frederick douglous

Essay by dominiquecCollege, UndergraduateB+, October 2012

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How can a country so infatuated with counting calories, cutting back fatty foods and going on diets be so overweight? Obesity is an important problem America faces today. Obesity can be defined as the excess proportion of total body fat. A person is considered obese when his or her weight is 20% or more above average weight. The most common measure of obesity is the body mass index or BMI. There is another stage before becoming obese. A person is considered overweight if his or her BMI is between 25 and 29.9; a person is considered obese if his or her BMI is over 30 (WebMD). A person who is overweight has excess body fat, muscle, bone, and water while a person who is obese only has excess body fat (Lynn Hits). Most Americans today who do not know the difference however use the terms Obesity and Overweight in the same way, they do mean two different things on a doctor's level.

Alcohol intake, foods high in sugar, and fats all lead to obesity. Obesity is a disease that affects 60 million people in the United States alone (James Nava). Over one-third of women from the ages 20-74 years of age are obese with the majority of the women being African American and Mexican American (Lynn Hits). More than 35.1% of American adults are obese and 17% of children and teens ages 2-19 years are obese. Obesity in children as well as adults is a serious issue that can accumulate many different problems.

People who suffer from obesity are more likely to encounter bad health issues throughout their life. High blood pressure and high cholesterol are most popular when it comes to obesity. A survey found that 46.2% of people with high blood pressure are obese, 36.8% have...