics/treatment/con-20014834
• ↑ https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/prescription-medications-treat-overweight-obesity
• ↑ https://medlineplus.gov/weightlosssurgery.html
• ↑ https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/obesity/conditioninfo/cause

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Obesity Essay

Last updated on: Feb 9, 2023

Obesity Essay: A Complete Guide and Topics

By: Nova A.

11 min read

Reviewed By: Jacklyn H.

Published on: Aug 31, 2021

Are you assigned to write an essay about obesity? The first step is to define obesity.

The obesity epidemic is a major issue facing our country right now. It's complicated- it could be genetic or due to your environment, but either way, there are ways that you can fix it!

Learn all about what causes weight gain and get tips on how you can get healthy again.

On this Page

What is Obesity

What is obesity? Obesity and BMI (body mass index) are both tools of measurement that are used by doctors to assess body fat according to the height, age, and gender of a person. If the BMI is between 25 to 29.9, that means the person has excess weight and body fat.

If the BMI exceeds 30, that means the person is obese. Obesity is a condition that increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, and other medical conditions like metabolic syndrome, arthritis, and even some types of cancer.

Obesity Definition

Obesity is defined by the World Health Organization as an accumulation of abnormal and excess body fat that comes with several risk factors. It is measured by the body mass index BMI, body weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of a person’s height (in meters).

Obesity in America

Obesity is on the verge of becoming an epidemic as 1 in every 3 Americans can be categorized as overweight and obese. Currently, America is an obese country, and it continues to get worse.

Paper Due? Why Suffer? That's our Job!

Causes of obesity

Do you see any obese or overweight people around you?

You likely do.

This is because fast-food chains are becoming more and more common, people are less active, and fruits and vegetables are more expensive than processed foods, thus making them less available to the majority of society. These are the primary causes of obesity.

Obesity is a disease that affects all age groups, including children and elderly people.

Now that you are familiar with the topic of obesity, writing an essay won’t be that difficult for you.

How to Write an Obesity Essay

The format of an obesity essay is similar to writing any other essay. If you need help regarding how to write an obesity essay, it is the same as writing any other essay.

Obesity Essay Introduction

The trick is to start your essay with an interesting and catchy sentence. This will help attract the reader's attention and motivate them to read further. You don’t want to lose the reader’s interest in the beginning and leave a bad impression, especially if the reader is your teacher.

A hook sentence is usually used to open the introductory paragraph of an essay in order to make it interesting. When writing an essay on obesity, the hook sentence can be in the form of an interesting fact or statistic.

Head on to this detailed article on hook examples to get a better idea.

Once you have hooked the reader, the next step is to provide them with relevant background information about the topic. Don’t give away too much at this stage or bombard them with excess information that the reader ends up getting bored with. Only share information that is necessary for the reader to understand your topic.

Next, write a strong thesis statement at the end of your essay, be sure that your thesis identifies the purpose of your essay in a clear and concise manner. Also, keep in mind that the thesis statement should be easy to justify as the body of your essay will revolve around it.

Body Paragraphs

The details related to your topic are to be included in the body paragraphs of your essay. You can use statistics, facts, and figures related to obesity to reinforce your thesis throughout your essay.

If you are writing a cause-and-effect obesity essay, you can mention different causes of obesity and how it can affect a person’s overall health. The number of body paragraphs can increase depending on the parameters of the assignment as set forth by your instructor.

Start each body paragraph with a topic sentence that is the crux of its content. It is necessary to write an engaging topic sentence as it helps grab the reader’s interest. Check out this detailed blog on writing a topic sentence to further understand it.

End your essay with a conclusion by restating your research and tying it to your thesis statement. You can also propose possible solutions to control obesity in your conclusion. Make sure that your conclusion is short yet powerful.

Obesity Essay Examples

Essay about Obesity (PDF)

Childhood Obesity Essay (PDF)

Obesity in America Essay (PDF)

Essay about Obesity Cause and Effects (PDF)

Satire Essay on Obesity (PDF) 

Obesity Argumentative Essay (PDF)

Obesity Essay Topics

Choosing a topic might seem an overwhelming task as you may have many ideas for your assignment. Brainstorm different ideas and narrow them down to one, quality topic.

If you need some examples to help you with your essay topic related to obesity, dive into this article and choose from the list of obesity essay topics.

Childhood Obesity

As mentioned earlier, obesity can affect any age group, including children. Obesity can cause several future health problems as children age.

Here are a few topics you can choose from and discuss for your childhood obesity essay:

• What are the causes of increasing obesity in children?
• Obese parents may be at risk for having children with obesity.
• What is the ratio of obesity between adults and children?
• What are the possible treatments for obese children?
• Are there any social programs that can help children with combating obesity?
• Has technology boosted the rate of obesity in children?
• Are children spending more time on gadgets instead of playing outside?
• Schools should encourage regular exercises and sports for children.
• How can sports and other physical activities protect children from becoming obese?
• Can childhood abuse be a cause of obesity among children?
• What is the relationship between neglect in childhood and obesity in adulthood?
• Does obesity have any effect on the psychological condition and well-being of a child?
• Are electronic medical records effective in diagnosing obesity among children?
• Obesity can affect the academic performance of your child.
• Do you believe that children who are raised by a single parent can be vulnerable to obesity?
• You can promote interesting exercises to encourage children.
• What is the main cause of obesity, and why is it increasing with every passing day?
• Schools and colleges should work harder to develop methodologies to decrease childhood obesity.
• The government should not allow schools and colleges to include sweet or fatty snacks as a part of their lunch.
• If a mother is obese, can it affect the health of the child?
• Children who gain weight frequently can develop chronic diseases.

Obesity Argumentative Essay Topics

Do you want to write an argumentative essay on the topic of obesity?

The following list can help you with that!

Here are some examples you can choose from for your argumentative essay about obesity:

• Can vegetables and fruits decrease the chances of obesity?
• Should you go for surgery to overcome obesity?
• Are there any harmful side effects?
• Can obesity be related to the mental condition of an individual?
• Are parents responsible for controlling obesity in childhood?
• What are the most effective measures to prevent the increase in the obesity rate?
• Why is the obesity rate increasing in the United States?
• Can the lifestyle of a person be a cause of obesity?
• Does the economic situation of a country affect the obesity rate?
• How is obesity considered an international health issue?
• Can technology and gadgets affect obesity rates?
• What can be the possible reasons for obesity in a school?
• How can we address the issue of obesity?
• Is obesity a chronic disease?
• Is obesity a major cause of heart attacks?
• Are the junk food chains causing an increase in obesity?
• Do nutritional programs help in reducing the obesity rate?
• How can the right type of diet help with obesity?
• Why should we encourage sports activities in schools and colleges?
• Can obesity affect a person’s behavior?

Health Related Topics for Research Paper

If you are writing a research paper, you can explain the cause and effect of obesity.

Here are a few topics that link to the cause and effects of obesity.Review the literature of previous articles related to obesity. Describe the ideas presented in the previous papers.

• Can family history cause obesity in future generations?
• Can we predict obesity through genetic testing?
• What is the cause of the increasing obesity rate?
• Do you think the increase in fast-food restaurants is a cause of the rising obesity rate?
• Is the ratio of obese women greater than obese men?
• Why are women more prone to be obese as compared to men?
• Stress can be a cause of obesity. Mention the reasons how mental health can be related to physical health.
• Is urban life a cause of the increasing obesity rate?
• People from cities are prone to be obese as compared to people from the countryside.
• How obesity affects the life expectancy of people? What are possible solutions to decrease the obesity rate?
• Do family eating habits affect or trigger obesity?
• How do eating habits affect the health of an individual?
• How can obesity affect the future of a child?
• Obese children are more prone to get bullied in high school and college.
• Why should schools encourage more sports and exercise for children?

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Topics for Essay on Obesity as a Problem

Do you think a rise in obesity rate can affect the economy of a country?

Here are some topics for your assistance regarding your economics related obesity essay.

• Does socioeconomic status affect the possibility of obesity in an individual?
• Analyze the film and write a review on “Fed Up” – an obesity epidemic.
• Share your reviews on the movie “The Weight of The Nation.”
• Should we increase the prices of fast food and decrease the prices of fruits and vegetables to decrease obesity?
• Do you think healthy food prices can be a cause of obesity?
• Describe what measures other countries have taken in order to control obesity?
• The government should play an important role in controlling obesity. What precautions should they take?
• Do you think obesity can be one of the reasons children get bullied?
• Do obese people experience any sort of discrimination or inappropriate behavior due to their weight?
• Are there any legal protections for people who suffer from discrimination due to their weight?
• Which communities have a higher percentage of obesity in the United States?
• Discuss the side effects of the fast-food industry and their advertisements on children.
• Describe how the increasing obesity rate has affected the economic condition of the United States.
• What is the current percentage of obesity all over the world? Is the obesity rate increasing with every passing day?
• Why is the obesity rate higher in the United States as compared to other countries?
• Do Asians have a greater percentage of obese people as compared to Europe?
• Does the cultural difference affect the eating habits of an individual?
• Obesity and body shaming.
• Why is a skinny body considered to be ideal? Is it an effective way to reduce the obesity rate?

Obesity Solution Essay Topics

With all the developments in medicine and technology, we still don’t have exact measures to treat obesity.

Here are some insights you can discuss in your essay:

• How do obese people suffer from metabolic complications?
• Describe the fat distribution in obese people.
• Is type 2 diabetes related to obesity?
• Are obese people more prone to suffer from diabetes in the future?
• How are cardiac diseases related to obesity?
• Can obesity affect a woman’s childbearing time phase?
• Describe the digestive diseases related to obesity.
• Obesity may be genetic.
• Obesity can cause a higher risk of suffering a heart attack.
• What are the causes of obesity? What health problems can be caused if an individual suffers from obesity?
• What are the side effects of surgery to overcome obesity?
• Which drugs are effective when it comes to the treatment of obesity?
• Is there a difference between being obese and overweight?
• Can obesity affect the sociological perspective of an individual?
• Explain how an obesity treatment works.
• How can the government help people to lose weight and improve public health?

Writing an essay is a challenging yet rewarding task. All you need is to be organized and clear when it comes to academic writing.

• Choose a topic you would like to write on.
• Organize your thoughts.
• Pen down your ideas.
• Compose a perfect essay that will help you ace your subject.
• Proofread and revise your paper.

Were the topics useful for you? We hope so!

However, if you are still struggling to write your paper, you can pick any of the topics from this list, and our essay writer will help you craft a perfect essay.

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ABC of obesity

Strategies for preventing obesity.

Obesity is an epidemic, says the World Health Organization. The prevalence of adult obesity has exceeded 30% in the United States, is over 20% in most of Europe (5-23% in men, 7-36% in women), and is 40-70% in the Gulf states and Polynesian islands. Obesity is also present in low income countries, and low socioeconomic groups are affected most. In most countries the prevalence of obesity now exceeds 15%, the figure used by WHO to define the critical threshold for intervention in nutritional epidemics. ​ epidemics. ​

Obesity is increasingly affecting younger people, with warning signs for the future from the increasing prevalence of overweight in childhood

Differences between individual and population based approaches to obesity. Adapted from Swinburn et al (see Further Reading box)

Obese people are at high risk of multiple health problems and need full medical management. The numbers are so great (and rising), however, that individual medical care becomes impractical and prohibitively expensive. Currently, the cost of obesity to a country's health service is estimated at up to 9%, and the overall social cost of the condition is seen as a major hindrance to economic development. An even larger proportion of the population is overweight, with increased morbidity. Virtually all the costs (personal, health, and economic) of obesity are met in adulthood and result from fat that has accumulated in adulthood, but there is a likely additional cost due to inactivity and overweight in childhood that should also be considered.

