September 15, 2010
Blog Post 1
Among the major issues faced in the United States today, is obesity. Health has always been a concern for this country, starting years ago with medicine and sanitation. Presently, our nation is becoming a nation full of people that are not only overweight, but obese. According to the online medical dictionary medicinenet.org, a person is considered to be obese "if they are more than 20 percent over their ideal weight...tak[ing] into account their height, age, sex and build." The prevalence of this now-called disease has prompted changes in our school curriculums, legislation on all levels, and policy changes in the way we prepare and serve food.
A major reason that obesity needs to be addressed, is the harmful consequences that are related to obesity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), consequences from being overweight or obese are as follows: "coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, hypertension, dyslipidemia, stroke, liver and gallbladder disease, sleep apnea and respiratory problems, osteoarthritis and gynecological problems." The CDC website also lists the top ten causes of death in the United States. Among the top seven, five of them were also on the same list as consequences of obesity. Obesity acts as a major factor in the deaths of millions of Americans, and yet statistics are still showing increases in obesity rates and mortality rates caused by obesity-related diseases.
Works cited:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website: http://www.cdc.gov
MedicineNet online dictionary: www.medicinenet.org
