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Jahaziel Luis
English 1010 10:00-10:50
James Celestino
11/24/14
Final Essay

Obesity Epidemic
Theres a wide range of problems and issues in America, and a really BIG issue is
obesity. Obesity has become a great ordeal for American citizens ever since the U.S. was voted
#1 in the world with the most overweight and obese population, back in the late 90s, and just
recently went from #1 to #2 leading Mexico to first. Back before 1991 there were no states with
obesity larger than 15%, now almost every other state has obesity levels over 30% and Colorado
being the only state with fewer than 20%. Obesity has been a dilemma for decades, many people
have suffered and died due to obesity and it keeps getting worse each year. While there are
people giving a helping hand to prevent obesity there are obstacles on the way that make this
matter difficult to accomplish, due to the fact that there are some people out there with a different
perspective. Aside from obesity being an issue on its own, obesity has also brought up many
health difficulties and issues among the overweight children and adults, some of which are
diabetes, hypertension, and even death. Some may believe obesity is a disability while others
may deny and neglect the issue, opponents contend that this is caused by the malnutrition on
obese people and the lack of being active in a daily basis while other believe its an epidemic.
Obesity is not just a problem due to the health issues, but also to discrimination and stereo types
that make this matter worse.

Ever since the 90s many people have started to aim for a solution towards obesity, and
since then many celebrities have devoted their time and have partnered with charities to help
fight the cause especially within the children. Michelle Obama with many celebrities are working
together to end this epidemic, celebrities like Beyonc, Master P, Fat Joe, Jennifer Hudson,
Scarlett Johansson, these are just a few of many that are against obesity. Beyonc is one of many
celebrities who are partnered with Michelle Obama to fight obesity by helping her with her
Lets Move! campaign to aid children to become more active and reduce their chances on
becoming obese. Beyonc partnered with WAT-AAH! for her Move Your Body workout,
supporting Michelle Obamas Lets Move! initiative. This also helps adults get a sense of
direction towards good health and lose weight due to the high reputation they uphold among the
celebrities. Master P (Music Producer) helps the move with music organization which specially
targets child obesity by educating the next generation on how to eat right and exercise through
music, dance and entertainment. Says Mater P., He is also assisting Lady Obama by recruiting
other artist in the music field to help fight the cause.
NAAO (National Action Against Obesity) is well known for their persistence and actions
made towards obesity, they bring awareness to the people with journalism and acts that target
industries to ban or boycott certain foods. The National Action Against Obesity is a non-partisan,
all-volunteer advocacy group dedicated to reversing the obesity crisis by eliminating disease- and
obesity-accelerators from the food supply and eradicating Secondhand Obesity (obesity
handed down from one generation to the next, as well as from citizen to citizen); while
encouraging exercise across all ages. NAAO is responsible for successfully boycotting Girl
Scout cookies, President of NAAO MeMe Roth states "America is suffering from the twin public
health crises of diabetes and obesity. No civic organization--including the Girl Scouts of the

USA--should promote obesity, regardless of how profitable it is. Girl Scouts do not have the
same mission statement as Coca-Cola, Kraft or Kellogg's. Girl Scouts' mission is to serve the
community. You can't serve the community by selling it more of the very thing making it sick-regardless of how the money will be used. Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, churches, synagogues,
mosques, schools--all civic organizations must cease from using junk food as a fundraiser."
Furthermore, Video games from Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are a great way to prevent
obesity, video Games such as Dance Dance Revolution and Wii Fit. A study by the George
Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) researched 104
students from 3rd to 8th grade showing that games such as Dance Dance Revolution (DDR)
boost their physical activity by as much as or in some cases more than what P.E. does for them in
schools, this is due to the high activity needed by the video game in order to advance through
each obstacle.
As there are people helping fight obesity, there are people ignoring the cause. Big
corporations specially the fast food chains are ignoring the fact that people need help, this is due
to their wealth and income coming from the Obese. The fast food chain industry are ignoring this
matter by advertising and aiming their products towards children and misinterpreting the
nutrition in their foods, in other words, manipulating their consumers. They manipulate the
people by advertising healthy foods with young slim/athletic models, not to mention there are
in occasion some celebrities that help with these advertisements for the fact that most of their
income come from these fast food endorsements like LeBron James, Payton Manning, and
Serena Williams. James has promoted Sprite and McDonalds while Manning has pushed Papa
Johns (he owns many locations) and Williams has promoted McDonalds and Gatorade
(Sifferlin 1). Statistics show that Mc. Donalds sales are up by 26%, Wendys has grown to 9%,