Achieving energy balance

Obesity is a disorder of energy balance (“energy in” equals “energy out”). Weight is steady when energy is balanced. “Positive energy balance” is when the amount of energy consumed as food and drink exceeds the energy used. UK adults on average consume 20 kcal a day more than they expend, leading to an average weight gain of 1 kg a year. Some people who become obese eat 100 kcal a day more than they expend so gain up to 5 kg a year. Any intervention that changes positive energy balance will ultimately be effective in preventing calorie accumulation, thus accumulation of body fat.

The components amenable to intervention are physical activity and overall energy consumption. The absolute level (in kcal/day), at which energy balance occurs is mainly determined by body weight, which affects both the basal metabolic rate and the energy cost of activity. It can be changed by substantial changes in physical activity but also, to a similar degree, by small changes in weight. So some thin people may be active and eat a lot to achieve energy balance, but overweight people have to eat more than most thin people to avoid weight loss.

This purely mechanistic approach cannot be used for health promotion without a fuller understanding of several elements: the balance between individual and genetic predisposition to weight gain; the psychological, social, cultural, and economic and political components of our “obesogenic” environment; and the nature of the “disease vectors” (high energy foods and energy saving devices). Changes in diet and physical activity are necessary for weight loss but do not guarantee it. To avoid compensation (between changes in physical activity and changes in appetite), effective interventions must tackle both diet and physical activity, and in an integrated way.

This is the sixth article in the series

There seems to be strong biological resistance to weight loss once obesity is established. The long term solution must now include effective prevention directed at the whole population

A successful intervention for obesity prevention must influence energy balance but must also be sustainable. Changes in diet and physical activity need to be incorporated into new behaviour patterns, as a need for constant reminders or rewards will result in non-sustainability. ​ non-sustainability.

Prevalence of obesity in the adult Scottish population. These figures combine all ages. Among older people, only a quarter to a third remain in the desirable weight range. Data from Scottish health survey, 1998 (www.show.scot.nhs.uk/scottishhealthsurvey/sh8-00.html)

A permanent change in the environment is the best way to ensure permanent changes. Actions should focus on (a) enabling people to manage energy balance better in the current environment; (b) modifying the vectors of obesity; and (c) changing the current sociopolitical environment, which currently rewards the manufacturers of products and processes that contribute to obesity. Effective programmes for obesity prevention probably encourage both healthy eating and physical activity (rather than rely on separate strategies for eating and activity). ​ activity). ​

Epidemiological “triad” as it applies to obesity. Adapted from Swinburn et al (see Further Reading box)

Strategies used by individuals to control weight problems

Strategies that work

Less than 30% of all people in Western countries avoid becoming overweight and maintain a body mass index of < 25 throughout their adult life. Among this group, many avoid weight gain only by conscious efforts. Of the 75% of all people who will become overweight, about half will become obese. Thus probably about half of all adults are consciously avoiding further weight gain and have a body mass index of < 30. Precisely how they do this is uncertain because of systematic errors in survey methods. ​ methods.

Colorado “On the Move” survey of walking. Data from Med Sci Sports Exerc 2005; 37 : 724-30 [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]

Participants in the US National Weight Control Registry who have successfully lost an average of 30 kg and maintained that loss report high levels of physical activity, equivalent to about an hour a day of moderate intensity physical activity. Successful “maintainers” also reduce dietary fat intake to a lower level than in the general population.

A recent US telephone survey from the Colorado “On the Move” initiative reports that, on average, individuals of normal weight walk 600 more steps a day than overweight individuals and 2400 more than obese individuals. People aged over 60—particularly widowers, those in low income families, and obese individuals—are the main group who would benefit from increased physical activity. Watching television for over three hours a day is a major barrier to physical activity.

Combining a low fat diet with exercise is particularly valuable for preventing diabetes and hypertension and is likely to be effective in preventing weight gain

Interventions have included increasing physical activity; reducing physical inactivity (usually reducing television viewing); reducing total calories and energy density of foods or dietary fats; and a combination of these strategies. ​ strategies. ​

Meta-analysis of role of unrestricted low fat diets in body weight control: differences in energy intake in studies lasting two to 12 months (change in intervention (I) minus change in control (C)) with 95% confidence interval. Adapted from Astrup et al (see Further Reading box)

Childhood overweight and obesity

Systematic reviews by England's Health Development Agency (now incorporated into the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) and others have concluded that exercise added to a diet programme improves weight loss. ​ loss.

Core actions proposed by WHO

A meta-analysis of studies on reducing dietary fats by using normal food or food lower in fat concluded that people spontaneously consumed about 270 kcal a day less when following lower fat diets, effectively resetting energy balance at a lower level, thereby avoiding about 15 kg of weight gain.

Measures successful in preventing weight regain after weight loss are likely to apply in primary prevention. Increasing physical activity is a key factor, along with reducing energy intake. Long term prevention has not yet been demonstrated.

Small changes can prevent weight gain

The weight gain and current obesity levels in the US population have been shown to result from only a slight shift towards positive energy balance. Thus most weight gain could be prevented with small behavioural changes of this order, such as increased walking, small decreases in dietary fat or sugar intake, and smaller portion sizes. This approach is likely to be more sustainable and effective in preventing weight gain than advocating unnecessary larger changes.

Interventions in children

School based programmes seem promising. They can increase physical activity, particularly in girls, and to a certain extent can modify dietary intake. The effects on weight are not apparent, possibly owing to the short duration of the interventions. Changing the school environment to reduce consumption of high energy food, such as fizzy drinks and foods high in fat and sugar, may help. For example, reducing the consumption of fizzy drinks for 12 months among 7-11 year olds can reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity by 7.5%. Serving lower fat versions of some popular school lunch items reduces fat intake without affecting attractiveness or palatability.

Preventive measures for the future

The World Health Organization's Regional Office for Europe considers obesity prevention to be one of its highest priorities. It called for immediate, comprehensive action by governments and others in society by arranging a ministerial conference on counteracting obesity for November this year.

The organisation is advocating a range of actions that would make it easier for people to adopt a healthy lifestyle. The aim is to prevent further increase in obesity rates and to reduce rates progressively in the next decade. Given the rising prevalence of obesity, even attenuating the rise should be seen as a success. A further problem for health planners is that obesity and its secondary health costs are associated with more socially deprived and minority population groups. Any measures based on cognitive, educative interventions will tend to benefit more educated and affluent people, thus accentuating the social health gradient. Measures directed at changing the price, availability, and nutritional characteristics of food may have a positive effect across social groups.

Over 90% of the weight gain seen in US adults results from a positive energy balance of <100 kcal a day

The World Health Organization has convened a ministerial conference on “counteracting obesity” in Istanbul, Turkey, in November this year, where a charter on counteracting obesity will be signed

WHO has advocated the involvement of the different government sectors, as well as the private sector and civil society. The European Union's initiative the “Platform on Diet and Physical Activity” has stimulated commitments from the food industry and advertisers. The relevance and effectiveness of these commitments is being evaluated. The US private sector has sponsored initiatives such as “America on the Move,” which is based on the “small changes” approach. ​ approach.

America on the Move uses the principle that increasing the daily number of steps walked by 2000 above current levels (using a pedometer), plus choosing one way to cut out 100 kcal, can prevent weight gain in most children and their parents

One scenario includes the reduction of existing obesity. On average, adults now eat 500-600 kcal more than they did 30 years ago, of which 50 kcal a day represent continuing weight gain and about 500 kcal a day maintain current levels of overweight and obesity. If everyone were to eat 500-600 kcal a day less than they currently do, then their weight would fall by 10-30 kg and current obesity levels would reduce to those of 30 years ago. This strategy, however, works for less than 30% of people attending one-to-one obesity clinics and its success on a large scale seems improbable.

The alternative scenario—a “small changes” strategy—is more realistic. This strategy aims to increase physical activity and reduce energy intake both by 100 kcal a day to prevent further weight gain. It accepts that those already overweight and obese will remain so. The next generation is thus the true target for obesity prevention—lifestyle changes would be started in childhood and sustained for life.

The photographs on the first page and this page are published with permission from Gusto/SPL and David Zalubowski/AP/Empics respectively.

The ABC of Obesity is edited by Naveed Sattar ( ku.ca.alg.demnilc@rattasn ), professor of metabolic medicine, and Mike Lean, professor of nutrition, University of Glasgow. The series will be published as a book by Blackwell Publishing in early 2007.

Competing interests: James O Hill has served on advisory panels and received consulting fees from PepsiCo, General Mills, GSK

Pharmaceuticals, and Slimfast Nutrition. He has received funding from McNeil Nutritionals. For series editors' competing interests, see the first article in this series.

• • Astrup A, Grunwald GK, Melanson EL, Saris WH, Hill JO. The role of low-fat diets in body weight control: a meta-analysis of ad libitum dietary intervention studies. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2000; 24 : 1545-52. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• • Avenell A, Broom J, Brown TJ, Poobalan A, Aucott L, Stearns SC, et al. Systematic review of the long-term effects and economic consequences of treatments for obesity and implications for health improvement. Health Technol Assess 2004; 8 (21). [ PubMed ]
• • Fogelholm M, Kukkonen-Harjula K. Does physical activity prevent weight gain—a systematic review. Obes Rev 2000; 1 : 95-111. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• • James J, Thomas P, Cavan D, Kerr D. Preventing childhood obesity by reducing consumption of carbonated drinks: cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ 2004; 328 : 1237-9. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• • Swinburn B, Egger G. Preventive strategies against weight gain and obesity. Obes Rev 2002; 3 : 289-301. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• • World Health Organization. Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic . Geneva: WHO, 1997. (WHO Technical Report Series, No 894.) [ PubMed ]
• • Rodearmel SJ, Wyatt HR, Barry MJ, Dong F, Pan D, Israel RG, et al. A family-based approach to preventing excessive weight gain. Obesity 2006; 14 : 1392-401. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]

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Health Encyclopedia

Preventing obesity in children, teens, and adults, facts about obesity.

Obesity is a long-term (chronic) disease. It affects growing numbers of children, teens, and adults. Obesity rates among children in the U.S. have doubled since 1980. They have tripled for teens. About 19 out of 100 children ages 2 to 19 are obese. More than 7 out of 20 adults are obese.

Healthcare providers are seeing more of these obesity-related problems in children and teens:

Type 2 diabetes starting at a younger age

Heart and blood vessel disease

Obesity-related depression and social isolation

The longer a person is obese, the more they are at risk for problems. Many chronic diseases are linked to obesity. Obesity may be hard to treat. That's why prevention is very important.

Preventing obesity in children is vital. This is because childhood obesity is more likely to last into adulthood. An obese person has a high risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

Breastfed babies are less likely to become overweight. And the longer babies are breastfed, the less likely they are to be overweight as they grow older. But many babies fed with formula do grow up to be adults of healthy weight. If your child was not breastfed, it doesn't mean that they can't have a healthy weight. Talk with your child’s healthcare provider if you have concerns.

