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Essay On The Causes Of Obesity In America

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American’s are suffering from an epidemic today called obesity. Contributors to the obesity problem are overly large portions of food served to Americans. Also, a lack of physical activity adds to obesity, spending hours in front of a television or computer. Advertisements contribute to Americans over-weight problems by pushing high-calorie high-fat foods. Major health problems caused by obesity are high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.
First, obesity can cause high blood pressure in Americans. Overweight individuals are more likely to develop high blood pressure than individuals with average weight. The added fat tissue in the body creates a need for additional blood to circulate through the body. As a result, of this added blood flow there is extra pressure on the artery walls of the heart. With this higher pressure on the artery walls a person’s blood pressure rises. Since, there is increased pressure on the heart it causes the heart to grow larger. When the heart grows larger, it loses some of its ability to squeeze blood through the heart valves. So, this extra weight impedes the body’s ability to transport blood through the blood vessels. …show more content…

Overweight people can have a buildup of plaque inside the coronary arteries that can lead to heart disease. In effect, this buildup of plaque can lead to high cholesterol. High cholesterol will narrow the arteries and reduce blood flow that can cause chest pain. Also, narrowed arteries can form blood clots that lead to heart diseases. A heart attack can happen when the body cannot pump enough blood to supply the body in an obese individual. Since, heart attacks, strokes or even death can be the results of a person suffering from obesity. Being overweight can cause the heart valves to malfunction. As a result, this malfunction does not allow the valves to close completely and can lead to heart failure. An individual that is obese is at a higher risk of heart

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