Obesity As A Social Norm

This section also addresses the health risks associated with obesity including type 2 diabetes and heart problems. Additionally, it is based on fact and is made directly from the government.

As many Americans know, there is currently an obesity epidemic that is sweeping the nation. With more food advertisements, bigger portion sizes, and Americans eating more calories than ever before; Linder makes his viewpoint very clear on how this is negatively affecting our nation. In his article “Fat of the Land”, Linder looks at all of the possible leading factors on who is to blame on the current situation in resulting of more than 60% of adults in America being overweight. The main contributing people to blame for the obesity epidemic is of course, the fast food industry. Linder’s main argument starts with his comparison of American’s calorie intake in the 1950’s, than comparing it to today. With stating the other side’s viewpoint on while advertisements and marketing are always surrounding the world around us; it is not forcing us to do anything. With his basic statement claiming that people will be people and at the end of the day, it’s their decision if they want to eat that 1,000 calorie filled Big Mac from McDonalds. Linder does a substantial job at informing the reader about the many dangers causing obesity, while also persuading them by giving tips to lead a well-balanced, healthier lifestyle.

The sociological aspect of obesity shown through the impact of families, the government and the economy. The rapidly growing, fast-paced, technological society creates an epidemic of sorts. Families pursue the use of technology, restaurants and fast-paced eating as well as single parenting and parental denial. The government sets a significant health care cost to obesity, which prevents a solution and increases risks. A non-stable economy brings about a society filled with unemployment or multiple jobs as well as both parents working to stay above absolute or relative poverty leading to distractions from a healthy lifestyle. Obesity is a concern, not just for an individual but also for

According to the media article, Whose Fault is our Fat? Obesity solely stems from Americans not participating in enough physical activity. On the other hand, Family Stressors and Child Obesity, attributes the stem of childhood obesity to stressors, particularly family stressors. Another possible explanation for obesity, other than Americans not getting enough physical activity or stressors, comes from the movie, watched in lecture, The Weight of the Nation. This movie makes the connection of rates of obesity to living in poverty areas. The movie also firmly believes that Americans are turning to quick, processed, and readily made meals, instead of healthy food options.

know over the past couple of years America has become one one of the most obese countries in the world and to be quite honest the reason for it are right in front of us. If you go out to McDonalds everything is so ridiculously cheap. From snack cakes to 12 pack sodas being less than 5.00 you can easily say that there is a problem in how we are going about this obesity problem in the United States today. To be honest how many of us can honestly say that we have never indulged in some type of our favorite food that was extremely cheap these days? I can answer that for you not very man at all. Upon further research I noticed that in 2012 a study showed that obesity rated have increased at a constant level and have stayed there for about a couple of years but even that is still unacceptable. The reason why that is unacceptable is because about 40 percent of all Americans are obese to this day that is twice the amount that is was about 30 years ago and it is still growing in outrageous numbers. Not only has that but the number of children being obese nearly tripled in that time frame to about 17 percent. So in all honesty, do you believe that we are doing enough to bring these ridiculous numbers? Do you believe America is doing enough to bring these numbers down? I will answer that for you a big fat NO because making food that is unhealthy for you extremely cheap and giving your kids anything they want to eat no matter what it is apparently is not working at all and it needs to

The last decade has welcomed, with open arms, a new epidemic: obesity. Currently in the United States, more than one-third of adults, 35.7%, and approximately 17% of children and adolescents are obese. Obesity is not only a problem in the US but also worldwide with its prevalence doubling in high income and economically advanced countries and is also growing in under-developed areas. Its incidence rate is continually increasing with each successive generation and in each age group, including the elderly (Byles, 2009; Dorner and Rieder, 2011).

American Obesity Eating Fast food,is the American culture.A lot of average Americans eat Fast food almost every day.But somehow a lot of people Worldwide donnot know what’s in the food.Consumers from time to time don’t care to read the food labels.Consequently,Obesity is becoming the #1 threat,plaguing America and Everywhere Nationwide.

