Obesity: Food Restaurants, Research Paper Example

Obesity and being overweight are interrelated. However, obesity measures in terms of body mass. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) defines a person with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25-29.9 to be overweight. An adult with a BMI above 30 is obese.

Obesity is an issue that affects people of all ages, ethnicity, social economic classes, and races. Initially obesity affected people of different classes, but with the increased urbanization, technology change, change in work structure, increased availability of fast foods and the changed lifestyle, no one exempts. Cases of obesity and overweight are common amongst all members of the society worldwide. The tendency to take meals elsewhere other than home, eating less of no fruits and vegetables, driving more than walking and soda consumption are just among the many factors causing obesity.

The fast food industry has grown rapidly making fast foods accessible in a blink. People have now pointed a finger towards this industry to be the main cause of obesity. We ask if we are taking it too far by blaming the fast food restaurants. It is pertinent to note that personal diet rests on the individuals conduct and decision.

This paper will investigate the fast food restaurants as a factor leading to obesity. We will then review the causes of obesity, effects of being obese and the preventive measures necessary to avert obesity. We will then determine if the fast food restaurants are responsible for the unbecoming health disorder amongst the members of the society.

Fast food restaurants as a factor to blame for obesity

Recent papers have shown that fast food restaurants are potential contributors to obesity. Fast food restaurants have spread widely making the availability of fast foods easy. In fact, policy makers in some cities have restricted availability or content of fast foods. They order the calorie content of every meal to be clearly stated.

We consider the geographical location of fast food restaurants. Among the 9th grade students, a fast food restaurant is located within the proximity of a school. This contributes to at least 5.2% of the cases of obesity. These restaurants are also located within 0.25-0.5 Miles of the homesteads. Pregnant women who have taken maternal leave can access them easily leading to at least a 2.5% increase of the pregnant women who are obese. One needs not to travel to access the fast foods, as some are even located along the highways. The fast food industries are located in towns where employed people work. Women especially those who work have been reported to spend less time cooking, (Cawley and Liu 269). They purchase packed fast foods, ‘take away’ for their children after eating their share on their way back home from work.

The number of fast food restaurants is high with a higher growing rate compared to other restaurants. In fact, (Chou, Grossman, and Saffer 568) discovered that the number of fast food restaurants doubled at the same period, hence surpassing the growth of other restaurants. The widespread and readily availability of the fast food restaurants has a traumatic increase of obesity rates. These were the conclusions in the public debate over obesity. Choul et al studies the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance surveys. He finds out that there is a relationship between obesity and the number of fast food restaurants. Similar findings by (Rashad, Grossman, and Chou 613) reveal after their study of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys.

The mode of supply of the fast foods and the cost of fast foods is another factor. Fast food restaurants have lowered their food prices to the extent of tempting consumers who cannot control themselves. They advertise their goods and services and they are ready to make home deliveries. The success of these fast food industries means people eat and buy more of their products.

Other factors to blame for obesity, other than fast food restaurants

Obesity, especially childhood obesity, is all about lifestyle and it has become an epidemic in the adults. Young women are more prone to obesity than men are. The minority group, African American and the Hispanics are at a greater risk compared to whites. The main reason is poor nutrition and physical inactivity.

Home diets have turned to be a junk of food with high fat content, low folic acid, low calcium, and low fiber content. Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages also leads to obesity. It is imperative that the healthy lifestyle activities like vigorous and moderate physical activities forgotten. Children especially reported to spend most of their time seated and watching television. They tend to eat more as they watch in that there is an imbalance between the energy intake and external expenditure. Eating fast foods for a day means consumption of an extra 126 kcals/day for youths and young children. The TV and computers serve the children fully. They can watch movies, play games, browse, and explore the whole world while just seated in front of a computer screen. The Risk Behavior Survey shows that only 25% of children and teenagers take Physical Education classes, which expose them to obesity. The survey describes the current generation as the most inactive generation they have ever had.

People with low income present a higher population of the obese. Adults with no food security tend to eat more when the food is as reach. They do not compromise on the quality or quantity of food taken. They end up eating foods with high calories at lower costs. This is an explanation from the Vermont Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance.

Costs and risks associated with obesity

Obesity is associated with lifestyle diseases like hypertension, type II diabetics, and hyperlipidemia. Children as young as 4 years reported to suffer from type II diabetes. This is a disease associated with obesity (Laibson 107). Persons suffering from obesity are also prone to cancer. With the high risk of lifestyle diseases, one needs to have medical and pharmaceutical covers.. There are expenses of life insurance covers and medical expenditure arises. The Research Triangular institute and the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) carried out a research in 2009 and found out that $147 billion dollars spent every year for obesity related cases.