Children and teens

Young people can become obese from poor eating habits, lack of physical activity, and not getting enough sleep. Genes can also affect a child's weight.

To help prevent obesity in children and teens:

Don’t just focus on a child's weight. Work to change family eating habits and activity levels over time.

Be a role model. Parents who eat healthy foods and do physical activity set an example. A child is more likely to do the same.

Encourage physical activity. Children ages 3 to 5 should have active play each day. Children ages 6 to 17 should have at least 60 minutes of medium physical activity most days of the week. More than 60 minutes of activity may help with weight loss and keeping a healthy weight.

Reduce screen time. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) does not recommend screen time for children under the ages of 18 to 24 months. AAP recommends a 1-hour screen time limit for children ages 2 to 5. And AAP recommends an appropriate parent-monitored media use plan for older children. Do not allow screens in your child's room. Have your child stop using screens at least 1 hour before bed.

Encourage children to eat only when hungry. Tell them to eat slowly.

Don't use food as a reward. Don't keep food away from your child as a punishment.

Serve healthy foods and drinks. These include fat-free or low-fat milk, fresh fruit, and vegetables. Don't buy soft drinks or snacks that are high in sugar and fat.

Fill half of your child's plate with fruits and vegetables. Recommended serving sizes vary based on age, sex, height, weight and physical activity levels. Go to https://www.myplate.gov/myplate-plan to see your child's personalized diet recommendations.

Encourage your child to drink water instead of drinks with added sugar. These include soft drinks, sports drinks, and fruit juice drinks.

Promote good sleep with a consistent bedtime routine. Preschoolers need 11 to 13 hours of sleep per day, including naps. Children ages 6 to 12 need 9 to 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep a night. And teens ages 13 to 18 need 8 to 10 hours.

Good eating habits and physical activity can help prevent obesity. Tips for adults include:

Keep a food diary. Write down what you eat, where you eat, and how you feel before and after you eat.

Make half your plate and vegetables. Recommended serving sizes vary based on age, sex, height, weight and physical activity levels. Go to https://www.myplate.gov/myplate-plan to see your personalized diet recommendations.

Choose whole-grain foods. These include brown rice and whole-wheat bread. Don't eat foods made with refined white sugar, flour, high-fructose corn syrup, or saturated fat.

Weigh and measure food. This is so you can learn healthy portion sizes. For instance, a 3-ounce serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards. Don't order super-sized menu items.

Learn to read food nutrition labels and use them. Keep the number of portions you are really eating in mind.

Balance your food checkbook. If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. Weigh yourself each week.

Don't eat foods that are high in energy density. This means foods that have a lot of calories in small amounts. For instance, a cheeseburger with fries can have as much as 1,000 calories and 30 or more grams of fat. Order a grilled chicken sandwich or a plain hamburger and a small salad with low-fat dressing instead. You can avoid hundreds of calories and lower your fat intake. For dessert, have a serving of fruit, yogurt, a small piece of angel food cake, or a piece of dark chocolate.

Reduce portion sizes. Using a smaller plate can help you do this.

Exercise each week. Aim for at least 150 minutes of medium to intense physical activity per week. For instance, this can be 30 minutes of exercise 5 days a week. Examples of medium-intensity exercise are walking a 15-minute mile. Or weeding and hoeing a garden. Running is a more intense activity.

Build activity into your day. Look for ways to get 10 or 15 minutes of some type of activity during the day. Walk around the block. Walk up and down a few flights of stairs.

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How the world could better fight obesity

Obesity is a critical global issue that requires a comprehensive, international intervention strategy. More than 2.1 billion people—nearly 30 percent of the global population—are overweight or obese. 1 1. Weight is generally classified using the body mass index, or BMI, which is calculated using the ratio of an individual's height and weight (BMI = kg/m²). For adult men and women, a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered healthy. Overweight is defined as a BMI between 25.0 and 29.9; obese is defined as a BMI of 30.0 or higher. That's almost two and a half times the number of adults and children who are undernourished. Obesity is responsible for about 5 percent of all deaths a year worldwide, and its global economic impact amounts to roughly $2 trillion annually, or 2.8 percent of global GDP—nearly equivalent to the global impact of smoking or of armed violence, war, and terrorism.

And the problem—which is preventable—is rapidly getting worse. If the prevalence of obesity continues on its current trajectory, almost half of the world's adult population will be overweight or obese by 2030.

Much of the global debate on this issue has become polarized and sometimes deeply antagonistic. Obesity is a complex, systemic issue with no single or simple solution. The global discord surrounding how to move forward underscores the need for integrated assessments of potential solutions. Lack of progress on these fronts is obstructing efforts to address rising rates of obesity.

A new McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) discussion paper, Overcoming obesity: An initial economic analysis , seeks to overcome these hurdles by offering an independent view on the components of a potential strategy. MGI has studied 74 interventions (in 18 areas) that are being discussed or piloted somewhere around the world to address obesity, including subsidized school meals for all, calorie and nutrition labeling, restrictions on advertising high-calorie food and drinks, and public-health campaigns. We found sufficient data on 44 of these interventions, in 16 areas.

Although the research offers an initial economic analysis of obesity, our analysis is by no means complete. Rather, we see our work on a potential program to address obesity as the equivalent of the maps used by 16th-century navigators. Some islands were missing and some continents misshapen in these maps, but they were still helpful to the sailors of that era. We are sure that we have missed some interventions and over- or underestimated the impact of others. But we hope that our work will be a useful guide and a starting point for efforts in the years to come, as we and others develop this analysis and gradually compile a more comprehensive evidence base on this topic.

We have focused on understanding what it takes to address obesity by changing the energy balance of individuals through adjustments in eating habits or physical activity. However, some important questions we have not yet addressed require considerable further research. These questions include the role of different nutrients in affecting satiety hormones and metabolism, as well as the relationship between the gut microbiome and obesity. As more clarity develops in these research areas, we look forward to the emergence of important insights about which interventions are likely to work and how to integrate them into an antiobesity drive.

The main findings of this discussion paper include:

• Existing evidence indicates that no single intervention is likely to have a significant overall impact. A systemic, sustained portfolio of initiatives, delivered at scale, is needed to reverse the health burden. Almost all the identified interventions (exhibit) are cost effective for society—savings on healthcare costs and higher productivity could outweigh the direct investment required by the intervention when assessed over the full lifetime of the target population. In the United Kingdom, for instance, such a program could reverse rising obesity, saving the National Health Service about $1.2 billion a year.
• Education and personal responsibility are critical elements of any program aiming to reduce obesity, but they are not sufficient on their own. Other required interventions rely less on conscious choices by individuals and more on changes to the environment and societal norms. They include reducing default portion sizes, changing marketing practices, and restructuring urban and education environments to facilitate physical activities.
• No individual sector in society can address obesity on its own—not governments, retailers, consumer-goods companies, restaurants, employers, media organizations, educators, healthcare providers, or individuals. Capturing the full potential impact requires engagement from as many sectors as possible. Successful precedents suggest that a combination of top-down corporate and government interventions, together with bottom-up community-led ones, will be required to change public-health outcomes. Moreover, some kind of coordination will probably be required to capture potentially high-impact industry interventions, since any first mover faces market-share risks.
• as many interventions as possible should be deployed at scale and delivered effectively by the full range of sectors in society;
• understanding how to align incentives and build cooperation will be critical to success
• there should not be an undue focus on prioritizing interventions, as this can hamper constructive action; and
• while investment in research should continue, society should also engage in trial and error, particularly where risks are low.

Cost-effective interventions to reduce obesity in the United Kingdom include controlling portion sizes and reducing the availability of high-calorie foods.

The evidence base on the clinical and behavioral interventions to reduce obesity is far from complete, and ongoing investment in research is an imperative. However, in many cases this requirement is proving a barrier to action. It need not be so. Rather than wait for perfect proof of what works, we should experiment with solutions, especially in the many areas where interventions are low risk. We have enough knowledge to do more.

Richard Dobbs, James Manyika, and Lola Woetzel are directors of the McKinsey Global Institute, where Corinne Sawers is a fellow and Fraser Thompson is a senior fellow; Peter Child is a director in McKinsey’s London office; Sorcha McKenna is a principal in the Dublin office; and Angela Spatharou is a principal in the Mexico City office.

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How to Reduce Obesity and Maintain Health?

Health and obesity.

Health is becoming a matter of grave concern, especially the health of teenagers and adolescents, who are becoming increasingly overweight and obese. Obesity is now being regarded as an epidemic by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2000) due to the increasing occurrence of obesity among children and young adults. Studies confirm that obesity and other health problems related to health among adolescents are on the constant rise in America with fewer than five percent of adolescents being overweight in the mid-1960s (Ogden, Flegal, Carroll and Johnson, 2002) which increased to seventeen percent within four decades (Ogden et al., 2006).

The CDC reports that about 16 to 33 percent of children and adolescents in America are overweight and obese, with fewer than fifty percent of adolescents engaging in regular physical activities. Obesity is believed to be the primary cause of chronic disease in later life due to the chronic diseases caused due to obesity.

The average hours of television viewing activities among adolescents between the ages of fourteen to eighteen years was found to be above 28 hours per week, which could have influenced the elevation in obesity among adolescents (Roberts, Foehr and Rideout, 2005). Activities like watching television and playing video games reduce physical activity among children and exposes them to advertisements about fast foods which have an unhealthy impact on the perception and desire of foods that are unhealthy and promote gain of weight, increasing the chances of obesity (Barr-Anderson et. al., 2009).

Sedentary activities like watching television and engaging in media-related activities reduce the playtime of children which in turn reduces the number of calories burnt due to physical activities. Research indicates that obesity among children and adolescents is not an issue for the United States of America but is also of grave concern globally, with high prevalence rates of teenagers and children becoming obese (Janssen et. al., 2005).

Numerous factors have impacted the occurrence of obesity conditions among the younger generations, physical activity, and a healthy diet are believed to have a positive impact on maintaining healthy body weight. However, adolescence is a difficult stage in life during which the psychological and social development of children occurs, it is, therefore, essential for parents to be included in treatment programs to treat their obese children.

This paper aims to analyze the negative implications and impact of obesity on the new generations and how obesity needs to be tackled effectively.

Obesity is a term, commonly used to denote excess weight in individuals which is calculated according to the body mass index (BMI) depending on the age and gender of the individual. According to the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) children and adolescents between the age of 2 years and 18 years, having a BMI between 85th and 95th percentile are at high risk of obesity, while those children whose BMI is equal to and more than 95th percentile are stated to be overweight (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 2005).

Adolescence occurs through three important phases initiating at the age of ten years to thirteen years and is termed early adolescence followed by middle adolescence which occurs from fourteen to sixteen years and finally late adolescence which is between the ages of seventeen to twenty-one years (Neinstein, Juliani, and Shapiro, 1996). During these phases, adolescents undergo several crucial changes in their psychological and social status, for instance, they gain additional independence from their parents and begin to adopt lifestyles that are in fashion; as such, there is greater importance on body image and the ego during these phases (Regber, Berg-Kelly, and Marild, 2007).

