Obesity Discussion Post

Obesity is the next major public health challenge facing the United States. Currently, over 60% of the US population is overweight or obese. Obesity is the next major epidemiologic challenge facing today’s doctors, with the annual allocation of healthcare resources for the disease and related comorbidities projected to exceed $150 billion in the United States. It is a public health problem that has raised a worldwide concern. According to the World In 2015, The Health Organization (WHO), estimated a 2.3 billion overweight people aged 15 years and above, and over 700 million obese people worldwide.

After reading Chapter 16, answer the following questions:

1. There are several factors which can contribute to obesity. Name one type of obesity, the causes, consequences, treatment and prevention.
2.  Studies state that lower-income individuals consume higher amounts of calories through fast foods and sodas that are high in sugar, fat, and, subsequently, calories. Is there a link between poverty and obesity? And if so, what can be done to mediate that association?
3. One third of children in the U. S. is considered overweight or obese and is continuing to rise. What are the most common factors which can lead to obesity and what can be done to prevent it?
4. Obesity can result from energy imbalance: too many calories in, too few calories out. Balance between energy (calories) in vs. out, can also help active people stay at a healthy weight or lose weight (if more calories are “burned” than stored). How can physical activity and a healthy diet decrease onset of overweight and obesity? Explain your answer.

Material: Donohoe, M. (2013).  Public Health and Social Justice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/John Wiley & Sons.

Material: Desmond, M. (2016). Evicted.  New York, NY: Broadway Books/Penguin Random House, LLC.