and Subways sales went up by 48% in the past 5 years, this is all due by the obese and it shows
how effective a celebrity can be whether its advertising a soft drink and fast food, or simply
plain water. These fast food corporations are a big dilemma in the U.S. as the American citizens
start to get busier they start to resort to fast food as their main source of nutrition, this brings
forth malnutrition and bad eating habits. When someone starts a bad eating habit its difficult to
get out of, for the reason that they believe they need to eat when in reality they dont and this is
due to their malnourishment brought for by the fast food organizations.
Other factors people need to take into consideration is bullying and discrimination.
Although most people would think bullying is only among the children, what people dont know
is that bullying is everywhere. A majority of bullying comes from adults; discriminating against
people that dont fit their profile and in many occasions bullying is due to their overweight and
disabilities, and not only adults, but children as well.
An immense and problematic issue comes from the state of Tennessee with an obesity
rate of 33.7% of adults and 16.9% of high school students. The growing issue with this problem
is Tennessees discrimination against the obese. Tennessees predicament is to not give the obese
the eligibility to be disabled, due to the fact that they believe obesity is not a disability but a
choice. This is a big issue, not just for the fact that it is not granting or giving a helping hand, but
for the reason that its a state within America that is resorting to the demands of obesity. Many
people have the same believes as the state of Tennessee, they believe that obesity may be simply
cured if people take more responsibility into their own actions and start being more active and
eating healthier, although that might be true to an extent, but its not an easy task, due to the fact
that the people that discriminate and bully the overweight are one of the main issues people stay
obese. Calling someone Fat, Lazy, or simply saying they have no self-respect is not going

to make the matter disappear, people have to be supportive in every way possible, obesity
doesnt just aim for the extra pounds in people, as mentioned before it also brings depression,
which makes this subject more sensitive specially to the discrimination and bullying going
around. This said simple task mentioned by the state of Tennessee will not be accomplished
with the negativity the bullies bring forth, statistic show that In a recent national survey of
overweight sixth graders, 24 percent of the boys and 30 percent of the girls experienced daily
teasing, bullying or rejection because of their size. The number doubles for overweight high
school students with 58 percent of boys and 63 percent of girls experiencing daily teasing,
bullying or rejection because of their size (Stevelos 1) These percentages keep growing each
year and at this rate obesity will be the least of an American citizens problems. The
psychological pain obesity brings is not to be taken lightly, if people want the obese to stop being
overweight they should first think before they act on someones emotions.
Aside from being a disease itself, obesity brings forward many other corruptions and
manifestations. Some dreadful diseases obesity brings forth are: diabetes, strokes, heart disease,
cancer, respiratory problems, liver and gallbladder disease, incontinence and high blood pressure,
hypertension are some examples and in most cases it also shortens life expectancy. Many
organizations like NAAO are fighting for the protection of the people, by banning certain fast
foods, this is a big step towards preventing obesity and obtaining worst diseases. Many health
issues that are problematic to the average American citizen due to obesity may dissipate and not
be brought up if they become more active and start eating healthier says Tennessee state, but
for this to arise people have to devote their time and be persistent to the cause, as they say easier
said than done.

Once a person is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes it makes obesity a lot harder to fight and
prevent it from getting worse. Symptoms of type 2 diabetes are excessive thirst, increased hunger,
lack of interest and concentration, blurred vision, and tiredness. Statistics show that women with
their BMI of 35 or higher are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes compared to woman with a
BMI of 22 or lower and men with a BMI of 30 or higher are more likely to develop type 2
diabetes as compared to men with a BMI of 25 or less. Treating diabetes is a very difficult and to
some, very painful process. People with type 2 diabetes have to redo their whole lifestyles and
some have to take painful medications, redoing their whole lifestyle is to learn new eating habits
and getting rid of the bad, they have to start eating healthier, exercise more, and monitor their
blood sugar. The figure ranges from around $55,000 to $130,000, depending on age at diagnosis
and sex, with the average being $85,200. (Busko 1) This high cost estimate suggests an urgent
need for new healthcare policies to help prevent diabetes or at the very least delay its
complications says Xiaohui Zhuo. Aside from the injections and high cost for the treatment,
some people have to get Bariatric surgery, this can return blood sugars back to normal on 55-95%
of people with diabetes, and although this is a costly surgery it runs with some risk and a major
risk is death. In 2010 diabetes was the 7th leading cause of death, it is said that approximately
234,000 people have been victims of death due to diabetes, this was 4 years ago now these
numbers just keep increasing due to the fact that obesity is growing in a vast rate and where
theres obesity theres diabetes.
Diabetes is not the only concerns for obese people, obesity is also known to cause cancer.
A statistic study from the American Cancer Society shows that 310,000 men die due to cancer
and another 275,000 women. Obesity is no joking matter, and this is the reason why people and
states like Tennessee have to think and reconsider their acts. It is not as simple as they say it is