The occurrence of obesity in adolescents has numerous negative consequences, especially concerning the psychosocial development in adolescents. Studies also indicate that an egocentric thought process is common among adolescents, which also has social implications for them since they could tend to feel that they are being observed by an “imaginary” audience who is constantly watching over them and scrutinizing their looks, behaviors, and their overall personality (Elkind, 1967). As such, when adolescents do not have positive feelings about themselves and their body image, lack of self-confidence could have negative social implications for them.

Obesity could have various consequences including psychological and social problems resulting from low self-esteem and stigmatization (Strauss, 2000). In his study, Strauss (2000) found that obese teenagers are found to have an augmented level of loneliness and sadness in addition to greater nervousness. More importantly, obese adolescents are likely to have serious negative implications concerning their health which is reported to be lower than that of healthier and fit children (Schwimmer, Burwinkle & Varni, 2003).

Studies indicate that obese children are more likely to develop several diseases related to obesity including hypertension, type-2 diabetes, diseases of the gall bladder, and osteoarthritis (Ebbeling, Pawlak & Ludwig 2002). Ebbeling, Pawlak, and Ludwig (2002) have also found that obese children and adolescents have a greater likelihood of developing musculoskeletal disorders which could initiate in childhood, with the onset of obesity. Besides the many physical and health problems which could be triggered and initiated due to obesity, the disease could result in greater problems about social and economic problems resulting from discrimination.

In their investigation of obese and non-obese adolescents, Gortmaker, Must, Perrin, Sobol, and Dietz (1993) found a strong relationship between obesity and socio-economic outcomes. The research indicates that adolescents who were obese illustrated reduced education levels and were less likely to marry. It was also reported that the household income of obese individuals was much lower than other non-obese subjects. Moreover, the self-esteem levels among obese adolescents were found to be lower than non-obese counterparts, irrespective of the socio-economic status of the participants in the study.

Considering the severe health, social and economic implications of obesity, it is essential to communicate the appropriate information and impact of the disease to parents of obese children and the children themselves (Regber, Berg-kelly, and Marild, 2007). Researchers have affirmed that an empathetic attitude is necessary when informing teenagers regarding the consequences of the disease and when enabling them to realize that their situation can be changed with appropriate effort (Regber, Berg-kelly, and Marild, 2007). Parents play a vital role in raising their children and with their parenting styles, have an important influence on the health of children, especially due to eating habits.

Studies have indicated that the diet of children should consist of three principal meals including breakfast, lunch, and dinner in addition to a small snack consisting of fresh fruits or a sandwich between these main meals (Regber, Berg-kelly, and Marild, 2007). Eating fruits and vegetables is also considered extremely important to reduce obesity. It is also essential for parents to reduce the inclusion of sweets like candies and aerated drinks from the menu, which should be replaced by fresh fruits and milk.

Exercise should be encouraged among children of all ages and children should be encouraged to engage regularly in physical activities such as climbing stairs instead of using the elevator or walking and cycling to school instead of being transported in a car or bus. Commuting to school by cycling and walking is confirmed to be an ideal way of incorporating physical activity in the daily lives and routines of children and adolescents (Nelson et al., 2008).

Parents should additionally ensure that their children develop regular exercise habits which promote physical activity such as swimming, playing sports like basketball or baseball rather than being addicted to media-based activities involving videogames, television, and computers. Sedentary activities should be reduced and children must be encouraged to play outside to burn the calories and provide appropriate exercise to the body.

Schools can also contribute substantially to the reduction of obesity by promoting healthy food choices among students and offering health education to students regarding the ill effects of fast food and the benefits of physical activity and exercise. Thus the epidemic of obesity can be reduced with active support and intervention from all aspects of society including parental, familial, and social. The children, youth, and adolescents of any country are its future and their health must be in good shape and condition so that they can function as responsible healthy beings rather than ill individuals who are affected by diseases due to obesity and being overweight.

Barr-Anderson, Daheia J., Nicole I. Larson, Melissa C. Nelson, Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, and Mary Story. “Does television viewing predict dietary intake five years later in high school students and young adults?(Research)(Report).” The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 6.7 (2009): 7.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2005). BMI-Body Mass Index : BMI for children and teens. Web.

Ebbeling, C., Pawlak, B., & Ludwig, D. (2002). Childhood obesity: Public health crisis, common sense and cure. Lancet, 360, 473-482.

Elkind, D. (1967). Egocentrism in adolescence. Child Development, 38(4), 1025-1034.

Gortmaker, S.L., Must, A., Perrin, J.M, Sobol, A.M., & Dietz, W.H. (1993). Social and economic consequences of overweight in adolescence and young adulthood. The New England Journal of Medicine, 329(14), 1008-1012.

Janssen, I., Katzmarzyk, RT., Boyce, W.F., Vereecken, C., Mulvihill, C., Roberts, C., Currie, C., & Pickett, W. (2005). The Health Behavior in School-Aged Children Obesity Working Group, Comparison of overweight and obesity prevalence in school aged youth from 34 countries and their relationship with physical activity and dietary patterns. Obesity Reviews, 6, 123-32.

Neinstein L.S., Juliani, M.A., & Shapiro, J. (1996). Psychosocial development in normal adolescents. In L.S. Neinstein (Ed.), Adolescent health care, A practical guide (pp. 40-45). Los Angeles: Williams & Wilkins.

Nelson, Norah M., Eimear Foley, Donal J. O’Gorman, Niall M. Moyna, and Catherine B. Woods. “Active commuting to school: How far is too far?(Research).” The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 5.1 (2008): 1.

Ogden CL, Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Johnson CL: Prevalence and trends in overweight among US children and adolescents, 1999-2000. JAMA 2002, 288(14): 1728-1732.

Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, McDowell MA, Tabak CJ, Flegal KM: Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in the United States, 1999-2004. JAMA 2006, 295(13): 1549-1555.

Roberts D, Foehr UG, Rideout V: Generation M: media in the lives of 8-18 year-olds. Menlo Park: Kaiser Family Foundation; 2005: 1-145.

Schwimmer, J.B., Burwinkle, T.M., & Varni, J.W. (2003). Health-related quality of life of severely obese children and adolescents. JAMA, 289, 14.

World Health Organization (WHO). (2000). Obesity: Preventing and managing the global epidemic. Report of a WHO consultation, technical report series 894. Geneva: World Health Organization.

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Essay on Obesity

List of essays on obesity, essay on obesity – short essay (essay 1 – 150 words), essay on obesity (essay 2 – 250 words), essay on obesity – written in english (essay 3 – 300 words), essay on obesity – for school students (class 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 standard) (essay 4 – 400 words), essay on obesity – for college students (essay 5 – 500 words), essay on obesity – with causes and treatment (essay 6 – 600 words), essay on obesity – for science students (essay 7 – 750 words), essay on obesity – long essay for medical students (essay 8 – 1000 words).

Obesity is a chronic health condition in which the body fat reaches abnormal level. Obesity occurs when we consume much more amount of food than our body really needs on a daily basis. In other words, when the intake of calories is greater than the calories we burn out, it gives rise to obesity.

Audience: The below given essays are exclusively written for school students (Class 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 Standard), college, science and medical students.

Introduction:

Obesity means being excessively fat. A person would be said to be obese if his or her body mass index is beyond 30. Such a person has a body fat rate that is disproportionate to his body mass.

Obesity and the Body Mass Index:

The body mass index is calculated considering the weight and height of a person. Thus, it is a scientific way of determining the appropriate weight of any person. When the body mass index of a person indicates that he or she is obese, it exposes the person to make health risk.

Stopping Obesity:

There are two major ways to get the body mass index of a person to a moderate rate. The first is to maintain a strict diet. The second is to engage in regular physical exercise. These two approaches are aimed at reducing the amount of fat in the body.

Conclusion:

Obesity can lead to sudden death, heart attack, diabetes and may unwanted illnesses. Stop it by making healthy choices.

Obesity has become a big concern for the youth of today’s generation. Obesity is defined as a medical condition in which an individual gains excessive body fat. When the Body Mass Index (BMI) of a person is over 30, he/ she is termed as obese.

Obesity can be a genetic problem or a disorder that is caused due to unhealthy lifestyle habits of a person. Physical inactivity and the environment in which an individual lives, are also the factors that leads to obesity. It is also seen that when some individuals are in stress or depression, they start cultivating unhealthy eating habits which eventually leads to obesity. Medications like steroids is yet another reason for obesity.

Obesity has several serious health issues associated with it. Some of the impacts of obesity are diabetes, increase of cholesterol level, high blood pressure, etc. Social impacts of obesity includes loss of confidence in an individual, lowering of self-esteem, etc.

The risks of obesity needs to be prevented. This can be done by adopting healthy eating habits, doing some physical exercise regularly, avoiding stress, etc. Individuals should work on weight reduction in order to avoid obesity.

Obesity is indeed a health concern and needs to be prioritized. The management of obesity revolves around healthy eating habits and physical activity. Obesity, if not controlled in its initial stage can cause many severe health issues. So it is wiser to exercise daily and maintain a healthy lifestyle rather than being the victim of obesity.

Obesity can be defined as the clinical condition where accumulation of excessive fat takes place in the adipose tissue leading to worsening of health condition. Usually, the fat is deposited around the trunk and also the waist of the body or even around the periphery.

Obesity is actually a disease that has been spreading far and wide. It is preventable and certain measures are to be taken to curb it to a greater extend. Both in the developing and developed countries, obesity has been growing far and wide affecting the young and the old equally.

The alarming increase in obesity has resulted in stimulated death rate and health issues among the people. There are several methods adopted to lose weight and they include different diet types, physical activity and certain changes in the current lifestyle. Many of the companies are into minting money with the concept of inviting people to fight obesity.

In patients associated with increased risk factor related to obesity, there are certain drug therapies and other procedures adopted to lose weight. There are certain cost effective ways introduced by several companies to enable clinic-based weight loss programs.

Obesity can lead to premature death and even cause Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Cardiovascular diseases have also become the part and parcel of obese people. It includes stroke, hypertension, gall bladder disease, coronary heart disease and even cancers like breast cancer, prostate cancer, endometrial cancer and colon cancer. Other less severe arising due to obesity includes osteoarthritis, gastro-esophageal reflux disease and even infertility.

Hence, serious measures are to be taken to fight against this dreadful phenomenon that is spreading its wings far and wide. Giving proper education on benefits of staying fit and mindful eating is as important as curbing this issue. Utmost importance must be given to healthy eating habits right from the small age so that they follow the same until the end of their life.

Obesity is majorly a lifestyle disease attributed to the extra accumulation of fat in the body leading to negative health effects on a person. Ironically, although prevalent at a large scale in many countries, including India, it is one of the most neglect health problems. It is more often ignored even if told by the doctor that the person is obese. Only when people start acquiring other health issues such as heart disease, blood pressure or diabetes, they start taking the problem of obesity seriously.

Obesity Statistics in India:

As per a report, India happens to figure as the third country in the world with the most obese people. This should be a troubling fact for India. However, we are yet to see concrete measures being adopted by the people to remain fit.

Causes of Obesity:

Sedentary lifestyle, alcohol, junk food, medications and some diseases such as hypothyroidism are considered as the factors which lead to obesity. Even children seem to be glued to televisions, laptops and video games which have taken away the urge for physical activities from them. Adding to this, the consumption of junk food has further aggravated the growing problem of obesity in children.

In the case of adults, most of the professions of today make use of computers which again makes people sit for long hours in one place. Also, the hectic lifestyle of today makes it difficult for people to spare time for physical activities and people usually remain stressed most of the times. All this has contributed significantly to the rise of obesity in India.