If a person was given two plates in front of them, one with the chocolate cake and the other one with celery sticks, which one would be? My guess is that chocolate cake would be gone faster than the celery sticks. It is been heard that “you are what you eat” and that is fairly true. The food a person puts in their mouth affects the way they look. A very striking epidemic in America is the way people eta and how that effects them. It is becoming a great concern about the way people eat and how little to no exercise they get. Nearly 1/3 of adults are considered overweight or obese. The question is how does a person become that way in why haven’t they done anything about it? Obesity has become a national epidemic regarding social economic status along with the personal choice of living an inactive lifestyle and begins with children’s mental stability.

In today’s society the citizen of the United States have come to think of obesity as a cultural epidemic or social norm. Some may think of this as a problem and others may say that it has just becomes society’s new normal because we see it way too often. “Culture is transmitted through people that a person socializes with or by members of an extended family or community. These groups have considerable influence on an individual's value system and accepted norms. If two-thirds of the American population is either overweight or obese, this becomes the cultural norm (Phelan).”

This essay discusses how social constructions have an effect on obesity and what combination of causes and contributing factors it includes can lead to obesity. `Obesity is the term used to describe someone who is overweight and unhealthy. Obesity shortens life by an average of 10 years. It is very common in the UK and results from a study back in 2014 showed that a whopping 65.3% of men and 58.1% of women are obese here. (UniversityOfBirmingham,2016) Being over weight is generally associated with being lazy and unpleasant. There are a lot of media groups that have influenced our society’s perception on obesity and many factors that lead to the disease. Obesity can be life threatening and can be the start of lethal conditions such as diabetes,

Obesity has become a national concern for the many health risks it poses. “More than one-third (36.5%) of U.S adults have obesity” (CDC, Overweight and Obesity Facts). The maintenance of the chronic diseases that result because of obesity impacts the cost on healthcare; “the medical costs of obesity in United States are high. In 2008 dollars, these costs were estimated to be $147 billion” (CDC, Overweight and Obesity Facts). Obesity also takes an emotional toll on the individual as well. There are certain stigmas that come from being obese. People with obesity are victims of negative and hateful actions every day. Research has revealed that, “individuals who experience weight stigmatization have higher rates of depression, anxiety, social isolation, and poorer psychological adjustment.” (Obesity Society, Obesity, Bias, and Stigmatization) The effects of obesity are seen in three areas: health, the societal economy, and the individuals’ emotional well-being.

Even though there a numerous advertisements for high-calorie and unhealthy meals that cause obesity there is a stigma against obesity. When one searches for the word obesity onto google the first definition of the word is “the condition of being grossly fat or overweight.” In this definition degrades a person who suffers from obesity by describing them as “grossly”. The denotation of the word “grossly” in this definition means excessively however the connotation of the word can reduce it to mean something that is unacceptably as in this term unacceptable to society. Thus this definition implies that obese people are unfit in society. In western standards of beauty an ideal woman is thin and beautiful and the ideal man is fit and toned. Thus

Therefore those that are overweight do not perceive themselves as overweight until they reach a target when they consider themselves obese (Truesdale & Stevens 2008).

Obesity has become an epidemic in our over indulgent North American society. In addition to body image issues, obesity causes significant health issues. Society often views obesity to be a disease when it is actually a sign of a disorder, genetic or environmental. The percentage of our population that is growing overweight is increasing every year, and can become a very serious issue if it is not dealt with urgently. Problems relating to self-confidence, self-consciousness, and isolation can occur as a result.

Individual problems such as addictions, illnesses and mental depression stalk us throughout our lives, but there is more to addictions, illnesses and mental depression than meets the eye. A good example of this theory is obesity. Obesity in Australia is turning into a problem and as the rates of obesity increase each year, the larger the problem expands. According to sociologist, C. Mills, problems can be divided into either troubles or issues and more often than not, a problem which is seen as a person trouble, when looked at globally, is in fact a social issue. This idea is referred to by C.Mills as the sociological imagination.