White, Black, Hispanic, Asian – whatever the differences be, there is one common thing uniting or rather affecting all the residents of America equally. And that, is the obesity epidemic. Since almost a decade, whenever a survey on obesity is taken, the obtained results are said to have reached an ‘all time high.’ Obesity has been affecting people of all ages, sexes, ethnicities and social status. Have the governments not taken any action about this? Are the people willing to incorporate a healthier lifestyle? This article examines some key factors contributing to obesity and explores what changes could be made to improve the present situation.
According to a recent survey, which had a sample size of 27,449 adults and 16875 youth (2-19 years), obesity rates increased from 33.7% in 2007-08 to a whopping 39.6% in 2015-16 (among adults). In layman terms, 4 in every 10 adults in the US were overweight! For the sake of research and analysis, an obese person is defined as someone who has a BMI of 30 or more. If a person has a BMI of 40 or more, he is classified as severely obese. The percentage of severely obese adults in the US, increased from 5.7% to 7.7% between 2007-08 and 2015-16. It is almost like researchers are creating new categories of overweightness, to accommodate the US population’s statistics!
It is a well-known fact worldwide, that obesity exposes an individual to several risks other than increased healthcare costs. An obese person is more prone to heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. The statement can be supported with adequate statistics. A study undertaken by Southern Community Cohort Study in Jan 2018 consisted of 24,000 black and 14,064 white people aged between 40 and 70. In this sample, 44% were obese at the time of enrollment. Four and a half years later, in a follow-up questionnaire it was found that 12% of the blacks and 6% of the whites were diagnosed with diabetes and were on medication.
It is often said that the youth are the future of a nation. Hence governments place emphasis on the education and health of their youth. However, in the US, obesity statistics for the youth don’t seem to differ much from that for the adults! In February 2018, a team from Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, reviewed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The data contained a sample of children’s heights and weights. At the beginning of the survey in 1999-2000 29% of the children were overweight and 20% were obese. By the end of the survey, the numbers had gone up to 35% and 26% respectively!
The main reasons for obesity among children can be attributed to unhealthy dietary habits like increased dependency on frozen/fast foods and spending more time indoors/in front of screens which in turn leads to long hours of inactivity. It is also found that children who weren’t breastfed were more likely to become overweight and eventually obese (if no attempts to change lifestyle were made).
Now, with the numbers going up at such an alarming rate, the government must take some action. It did launch a programme called ‘Healthy People 2020’ in the year 2010. They have a dedicated website for the program which lists the objectives of the 10-year plan and presents infographics tracking the country’s progress with respect to each goal. Although they’ve manages to improve in certain areas, a quick look at the progress chart on the website reveals the weak points as well. For example, mental health and oral health are getting worse. Substance abuse and nutrition status have not seen any detectable change. We can say the government’s policies haven’t made any remarkable impact on the issue yet.
Now, let us consider a small island in the far east. Miles away from the US, this country is not only known for its technological brilliance but also constantly features among countries with the lowest obesity rates. Yes, we are talking about Japan! How is it possible for the Japanese to lead healthy lives? The secret lies in the way their traditional diet is consumed, the modes of commute most of its people rely on and many other ‘traditional practices’ that encourage a healthy lifestyle. First, their food – their diet is built around fish, vegetables and rice. There is hardly any presence of fatty foods. Children eat with their families, sometimes even grow their own produce required for their school kitchens. They are closer to nature than the kids in the west. Second, portion sizes are much smaller compared to those in America. Binge eating is not present in the culture. Third, most people commute to work through a well-connected public transport system. For this, they need to walk a lot more than the Americans do, on a daily basis. American companies usually provide parking space or cover parking costs for their employees. The Japanese on the other hand resort to greener solutions like cycling and public transport. So, even if they don’t consciously work out, the Japanese people’s lives are built in such a way that they get at least a minimum amount of exercise doing everyday activities. And the results, just speak for themselves! It is not necessary to copy everything from the west, after all!
To provide another similar comparison, most Asian countries have a nutritionally balanced diet in their traditional food, with just the right amount of proteins, fats and fibres among other nutrients. As a result, when we break up the US obesity statistics ethnicity- wise, we can see that the Asian-Americans are the least affected by obesity. It is interesting how culture plays its role in either making or breaking the health of the people. Why do you think a lot of obese Americans do not bother to see it as a problem that deserves attention? Could it be these pro-feminism groups that are into beautification of fat bodies? Does it make the fat people have a laid-back attitude towards hitting the gym? Isn’t it strange that we are using so called modern ideologies like feminism to encourage people to stay away from having healthy bodies? Whatever it is, the US needs to figure it out, ‘cause America, you need to get back in shape!
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