Obesity and BMI:

Body Mass Index (BMI) is the measure which allows a person to calculate how to fit he or she is. In other words, the BMI tells you if you are obese or not. BMI is calculated by dividing the weight of a person in kg with the square of his / her height in metres. The number thus obtained is called the BMI. A BMI of less than 25 is considered optimal. However, if a person has a BMI over 30 he/she is termed as obese.

What is a matter of concern is that with growing urbanisation there has been a rapid increase of obese people in India? It is of utmost importance to consider this health issue a serious threat to the future of our country as a healthy body is important for a healthy soul. We should all be mindful of what we eat and what effect it has on our body. It is our utmost duty to educate not just ourselves but others as well about this serious health hazard.

Obesity can be defined as a condition (medical) that is the accumulation of body fat to an extent that the excess fat begins to have a lot of negative effects on the health of the individual. Obesity is determined by examining the body mass index (BMI) of the person. The BMI is gotten by dividing the weight of the person in kilogram by the height of the person squared.

When the BMI of a person is more than 30, the person is classified as being obese, when the BMI falls between 25 and 30, the person is said to be overweight. In a few countries in East Asia, lower values for the BMI are used. Obesity has been proven to influence the likelihood and risk of many conditions and disease, most especially diabetes of type 2, cardiovascular diseases, sleeplessness that is obstructive, depression, osteoarthritis and some cancer types.

In most cases, obesity is caused through a combination of genetic susceptibility, a lack of or inadequate physical activity, excessive intake of food. Some cases of obesity are primarily caused by mental disorder, medications, endocrine disorders or genes. There is no medical data to support the fact that people suffering from obesity eat very little but gain a lot of weight because of slower metabolism. It has been discovered that an obese person usually expends much more energy than other people as a result of the required energy that is needed to maintain a body mass that is increased.

It is very possible to prevent obesity with a combination of personal choices and social changes. The major treatments are exercising and a change in diet. We can improve the quality of our diet by reducing our consumption of foods that are energy-dense like those that are high in sugars or fat and by trying to increase our dietary fibre intake.

We can also accompany the appropriate diet with the use of medications to help in reducing appetite and decreasing the absorption of fat. If medication, exercise and diet are not yielding any positive results, surgery or gastric balloon can also be carried out to decrease the volume of the stomach and also reduce the intestines’ length which leads to the feel of the person get full early or a reduction in the ability to get and absorb different nutrients from a food.

Obesity is the leading cause of ill-health and death all over the world that is preventable. The rate of obesity in children and adults has drastically increased. In 2015, a whopping 12 percent of adults which is about 600 million and about 100 million children all around the world were found to be obese.

It has also been discovered that women are more obese than men. A lot of government and private institutions and bodies have stated that obesity is top of the list of the most difficult and serious problems of public health that we have in the world today. In the world we live today, there is a lot of stigmatisation of obese people.

We all know how troubling the problem of obesity truly is. It is mainly a form of a medical condition wherein the body tends to accumulate excessive fat which in turn has negative repercussions on the health of an individual.

Given the current lifestyle and dietary style, it has become more common than ever. More and more people are being diagnosed with obesity. Such is its prevalence that it has been termed as an epidemic in the USA. Those who suffer from obesity are at a much higher risk of diabetes, heart diseases and even cancer.

In order to gain a deeper understanding of obesity, it is important to learn what the key causes of obesity are. In a layman term, if your calorie consumption exceeds what you burn because of daily activities and exercises, it is likely to lead to obesity. It is caused over a prolonged period of time when your calorie intake keeps exceeding the calories burned.

Here are some of the key causes which are known to be the driving factors for obesity.

If your diet tends to be rich in fat and contains massive calorie intake, you are all set to suffer from obesity.

Sedentary Lifestyle:

With most people sticking to their desk jobs and living a sedentary lifestyle, the body tends to get obese easily.

Of course, the genetic framework has a lot to do with obesity. If your parents are obese, the chance of you being obese is quite high.

The weight which women gain during their pregnancy can be very hard to shed and this is often one of the top causes of obesity.

Sleep Cycle:

If you are not getting an adequate amount of sleep, it can have an impact on the hormones which might trigger hunger signals. Overall, these linked events tend to make you obese.

Hormonal Disorder:

There are several hormonal changes which are known to be direct causes of obesity. The imbalance of the thyroid stimulating hormone, for instance, is one of the key factors when it comes to obesity.

Now that we know the key causes, let us look at the possible ways by which you can handle it.

Treatment for Obesity:

As strange as it may sound, the treatment for obesity is really simple. All you need to do is follow the right diet and back it with an adequate amount of exercise. If you can succeed in doing so, it will give you the perfect head-start into your journey of getting in shape and bidding goodbye to obesity.

There are a lot of different kinds and styles of diet plans for obesity which are available. You can choose the one which you deem fit. We recommend not opting for crash dieting as it is known to have several repercussions and can make your body terribly weak.

The key here is to stick to a balanced diet which can help you retain the essential nutrients, minerals, and, vitamins and shed the unwanted fat and carbs.

Just like the diet, there are several workout plans for obesity which are available. It is upon you to find out which of the workout plan seems to be apt for you. Choose cardio exercises and dance routines like Zumba to shed the unwanted body weight. Yoga is yet another method to get rid of obesity.

So, follow a blend of these and you will be able to deal with the trouble of obesity in no time. We believe that following these tips will help you get rid of obesity and stay in shape.

Obesity and overweight is a top health concern in the world due to the impact it has on the lives of individuals. Obesity is defined as a condition in which an individual has excessive body fat and is measured using the body mass index (BMI) such that, when an individual’s BMI is above 30, he or she is termed obese. The BMI is calculated using body weight and height and it is different for all individuals.

Obesity has been determined as a risk factor for many diseases. It results from dietary habits, genetics, and lifestyle habits including physical inactivity. Obesity can be prevented so that individuals do not end up having serious complications and health problems. Chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart diseases and relate to obesity in terms of causes and complications.

Factors Influencing Obesity:

Obesity is not only as a result of lifestyle habits as most people put it. There are other important factors that influence obesity. Genetics is one of those factors. A person could be born with genes that predispose them to obesity and they will also have difficulty in losing weight because it is an inborn factor.

The environment also influences obesity because the diet is similar in certain environs. In certain environments, like school, the food available is fast foods and the chances of getting healthy foods is very low, leading to obesity. Also, physical inactivity is an environmental factor for obesity because some places have no fields or tracks where people can jog or maybe the place is very unsafe and people rarely go out to exercise.

Mental health affects the eating habits of individuals. There is a habit of stress eating when a person is depressed and it could result in overweight or obesity if the person remains unhealthy for long period of time.

The overall health of individuals also matter. If a person is unwell and is prescribed with steroids, they may end up being obese. Steroidal medications enable weight gain as a side effect.

Complications of Obesity:

Obesity is a health concern because its complications are severe. Significant social and health problems are experienced by obese people. Socially, they will be bullied and their self-esteem will be low as they will perceive themselves as unworthy.

Chronic illnesses like diabetes results from obesity. Diabetes type 2 has been directly linked to obesity. This condition involves the increased blood sugars in the body and body cells are not responding to insulin as they should. The insulin in the body could also be inadequate due to decreased production. High blood sugar concentrations result in symptoms like frequent hunger, thirst and urination. The symptoms of complicated stages of diabetes type 2 include loss of vision, renal failure and heart failure and eventually death. The importance of having a normal BMI is the ability of the body to control blood sugars.

Another complication is the heightened blood pressures. Obesity has been defined as excessive body fat. The body fat accumulates in blood vessels making them narrow. Narrow blood vessels cause the blood pressures to rise. Increased blood pressure causes the heart to start failing in its physiological functions. Heart failure is the end result in this condition of increased blood pressures.

There is a significant increase in cholesterol in blood of people who are obese. High blood cholesterol levels causes the deposition of fats in various parts of the body and organs. Deposition of fats in the heart and blood vessels result in heart diseases. There are other conditions that result from hypercholesterolemia.

Other chronic illnesses like cancer can also arise from obesity because inflammation of body cells and tissues occurs in order to store fats in obese people. This could result in abnormal growths and alteration of cell morphology. The abnormal growths could be cancerous.

Management of Obesity:

For the people at risk of developing obesity, prevention methods can be implemented. Prevention included a healthy diet and physical activity. The diet and physical activity patterns should be regular and realizable to avoid strains that could result in complications.

Some risk factors for obesity are non-modifiable for example genetics. When a person in genetically predisposed, the lifestyle modifications may be have help.

For the individuals who are already obese, they can work on weight reduction through healthy diets and physical exercises.

In conclusion, obesity is indeed a major health concern because the health complications are very serious. Factors influencing obesity are both modifiable and non-modifiable. The management of obesity revolves around diet and physical activity and so it is important to remain fit.

In olden days, obesity used to affect only adults. However, in the present time, obesity has become a worldwide problem that hits the kids as well. Let’s find out the most prevalent causes of obesity.

Factors Causing Obesity:

Obesity can be due to genetic factors. If a person’s family has a history of obesity, chances are high that he/ she would also be affected by obesity, sooner or later in life.

The second reason is having a poor lifestyle. Now, there are a variety of factors that fall under the category of poor lifestyle. An excessive diet, i.e., eating more than you need is a definite way to attain the stage of obesity. Needless to say, the extra calories are changed into fat and cause obesity.

Junk foods, fried foods, refined foods with high fats and sugar are also responsible for causing obesity in both adults and kids. Lack of physical activity prevents the burning of extra calories, again, leading us all to the path of obesity.

But sometimes, there may also be some indirect causes of obesity. The secondary reasons could be related to our mental and psychological health. Depression, anxiety, stress, and emotional troubles are well-known factors of obesity.

Physical ailments such as hypothyroidism, ovarian cysts, and diabetes often complicate the physical condition and play a massive role in abnormal weight gain.

Moreover, certain medications, such as steroids, antidepressants, and contraceptive pills, have been seen interfering with the metabolic activities of the body. As a result, the long-term use of such drugs can cause obesity. Adding to that, regular consumption of alcohol and smoking are also connected to the condition of obesity.

Harmful Effects of Obesity:

On the surface, obesity may look like a single problem. But, in reality, it is the mother of several major health issues. Obesity simply means excessive fat depositing into our body including the arteries. The drastic consequence of such high cholesterol levels shows up in the form of heart attacks and other life-threatening cardiac troubles.

The fat deposition also hampers the elasticity of the arteries. That means obesity can cause havoc in our body by altering the blood pressure to an abnormal range. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Obesity is known to create an endless list of problems.

In extreme cases, this disorder gives birth to acute diseases like diabetes and cancer. The weight gain due to obesity puts a lot of pressure on the bones of the body, especially of the legs. This, in turn, makes our bones weak and disturbs their smooth movement. A person suffering from obesity also has higher chances of developing infertility issues and sleep troubles.

Many obese people are seen to be struggling with breathing problems too. In the chronic form, the condition can grow into asthma. The psychological effects of obesity are another serious topic. You can say that obesity and depression form a loop. The more a person is obese, the worse is his/ her depression stage.

How to Control and Treat Obesity:

The simplest and most effective way, to begin with, is changing our diet. There are two factors to consider in the diet plan. First is what and what not to eat. Second is how much to eat.