The employers suffer an immense deal for the lifestyle diseases associated with obesity of their employees. Such employees are bound to absenteeism from work when unwell. This in return lowers their productivity and productivity in the company they work. The employer suffers the consequences. The cost of absenteeism in the US estimated to be $42.8 billion per year.

Overweight people are prone to injuries as compared to those who are not. In case of accidents or emergencies, the overweight people are at a risk of dying or getting injuries. Running for their safety would proof to be difficult because of the body size.

These persons are at risk of disabilities, ageing and dying prematurely. The short term and long-term disabilities affect the employers forcing him/her to incur some expenses. Premature mortality, life insurance, and gasoline expenses affect the client of obesity.

Any person who is suffering from obesity is not physically attractive. This exposes him or her to mental torture and lack of self-esteem. People reported to start ‘slim possible’ projects while others starve themselves when it is too late. This people end up developing mental health problems because of stress of rejection and low self-esteem. Some are reported cases of such people getting themselves into drugs believing that drugs help in slimming.

Preventive measures to be undertaken

The blame for children under the age of five suffering from obesity lies on parents. A woman should take care of her pregnancy to bear a healthy child. Exposure to alcohol, tobacco, and drugs while pregnant affects the child’s development after birth. The child again needs a healthy environment after birth and a healthy nutrition (Cutler et al 116). A woman should breastfeed a child rather than introducing it to artificial food. Breast milk is the most nutritious milk for a healthy child. Diets with high fat contents, low calcium, and low in folic acid avoided. Prepare some foods by boiling instead of frying. Deep fried food only adds in oil on food without any nutrient content and thus needs avoidance.

All work without play makes Jack a dull boy. Therefore, it is notable that school based strategies and programs like Physical Education (PE) classes, games, interclass competitions to reduce weight need introduction (Rosenheck 542). Apart from enabling fitness in children, it also rejuvenates their minds to prepare for the next lesson.

Increase activities whether moderate or vigorous. Ensure one moves 30 minutes on a daily basis. These movements could be in the form of walking, jogging, aerobic dancing, swimming, or gardening. If one does this consistently for some time, risks in developing cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes and obesity reduces.

Increase intake of fruits and vegetables. One needs five servings of fruits and vegetables daily, accompanied with five to six servings of whole grains (Lin 832). Avoid polished grains containing little or no roughages at all. Vitamin or folic acid supplements are essential but avoid them. It is important for one to reduce TV watching, movies and finds other outdoor activities. Changing one’s eating behaviors such as avoiding junk foods is also inevitable.

Conclusions

Obesity is a significant burden to the society. It brings in extra expenses to the health organizations, work places and the individual incurs unnecessary expenses. It is evident that fast food restaurants contribute to obesity. However, we are taking it too far by blaming fast food restaurants for obesity, there are other factors too that contributes to the same. With these factors discussed, accompanied by risks associated with obesity, and the various necessary control measures, there is no reason to blame the fast food restaurant industry. Obesity is individual responsibility where people are encouraged to have internal discipline, eat well, keep moving for physical exercise, and live healthy life. It is only appropriate to place blame when people have taken all the mentioned precautions without success, which is impossible.

Works Cited

Cawley, John, and Feng Liu. “Maternal Employment and Childhood Obesity: A Search for Mechanisms in Time Use Data.” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper.1.3( 2007): 267-289.

Chou, Shin-Yi, Inas Rashad, and Michael Grossman. “Fast-Food Restaurant Advertising on Television and Its Influence on Childhood Obesity.” Journal of Law and Economics, 51.4 (2008): 599–618.

Chou, Shin-Yi, Michael Gareth and Henry, Saffer. “An Economic Analysis of Adult Obesity: Results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.” Journal of Health Economics, 23.3 (2004): 565–587.

Cutler, David M., Edward L. Glaeser, and Jesse M. Shapiro. “Why Have Americans Become More Obese?” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 17.3 (2003): 93–118.

Laibson, David. “A Cue-Theory of Consumption.” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116.1 (2001): 81–119.

Lin, Wanchuan. “Why Has the Health Inequality among Infants in the US Declined? Accountingfor the Shrinking Gap.” Health Economics, 18.7 (2009.): 823–41.

Rashad, Inas, Michael Grossman, and Shin-Yi Chou. “The Super Size of America: An Economic Estimation of Body Mass Index and Obesity in Adults.” Eastern Economic Journal, 32.1 (2006): 133–48.

Rosenheck, R. “Fast Food Consumption and Increased Caloric Intake: A Systematic Review of a Trajectory Towards Weight Gain and Obesity Risk.” Obesity Reviews, 9.6 (2008): 535–47.