Obesity

XXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXX

English 101, Argumentative Essay 4

3 November 2013

Obesity the New Lifestyle

Obesity affects more than a quarter of the American population and is becoming an acceptable norm. America is forgetting about the importance of nutrition and exercise and it’s rapidly getting out of control. Our country is overcome with fast food restaurants and snack foods that fill our grocery stores’ shelves. Obesity is a problem that needs to be fixed and it is essential that American’s be educated in order to reverse this negative trend. Government and Health representatives are beginning to challenge the public’s acceptance towards obesity and the misconception that it rarely goes away with diet and exercise. Obesity is the result of an unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle which can ultimately lead to heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. With constant education, lawmaking and personal control obesity can be greatly reduced.

Some say that the term obese is insensitive and they prefer to be considered overweight which perpetuates the denial of this ever changing American trend. Obesity impacts many lives; male and female of all races with different economic backgrounds and educational status. Sensitivity toward crass comments should be the least concern in regards to obesity, which happens to be the second leading cause of preventable death in America. Obesity is defined by the increase of body fat other than the normal amount of fat tissue found in the body. This excessive amount of body fat is not required in a healthy adult. Obesity is considered a serious medical disease which affects a substantial amount of adults living in the United States. Clinicians diagnose obesity by using the Body Mass Index (BMI). Tsai and Wadden, describe the accepted U.S. definitions of weight class and BMI, “overweight and class 1, 2 and 3 obesity are 25-29.0 kg/m2, 30-34.9 kg/m2, 35-39 kg/m2 and ≥ 40.0 kg/m2 repectively” (4). Tsai and Wadden also...