If you really want to get rid of obesity, include more and more green vegetables in your diet. Spinach, beans, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, etc., have enough vitamins and minerals and quite low calories. Other healthier options are mushrooms, pumpkin, beetroots, and sweet potatoes, etc.

Opt for fresh fruits, especially citrus fruits, and berries. Oranges, grapes, pomegranate, pineapple, cherries, strawberries, lime, and cranberries are good for the body. They have low sugar content and are also helpful in strengthening our immune system. Eating the whole fruits is a more preferable way in comparison to gulping the fruit juices. Fruits, when eaten whole, have more fibers and less sugar.

Consuming a big bowl of salad is also great for dealing with the obesity problem. A salad that includes fibrous foods such as carrots, radish, lettuce, tomatoes, works better at satiating the hunger pangs without the risk of weight gain.

A high protein diet of eggs, fish, lean meats, etc., is an excellent choice to get rid of obesity. Take enough of omega fatty acids. Remember to drink plenty of water. Keeping yourself hydrated is a smart way to avoid overeating. Water also helps in removing the toxins and excess fat from the body.

As much as possible, avoid fats, sugars, refined flours, and oily foods to keep the weight in control. Control your portion size. Replace the three heavy meals with small and frequent meals during the day. Snacking on sugarless smoothies, dry fruits, etc., is much recommended.

Regular exercise plays an indispensable role in tackling the obesity problem. Whenever possible, walk to the market, take stairs instead of a lift. Physical activity can be in any other form. It could be a favorite hobby like swimming, cycling, lawn tennis, or light jogging.

Meditation and yoga are quite powerful practices to drive away the stress, depression and thus, obesity. But in more serious cases, meeting a physician is the most appropriate strategy. Sometimes, the right medicines and surgical procedures are necessary to control the health condition.

Obesity is spreading like an epidemic, haunting both the adults and the kids. Although genetic factors and other physical ailments play a role, the problem is mostly caused by a reckless lifestyle.

By changing our way of living, we can surely take control of our health. In other words, it would be possible to eliminate the condition of obesity from our lives completely by leading a healthy lifestyle.

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School Obesity Prevention Recommendations: Complete List

The foundation for lifelong good health is laid in childhood. And outside of home life, nothing provides more of an immersive experience for children than the time they spend in school. This means schools have a rich opportunity to improve youth health and tackle obesity at the ideal point in time-before problems take hold.

One of the main avenues that schools can use to positively affect health is also one most directly in line with every school’s mission: educating students. Nutrition and physical activity lessons can be woven into the curriculum-in core classroom subjects, physical education, and after-school programs-to teach skills that help students choose and maintain healthy lifestyles. In addition to teaching evidence-based nutrition and activity messages, school physical education should focus on getting students engaged in high-quality and regular activity.

Schools can also promote health outside of the classroom, by surrounding students with opportunities to eat healthy and stay active. To improve nutrition, schools can include healthier food offerings in the cafeteria and eliminate marketing of unhealthy foods. To improve activity, schools can develop safe walking and biking routes to school, and can promote active recess time.

Wellness programs for faculty and staff can also be integral to improving the school environment, not only serving to boost faculty and staff health but also building school-wide enthusiasm for student-focused programs.

Additionally, schools can serve as important data sources on student health. Anonymous, school-level information on markers like students’ body mass index (BMI) can help educators and policy-makers assess success of current programs and decide the direction of future programs.

With good evidence that school-based prevention programs can successfully-and without many added resources-help students to eat better, be more active, and achieve healthier weights, schools are poised to become an integral part of the fight against the obesity epidemic. As with education in general, the sooner we act, the better.

This section of The Obesity Prevention Source summarizes obesity prevention recommendations for the school setting, based on a review of expert guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Institute of Medicine, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, the World Health Organization, and others. For more detailed guidance on these recommendations and ideas for putting them into practice, explore the source list on each page, as well as the links to useful toolkits and other resources.

School Meals, Competitive Foods, and the School Food Environment

Serving healthy choices in the lunch room, limiting availability and marketing of unhealthful foods and sugary drinks, and making water available to students throughout the day are some of the ways that schools can help prevent obesity. Making these types of changes in the school food environment will be no easy task, however. In the U.S., for example, the Department of Agriculture recently finalized comprehensive new school meal guidelines that will increase vegetables, fruit, and whole grains and curb sodium, saturated fat, and trans fat. ( 1 ) But due to political pressures, the agency was not able to fully implement the meal guidelines recommended by an expert panel at the Institute of Medicine. ( 2 ) (Read more about the political battles over school lunch, on The Nutrition Source website.)

Now that the new nutrition standards are on the books, will schools actually be able to meet them? It may be difficult to answer that question, since compliance is not strictly monitored week to week. And schools and face many other challenges to creating a food environment where the healthy choice is the default choice. Among the obstacles: budgeting for the higher costs of purchasing and preparing more healthful foods; coaxing children to accept the more healthful options; and addressing the multitude of ways that unhealthful foods and drinks are sold or served outside of school meals, from classroom birthday parties to school-wide bake sales and sporting events.

Here is a summary of obesity prevention recommendations for school meals and the school food environment, based on a review of expert guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Institute of Medicine, the World Health Organization, the School Nutrition Association, the American Heart Association, and others. For more detailed guidance on these recommendations and ideas for putting them into practice, explore the source list and the links to other resources.

School Meal Programs

Encourage students to participate in breakfast, lunch, and after-school snack programs ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 )

Offer meals that meet national nutritional standards, such as the U.S. Dietary Guidelines ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 )

Set minimum and maximum calorie levels for school breakfast and lunch, for each age group ( 9 )

Invest in cafeteria facilities to store, prepare, and display healthy foods, such as salad bars ( 7 , 10 )

Avoid stigmatizing children who participate in free/reduced price school meal programs ( 3 , 7 )

Give students adequate time to eat ( 1 , 2 , 10 )

Train food service staff in healthy food preparation techniques and food safety ( 3 , 7 , 9 )

Incorporate nutrition education into school meal programs ( 1 , 3 , 10 )

Increase financial support for school meal programs from federal, state, and local governments ( 7 , 10 )

Foods Sold or Served Outside of School Meals (Competitive Foods )

School soda bans, promising policy.

Boston banned sugary drink sales in public schools in 2004, and a new study from Harvard School of Public Health finds that after the ban, city students cut back on sugary drink consumption.

Ensure competitive foods meet healthy nutrition standards that are consistent with those of the school meal program ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 11 )

Eliminate sugar-sweetened beverages in the school environment or limit access to them ( 2 , 3 , 4 , 10 , 12 )

Ensure that food served at classroom parties and school functions, including fundraisers, meets competitive food standards ( 3 , 4 , 10 )

Never use food as a reward or punishment ( 3 , 10 , 12 )

School Food Environment

Water access in schools.

A study in a large California school district finds that students may not have adequate access to water during the school day.

Make drinking water freely available to students in dining areas and throughout the day ( 1 , 3 , 8 , 10 , 12 )

Offer pleasant, clean, and safe cafeterias ( 1 , 2 , 7 )

Market healthy food choices ( 7 , 8 , 10 )

Limit marketing of unhealthy foods ( 10 )

• Bar commercial food marketing outside of dining areas; ( 3 )
• Bar marketing of foods that do not meet competitive food guidelines or other nutrition standards; ( 2 , 3 ) or
• Bar all food advertising in schools ( 6 )

Create and support school gardens ( 2 , 7 )

Encourage staff to model healthy eating ( 1 )

School Meals, Competitive Foods, and the School Food Environment-Source List

1. Pekruhn C. Preventing Childhood Obesity: A School Health Policy Guide . Arlington, VA: Center for Safe and Healthy Schools, National Association of State Boards of Education; 2009.

2. Lagarde F, LeBlanc CMA, McKenna M, et al. School policy framework: implementation of the WHO global strategy on diet, physical activity and health . Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2008.

3. Alliance for a Healthier Generation. Healthy Schools Program Framework . 2009. Accessed July 11, 2011.

4. School Nutrition Association. National Nutrition Standards Recommendations . Alexandria, VA: School Nutrition Association; 2008.

5. Wechsler H, McKenna ML, Lee SM, Dietz WH. The Role of Schools in Preventing Childhood Obesity . The State Education Standard . 2004.

6. Institute of Medicine. Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance . Washington, D.C.: Institute of Medicine; 2005.

7. White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity. Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity within a Generation: White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity Report to the President . 2010. Accessed July 11, 2011.

8. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General’s Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation . 2010. Accessed May 1, 2012.

9. Institute of Medicine. School Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Children . Washington, D.C.: Institute of Medicine; 2010.

10. American Heart Association. Policy Position Statement on School Nutrition . 2008. Accessed July 11, 2011.

11. American Heart Association. Policy Position Statement on Body Mass Index (BMI) Surveillance and Assessment in Schools . 2008. Accessed July 11, 2011.

12. Institute of Medicine. Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools: Leading the Way Toward Healthier Youth . Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press; 2007.

Staying Active throughout the School Day

Children require at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day. Schools can help prevent obesity by offering higher quality and more active physical education-for all grades, every day-and by promoting physical activity throughout the school day. But according to the U.S. Government Accounting Office, which reviewed the most recent national data, physical education instruction time has decreased in the U.S., and only 4 percent of elementary schools, 8 percent of middle schools, and 2 percent of high schools in the U.S. offered daily physical education (or its equivalent) in 2006. ( 1 ) Though more and more schools have instituted physical education requirements, many schools still do not require students to take physical education, especially at the high school level: In 2006, only 1 in 5 schools nationwide had a physical education requirement for students in grades 11 and 12.

Here is a summary of school physical activity and physical education obesity prevention recommendations, based on a review of expert guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Institute of Medicine, the World Health Organization, the American Heart Association, and others. For more detailed guidance on these recommendations and ideas for putting them into practice, explore the source list and the links to other resources.

Physical Education

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (PECAT)
• National Center for Safe Routes to School : SafeRoutesInfo.org
• Partnership for Prevention: School-Based Physical Education: Working with Schools to Increase Physical Activity Among Children and Adolescents in Physical Education Classes-An Action Guide
• School Nutrition
• School Health Education & Wellness
• School BMI Assessment

Provide daily physical education (PE) to children in grades K-12 ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 )

Provide a total of 150 minutes of PE per week in elementary school and 225 minutes per week in middle and high school ( 2 , 3 , 5 )

Ensure that children spend most of their PE time being physically active ( 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 )

Base PE on national standards ( 3 , 5 )

Adapt PE curricula for children with disabilities or special needs ( 1 , 3 , 4 , 7 )

Hire licensed PE teachers and offer them ongoing training ( 3 , 4 , 5 )

Limit PE class sizes so that they are similar to academic class sizes ( 3 , 4 )

Promote enjoyable activities and lifelong physical activity in PE ( 4 , 7 )

Assess student learning in PE and include in school report cards ( 3 , 5 )

Make sure that PE requirements are not waived for other physical or academic activities ( 3 , 5 , 7 )

Physical Activity During School and Out-of-School Time

Joint use agreements, obesity prevention resource.

Public Health Law and Policy, a California-based non-profit, offers a toolkit for Opening School Grounds to the Community After Hours and Model Joint-Use Agreements .

