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Obesity in America

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ENG 101 SL1 26 June, 2006 Obesity in America Obesity in America is a continually growing problem and even worse our own children are sharing in this problem. A commentary in the Washington Times reports that sixty million Americans are obese. What really is the meaning of obese? Obese is having a body mass index of thirty percent or more. In recent years, the percentage of obese Americans has risen. In the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, the percentage of obese Americans rose from 22.9 in 1984-1994 to 32.2 in 2003 and 2004. The study also says if you throw in the number of "over weight" Americans (body mass index of 25 to 29.9) the total jumps to 66.3 …show more content…

A lot of today's obese American's are not obese because they eat too much, but because they move too little. Being physically active allows people to eat enough food to regain the nutrients they have used instead of putting more on top of that of what they have not used. Obesity can lead to a number of different health issues, one of the least deadly but most popular is high blood pressure. One half of Americans aged 55-64 have high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stoke- and two in five are obese according to Health, United States 2005(Obesity, High Blood Pressure). High blood pressure is an increase in the amount of blood your heart is pushing through the body with every heartbeat. The increase in pressure thickens the heart muscle, which makes it work harder, while as the heart, muscle thickens the harder it is to contract and relax. This strain on the heart over time could lead to heart failure. High blood pressure is a very common effect obesity has on the body simply because the more a person weighs the blood is being pushed throw the body. Of course, there are medications that can lower high blood pressure, although losing weight for an obese person with high blood pressure is a more recommended remedy. With high blood pressure, there is a far more likelihood of having a heart attack. A heart attack is another major health problem that is seen with obesity quite often. It is also the leading cause of death in the

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