The Epidemic of Obesity
Today, in our world, major health trends are changing rapidly. Kids are now much safer from infectious diseases due to immunizations. However, all countries minus Africa have found an 82% increase in obesity rates in the past two decades. Worldwide, the percentage of adults who are obese has nearly doubled in the past 30 years. Everyone is affected by this obesity crisis, not just America. This global issue of obesity needs to be addressed soon.
Obesity is dangerous, and can increase your risk for many diseases. Obesity when someone is so overweight that it is a threat to their health. This is a BMI or body mass index of 30 or more. High BMI increases the risk of many diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, strokes, coronary heart disease, insulin resistance, congestive heart failure, gallstones, gout, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis and even multiple types of cancer. Obesity has now risen from the 10th most important risk factor for death in 1990, to the sixth. Obesity is a contributing factor in five of the top ten factors of death: Heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease. More and more obese people are becoming affected by these diseases yearly. Type 2 diabetes alone is blamed for more than three million deaths a year. It afflicts 154 million people. This is almost four times the number of people with HIV or AIDS. Also, the World Health Organization believes more than twice as many people with develop diabetes in the next 25 years if the obesity rates stay the same. That is around 308 million people with type 2 diabetes. To add to that, obesity can triple the risk of heart disease. One-third of all deaths globally are blamed on heart disease, stroke and related cardiovascular problems. Obesity can increase the risks of fatal diseases exponentially.
Obesity affects all countries, even small islands. The most obese country in the world is not the US, but instead the world’s smallest island nation of Nauru. On this island, 97% of men and 93% of women are obese. Over 40% of the population has type 2 diabetes. This is because of canned foods now in their diets. Even South Pacific islands like Kosrae are now eating instant noodles and deep fried turkey tails instead of their traditional reef fish and taro. Obesity has slowly spread into all countries like an infectious disease. Poverty does not stop obesity either. In Mexico, 40% of its 105 million people live in poverty. However, two-thirds of men and women living in Mexico are overweight or obese. Processed foods are much cheaper, and many prefer to eat them instead of healthy foods. All countries, whether large or small, are affected by this epidemic of obesity.
Obesity is also costly. In America alone, if obesity went down 5% in each state, millions of Americans would be saved from health problems and they would be able to save billions of dollars in health spending. They would save 6.5% to 7.8% in almost every state. This would prevent budget cuts, and it would even save people’s jobs. If this was done in every country, the savings would be enormous. Obesity is not only dangerous and worldwide, but it takes a big chunk out of peoples’ wallets.
Obesity is a global issue, and it needs to be solved quickly. Infectious disease rates are going down, but obesity rates are skyrocketing and are exponentially rising. In the past two decades, rates have doubled are not slowing down. Everyone is affected by this issue and it is both fatal and costly. However, there is a solution. Obesity can be solved with a combination of three things. People have to start to exercise again. Modern transportation makes this a rare occurrence, but walking occasionally and maybe going to the gym will help a lot. Even an extra 100 calories a day results into ten pounds a year. Next, eat healthy. Go on a diet, but do not fast or skip meals. Stay away from processed foods high in sugar and sodium. Finally, make both of these things a habit. Do not give yourself the mentality that a cake every once in a while is okay. Make a routine, and stick to it. By doing these things, we can prevent this global issue of obesity from spreading any further. With your help, we can make a difference.