Provide all students an opportunity for daily physical activity ( 3 , 8 )

Give elementary school students daily recess, and schedule recess before lunch ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 , 7 )

Avoid withholding or mandating physical activity for disciplinary or academic reasons ( 1 , 7 )

Develop active transit plans (bike, walk to school), working with local government and community groups ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 , 8 )

Offer children physical activity opportunities before and after school, including competitive sports and noncompetitive activities ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 , 8 , 9 )

Collaborate with communities to maximize use of school and community spaces for physical activity during and outside school hours ( 2 , 3 , 7 , 8 )

Monitor physical activity space and equipment for safety ( 3 , 7 )

Offer staff opportunities for physical activity ( 1 )

Staying Active throughout the School Day-Source List

1. Pekruhn C. Preventing Childhood Obesity: A School Health Policy Guide Arlington, VA: Center for Safe and Healthy Schools, National Association of State Boards of Education; 2009.

2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General’s Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation . 2010. Accessed May 1, 2012.

3. Alliance for a Healthier Generation. Healthy Schools Program Framework 2009. Accessed July 11, 2011.

4. Wechsler H, McKenna ML, Lee SM, Dietz WH. The Role of Schools in Preventing Childhood Obesity The State Education Standard . 2004.

5. American Heart Association. Policy Position Statement on Physical Education in Schools . 2008. Accessed May 1, 2012.

6. American Heart Association. Policy Position Statement on School Nutrition . 2008. Accessed May 1, 2012.

7. Lagarde F, LeBlanc CMA, McKenna M, et al. School policy framework : implementation of the WHO global strategy on diet, physical activity and health Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2008.

8. Institute of Medicine. Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance Washington, D.C.: Institute of Medicine; 2005.

9. White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity. Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity within a Generation: White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity Report to the President . 2010. Accessed July 11, 2011.

Health Education and School Wellness

It’s essential to incorporate nutrition and physical activity into a school’s health education curriculum. Nutrition and physical activity themes can be also woven into other areas of the curriculum-in core classroom subjects, physical education, and after-school programming. School district wellness policies should also address nutrition and physical activity and encompass staff wellness, not just student wellness.

Here is a summary of health education and school wellness obesity prevention recommendations, based on a review of expert guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Institute of Medicine, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, and others. For more detailed guidance on these recommendations and ideas for putting them into practice, explore the source list and the links to other resources.

Health Education

• Directors of Health Promotion and Education: School Employee Wellness Guide
• Harvard School of Public Health: Eat Well & Keep Moving | Planet Health
• Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity: Wellness School Assessment Tool

Address nutrition and physical activity in health education programs ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 )

Align health education with national standards ( 1 , 4 )

Incorporate healthy eating and physical activity themes into other subject areas ( 1 )

Offer teachers ongoing health education training ( 1 , 2 , 5 )

Assess student learning in health education classes and report on school report cards ( 1 )

School Wellness

• School Physical Activity

Implement, fund, and monitor a comprehensive school wellness policy that addresses nutrition, physical activity, and school food, among other topics ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 )

Provide wellness programming for school staff ( 1 , 3 , 5 )

Health Education and School Wellness-Source List

1. Alliance for a Healthier Generation. Healthy Schools Program Framework . 2009. Accessed July 11, 2011.

2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General’s Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation . 2010. Accessed July 11, 2011.

3. Wechsler H, McKenna ML, Lee SM, Dietz WH. The Role of Schools in Preventing Childhood Obesity . The State Education Standard . 2004.

4. White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity. Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity within a Generation: White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity Report to the President . 2010. Accessed July 11, 2011.

5. American Heart Association. School Nutrition Policy Recommendations . 2008. Accessed July 11, 2011.

6. Lagarde F, LeBlanc CMA, McKenna M, et al. School policy framework : implementation of the WHO global strategy on diet, physical activity and health . Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2008.

7. Pekruhn C. Preventing Childhood Obesity: A School Health Policy Guide . Arlington, VA: Center for Safe and Healthy Schools, National Association of State Boards of Education; 2009.

8. Institute of Medicine. Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance . Washington, D.C.: Institute of Medicine; 2005.

Body Mass Index (BMI) Assessment at School

Gathering students’ BMIs, in the aggregate, can help schools monitor the success of obesity prevention efforts; screening students’ BMIs for individual health assessment purposes is more controversial and requires schools to address privacy and parent communication, among other issues.

Here is a summary of BMI assessment recommendations for schools, based on a review of expert guidance from the the Institute of Medicine, the World Health Organization, and others. For more detailed guidance on these recommendations and ideas for putting them into practice, explore the source list and the links to other resources.

• Alliance for a Healthier Generation: Toolkit: Collecting Student BMI
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Children’s BMI Tool for Schools

Assess students’ BMIs, confidentially and in aggregate, to track the prevalence of obesity and evaluate the success of obesity prevention programs ( 1 , 2 )

If students’ BMI’s are screened for individual health assessment purposes, ensure that schools address the following: ( 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 )

• student privacy
• student safety and support
• staff training
• accuracy of data collection
• sensitive and informative parent/guardian communication
• referral to community resources for follow-up, as needed
• healthy eating and physical activity promotion, using science-based strategies

BMI Assessment at School-Source List

2. American Heart Association. Policy Position Statement on Body Mass Index (BMI) Surveillance and Assessment in Schools . 2008. Accessed July 11, 2011.

3. Pekruhn C. Preventing Childhood Obesity: A School Health Policy Guide . Arlington, VA: Center for Safe and Healthy Schools, National Association of State Boards of Education; 2009.

4. Lagarde F, LeBlanc CMA, McKenna M, et al. School policy framework: implementation of the WHO global strategy on diet, physical activity and health . Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2008.

5. Institute of Medicine. Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance . Washington, D.C.: Institute of Medicine; 2005.

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Obesity Essay

Essay on obesity for children.

Obesity is a condition that involves excessive weight gain in the body. There will be a higher risk of health problems due to increased amounts of body fat. It is basically an excessive accumulation of fat in the body. The height and weight of the body determines the Body Mass Index (BMI). Generally, people are considered overweight if their BMI is above 25. Moreover, it is said that a BMI above 30 is considered to be obesity. With an ever changing way of living, people are gaining obesity due to unhealthy lifestyles. Obesity results in various health conditions in humans. Due to this, a person  suffers from heart diseases, high cholesterol level, high blood pressure, respiratory and other chronic ailments. 

The main cause of obesity is due to overeating and unhealthy lifestyles. In today’s world, we have seen kids from an early age exposed to junk food and reduction in physical activity. This leads to excess accumulation of fat in the body. In order to overcome obesity, kids must be introduced to a healthy lifestyle along with nutritious food. Besides this, regular exercise and physical activity would help in reducing the weight leading to a healthy life. In this obesity essay, we will discuss the causes, complications and preventive measures. 

Causes Of Obesity 

When an excessive amount of energy is consumed and returned in less quantity, then the rest gets accumulated in the adipose tissue leading to obesity. Therefore, a person consuming more food and releasing less energy results in weight gain. Some of the causes of obesity are mentioned below:

• Overeating: Do you think eating junk food or unhealthy eating habits can lead to obesity? Yes, it has a repercussion on health. There are certain habits that result in obesity such as eating fried snacks, eating fast, eating more and eating food irregularly. Food items with high calories can lead to an increase in weight. For example, sugar, oily and fried items, processed foods, etc. These food items may taste better but eventually leads to increase in weight followed by health complications. 
• Reduction in physical activity: Due to sedentary lifestyle, there is reduction in physical activities such as running, walking or doing household chores. With growing technology, people are dependent on machines and appliances for their work. Therefore, it leads to less movement resulting in fat accumulation in the body. People who do not burn their calories with physical activities tend to put on more weight. Nowadays, people want to eat food and relax without doing any physical activity. 
• Hormonal change: A person tends to put on weight if they have hormonal problems.
• Genetic factor: A person can also gain obesity due to genetic factors. Due to hereditary, a person can become obese even if they eat balanced food or do regular physical exercise. If the ancestors of the family were facing this condition, then they are more likely to gain obesity. 
• Psychological factors: If the person is suffering from psychological problems, they tend to eat more in order to reduce their stress. During sadness or boredom, people like to eat more food. They want to eat more and forget their problems. This eventually leads to an increase in weight. 

Also explore: Essay on Sports and motivation essay .

Complications Of Obesity

Obesity is increasing rapidly across the world. The intake of calories and outlet of energy determines the body weight. If a person is eating more and not burning their calories, it will lead to an increase in body fat. There are major health problems due to obesity. Some of the problems are mentioned below:

• Health Disorders: Due to obesity, there will be an increase in heart related disease in humans. Besides this, people may suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, gall bladder disorders, respiratory problems, psychological issues, etc.  
• Laziness: When there is excess fat accumulation in the body, a person tends to become lazy in doing things. They look for support or seek help in order to get their things done. 
• Economic problems: A person suffering from obesity faces low economic growth due to their health problems associated with weight gain. They become lazy and reduce the quality of work. It leads to huge loss in work and economy. Due to increased health issues, a person tends to spend more money on diagnosis and treatment.
• Low productivity: There might be a reduction in productivity of work. Due to this, a person will feel lethargic towards work and eventually result in low productivity of the work that they are doing. 

How To Prevent Obesity?

Obesity creates major health issues in humans. To overcome this Issue, it is important to focus on losing weight and avoiding things that can cause weight gain. Preventing obesity will help people in reducing the high risk of health problems. It is vital for everyone to stay fit, eat healthy and sleep well to avoid weight gain.  Some of the ways to prevent obesity are mentioned below:

• Eating balanced food: To maintain weight, it is mandatory for people to eat balanced meals. It should include carbohydrates, proteins, fibers, etc. Anything in excess can lead to weight gain. Therefore, including a balanced diet in the meal will not only provide nutrition to the body but also avoid accumulation of excess fat. Avoid junk food and eat more vegetables and fruits for a healthy diet. Encourage children from an early age to inculcate the habit of eating healthy food. This will help them in growing into a healthy person. Besides this, encourage kids to eat only when they are hungry as excess food might get stored in the body as fat. Also, slow eating is one of the factors for reduction in weight. It helps in proper digestion of the food particles. 
• Exercise regularly: Apart from eating food, it is also important for people to exercise on a regular basis. The amount of calories taken should be burned with the help of physical activities. Some of the ways to burn calories are jogging, walking, dancing, yoga or any form of exercise. Try to avoid continuous sitting while working or studying. Take up activities that require more physical activity such as using stairs instead of lift, walking to nearby stores instead of taking a car, etc.
• Eating on time: Irregular patterns of eating may lead to overeating and weight gain. Therefore, inculcating a habit of eating on time will lead to proper digestion of food. The person eating on time will eat food in a limited amount. If there is delay, a person tends to eat food in large quantities. This will result in weight gain. Most importantly, try to eat smaller portions so that there is enough time for digestion. Drink more water to eliminate all the toxic materials from the body. 
• Avoid unhealthy food: Though unhealthy food tastes good, it is important to avoid them. There are many food items available in the market that are processed and rich in sugar. These food products are difficult to digest leading to accumulation of fat in the body. Therefore, avoiding such food items would be the best option for a healthy life. Try to consume food which is low in calories for proper digestion such as fruits and vegetables. These food items have lots of nutrients which can help in lowering the risk of health problems. 
• Improve physical activities: To digest food in the body, there has to be a proper workout or physical activity that people must incorporate in their lifestyles. Incorporating fun physical activities such as playing sports, working out in the gym and doing household chores will help in weight reduction. Avoid sitting or sleeping immediately after intake of food. This will reduce the process of digestion in the body leading to weight gain. 
• Take proper sleep: It is important to take enough rest and sleep at night. Reduction in sleep may cause health problems leading to weight gain. Therefore, introduce bedtime rituals in your lifestyle in order to get proper sleep. 