and it take a lot of effort, and dedication not just by the obese themselves but by organizations
and people helping them.
Without the effort of organizations like NAAO or people raising campaigns such as
Michelle Obama, obesity would be in a worst state that it is now. Obesity has been a really big
problem in America, and worsens every year that if this keeps going statistics have shown that
by the year 2030 45% of Americans will be obese, that is nearly half the country. Half the
country will be running into this problem if people dont watch what they eat, if states like
Tennessee keep discriminating on people, and if fast food chains keep manipulating their
consumers. Not only will the U.S. have to spend more money but studies have shown that the
U.S. is already spending a rough estimate of $240 billion a year for the health care of obesity,
this estimate was measured with 1/3 of the American population, now if said estimate would be
implemented in half the country, this country would be in bigger debts than what it is now. In a
country where technology is being relied on like fast food is being relied on many peoples source
of nourishment, we will need more programs and games like DDR and Wii Fit to prevent obesity
in children. This will help prevent obesity in our future and help maintain a healthier country,
this alone will not fix this matter. The American citizens need more people to stand against the
cause, more people like Michelle Obama or organizations like NAAO to ban and inform the
American citizens about this epidemic. We as American citizens have to stop relying on getting
everything fast, and start focusing on whats important for our health and future. The fast food
organizations will still be around even if we try to fight them off, for this purpose people
specially the obese must restrain themselves from buying their products and start focusing more
on what lays ahead.

Works Cited

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American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2014

http://www.cancer.org/research/cancerfactsstatistics/cancerfactsfigures2014/index. 2014.
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American Diabetes Association. Statistics About Diabetes http://www.diabetes.org/diabetesbasics/statistics/. 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.

Briggs, Geneva, and Tirissa, J. Reid. "Medical Directors Guide On Obesity." Journal Of
Managed Care Medicine 16.(2013): 4-29. CINAHL Complete. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.

Busko, Marlene. Life Time Cost of Treating Diabetes in US: Around $85,000
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/809547. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2014

Harvard School of Public Health. Health Risks http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesityprevention-source/obesity-consequences/health-effects/. 2012. Web. 22 Nov. 2014

New York, NY (PRWEB). MeMe Roth And National Action Against Obesity Name 2006
Heroes and Villains in U.S. Fight Against Obesity. 2006. Web. 22 Nov. 2014

ProCon. Is Obesity a Disease? http://obesity.procon.org/. 2014. Web. 1 Nov. 2014

Sifferlin, Alexandra. When Good Celebrities Promote Bad Foods

http://healthland.time.com/2013/10/07/when-good-celebrities-promote-bad-foods/. 2013.
Web. 28 Nov. 2014

Stevelos, JoAnn. BULLYING, Bullycide and Childhood Obesity

http://www.obesityaction.org/educational-resources/resource-articles-2/childhoodobesity-resource-articles/bullying-bullycide-and-childhood-obesity. 2012. Web. 1 Nov.
2014

Vallor, Jennifer. "Gut Check: Why Obesity Is Not A Disability Under Tennessee Law And How
The Legislature Can Address The Obesity Epidemic." Tennessee Journal Of Law &
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Washington, D.C. E-Games Boost Physical Activity in Children; Might Be A Weapon In The
Battle Against Obesity http://publichealth.gwu.edu/content/e-games-boost-physicalactivity-children-might-be-weapon-battle-against-obesity. 2013. Web. 3 Dec. 2014