Obesity is the condition which leads to weight gain due to overeating and unhealthy lifestyles. The main cause of obesity is overeating, reduced physical activities and sleep. Due to this, a person may suffer from severe health problems such as heart diseases, high cholesterol and blood pressure, respiratory problems, etc. To prevent obesity, a person must eat a balanced diet, avoid overeating, exercise regularly, eat food on time, get enough sleep, etc. 

We hope this obesity essay was useful to you. Check essays for kids for more topics. 

Frequently Asked Questions On Obesity Essay

What is an obesity essay.

It is a short write up on obesity which is a condition that results in weight gain leading to many health problems.

What is the main cause of obesity?

The main causes of obesity are overeating, unhealthy lifestyle, less physical activities, genetic and psychological factors.

How to prevent obesity?

The different ways to prevent obesity are eating balanced food, regular exercise, eating food on time, avoiding unhealthy food, increasing physical activity, getting enough sleep, etc.

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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Obesity — Conclusion For Obesity

Conclusion for Obesity

• Categories: Obesity

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Published: Mar 19, 2024

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Table of contents

Introduction:, the health consequences:, the societal implications:, root causes:, prevention and treatment:, the role of policy:, the power of community:, conclusion:.

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Guest Essay

A Year on Ozempic Taught Me We’re Thinking About Obesity All Wrong

By Johann Hari

Mr. Hari is a British journalist and the author of “Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits — and Disturbing Risks — of the New Weight Loss Drugs.”

Ever since I was a teenager, I have dreamed of shedding a lot of weight. So when I shrank from 203 pounds to 161 in a year, I was baffled by my feelings. I was taking Ozempic, and I was haunted by the sense that I was cheating and doing something immoral.

I’m not the only one. In the United States (where I now split my time), over 70 percent of people are overweight or obese, and according to one poll, 47 percent of respondents said they were willing to pay to take the new weight-loss drugs. It’s not hard to see why. They cause users to lose an average of 10 to 20 percent of their body weight, and clinical trials suggest that the next generation of drugs (probably available soon) leads to a 24 percent loss, on average. Yet as more and more people take drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, we get more confused as a culture, bombarding anyone in the public eye who takes them with brutal shaming.

This is happening because we are trapped in a set of old stories about what obesity is and the morally acceptable ways to overcome it. But the fact that so many of us are turning to the new weight-loss drugs can be an opportunity to find a way out of that trap of shame and stigma — and to a more truthful story.

In my lifetime, obesity has exploded, from being rare to almost being the norm. I was born in 1979, and by the time I was 21, obesity rates in the United States had more than doubled . They have skyrocketed since. The obvious question is, why? And how do these new weight-loss drugs work? The answer to both lies in one word: satiety. It’s a concept that we don’t use much in everyday life but that we’ve all experienced at some point. It describes the sensation of having had enough and not wanting any more.

The primary reason we have gained weight at a pace unprecedented in human history is that our diets have radically changed in ways that have deeply undermined our ability to feel sated. My father grew up in a village in the Swiss mountains, where he ate fresh, whole foods that had been cooked from scratch and prepared on the day they were eaten. But in the 30 years between his childhood and mine, in the suburbs of London, the nature of food transformed across the Western world. He was horrified to see that almost everything I ate was reheated and heavily processed. The evidence is clear that the kind of food my father grew up eating quickly makes you feel full. But the kind of food I grew up eating, much of which is made in factories, often with artificial chemicals, left me feeling empty and as if I had a hole in my stomach. In a recent study of what American children eat, ultraprocessed food was found to make up 67 percent of their daily diet. This kind of food makes you want to eat more and more. Satiety comes late, if at all.

One scientific experiment — which I have nicknamed Cheesecake Park — seemed to me to crystallize this effect. Paul Kenny, a neuroscientist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, grew up in Ireland. After he moved in 2000 to the United States, when he was in his 20s, he gained 30 pounds in two years. He began to wonder if the American diet has some kind of strange effect on our brains and our cravings, so he designed an experiment to test it. He and his colleague Paul Johnson raised a group of rats in a cage and gave them an abundant supply of healthy, balanced rat chow made out of the kind of food rats had been eating for a very long time. The rats would eat it when they were hungry, and then they seemed to feel sated and stopped. They did not become fat.

But then Dr. Kenny and his colleague exposed the rats to an American diet: fried bacon, Snickers bars, cheesecake and other treats. They went crazy for it. The rats would hurl themselves into the cheesecake, gorge themselves and emerge with their faces and whiskers totally slicked with it. They quickly lost almost all interest in the healthy food, and the restraint they used to show around healthy food disappeared. Within six weeks, their obesity rates soared.

After this change, Dr. Kenny and his colleague tweaked the experiment again (in a way that seems cruel to me, a former KFC addict). They took all the processed food away and gave the rats their old healthy diet. Dr. Kenny was confident that they would eat more of it, proving that processed food had expanded their appetites. But something stranger happened. It was as though the rats no longer recognized healthy food as food at all, and they barely ate it. Only when they were starving did they reluctantly start to consume it again.

Though Dr. Kenny’s study was in rats, we can see forms of this behavior everywhere. We are all living in Cheesecake Park — and the satiety-stealing effect of industrially assembled food is evidently what has created the need for these medications. Drugs like Ozempic work precisely by making us feel full. Carel le Roux, a scientist whose research was important to the development of these drugs, says they boost what he and others once called “satiety hormones.”

Once you understand this context, it becomes clear that processed and ultraprocessed food create a raging hole of hunger, and these treatments can repair that hole. Michael Lowe, a professor of psychology at Drexel University who has studied hunger for 40 years, told me the drugs are “an artificial solution to an artificial problem.”

Yet we have reacted to this crisis largely caused by the food industry as if it were caused only by individual moral dereliction. I felt like a failure for being fat and was furious with myself for it. Why do we turn our anger inward and not outward at the main cause of the crisis? And by extension, why do we seek to shame people taking Ozempic but not those who, say, take drugs to lower their blood pressure?

The answer, I think, lies in two very old notions. The first is the belief that obesity is a sin. When Pope Gregory I laid out the seven deadly sins in the sixth century, one of them was gluttony, usually illustrated with grotesque-seeming images of overweight people. Sin requires punishment before you can get to redemption. Think about the competition show “The Biggest Loser,” on which obese people starve and perform extreme forms of exercise in visible agony in order to demonstrate their repentance.

The second idea is that we are all in a competition when it comes to weight. Ours is a society full of people fighting against the forces in our food that are making us fatter. It is often painful to do this: You have to tolerate hunger or engage in extreme forms of exercise. It feels like a contest in which each thin person creates additional pressure on others to do the same. Looked at in this way, people on Ozempic can resemble athletes like the cyclist Lance Armstrong who used performance-enhancing drugs. Those who manage their weight without drugs might think, “I worked hard for this, and you get it for as little as a weekly jab?”

We can’t find our way to a sane, nontoxic conversation about obesity or Ozempic until we bring these rarely spoken thoughts into the open and reckon with them. You’re not a sinner for gaining weight. You’re a typical product of a dysfunctional environment that makes it very hard to feel full. If you are angry about these drugs, remember the competition isn’t between you and your neighbor who’s on weight-loss drugs. It’s between you and a food industry constantly designing new ways to undermine your satiety. If anyone is the cheat here, it’s that industry. We should be united in a struggle against it and its products, not against desperate people trying to find a way out of this trap.

There are extraordinary benefits as well as disturbing risks associated with weight-loss drugs. Reducing or reversing obesity hugely boosts health, on average: We know from years of studying bariatric surgery that it slashes the risks of cancer, heart disease and diabetes-related death. Early indications are that the new anti-obesity drugs are moving people in a similar radically healthier direction, massively reducing the risk of heart attack or stroke. But these drugs may increase the risk for thyroid cancer. I am worried they diminish muscle mass and fear they may supercharge eating disorders. This is a complex picture in which the evidence has to be weighed very carefully.

But we can’t do that if we remain lost in stories inherited from premodern popes or in a senseless competition that leaves us all, in the end, losers. Do we want these weight loss drugs to be another opportunity to tear one another down? Or do we want to realize that the food industry has profoundly altered the appetites of us all — leaving us trapped in the same cage, scrambling to find a way out?

Johann Hari is a British journalist and the author of “Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits — and Disturbing Risks — of the New Weight Loss Drugs,” among other books.

Source photographs by seamartini, The Washington Post, and Zana Munteanu via Getty Images.

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Ways to prevent obesity.

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                          We have choices in life, for example to smoke or not to smoke, and these choices affect our health. However, eating is essential and choosing not to would create serious health risks (443 Koplan). We can choose what to eat and what not to eat. Today more than thirty percent of teenagers under the age of nineteen are overweight in addition to sixty percent aged twenty years and older (463 Crister). Currently, America is the number one nation with a weight problem. There are many causes of obesity today. People need to be educated as to what promotes obesity and then begin preventative measures including, but not limited to, exercising, dieting and practicing self-control when it comes to eating.              The key item in preventing obesity is exercising. Exercising helps in numerous ways: it keeps the body in shape and prevents related health problems caused by being overweight. In the fitness arena, the saying is - "short term pain, for long term gain". In other words, the more a person pushes themselves by biking, walking, jogging, swimming and doing other physical activities the less of a chance they have of developing illnesses. For example, diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and coronary artery and gallbladder diseases are common among those individuals considered to be overweight (441 Koplan).              Exercising has been a traditional past time for our Presidents. President Theodore Roosevelt enjoyed boxing and hunting and President Bill Clinton jogged daily (445 Koplan). These public figures serve as role models to the younger generation. It demonstrates that the country's finest are doing their part to keep fit and trying to show the importance of exercise. Currently teenagers watch more television and fail to burn off their energy, which in turn, causes the laws of thermodynamics to kick in. When your body has an excess of energy, it leads to storage in the form of fat (441 Koplan).

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Essays Related to Ways to Prevent Obesity

1. preventing obesity.

People need to be educated as to what promotes obesity and then begin preventative measures including, but not limited to, exercising, dieting and practicing self-control when it comes to eating. The key item in preventing obesity is exercising. Exercising helps in numerous ways: it keeps the body in shape and prevents related health problems caused by being overweight. ... Exercising by itself will not prevent obesity. ... A person must build their infrastructure strong, so that if a person begins to eat unhealthy foods, they can try other non-traditional remedies to prevent obesity. ...

• Word Count: 808

The Obese American Today, an estimate one hundred twenty-seven million U.S. citizens or sixty-one percent of our population is obese. ... Researches have found a number of ways to help the obese and prevent it from happening. ... To be considered obese, one's BMI is between 30.0 - 39.9, severe obesity is a result from one's BMI to be 40.0 or higher. ... s have come up with numerous ways to treat obesity and help prevent it. ... There is no need to suffer from health problems if they can be prevented. ...

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3. Obesity in children

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7. Fighting Obesity in America

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