Obesity

The Ignorance Behind Obesity

Death is a grim reality that no one wants to face. Without realizing it, some people even shorten their own time with bad habits and decisions. Obesity is one of the leading causes of preventable death. In fact, obesity will soon become the leading cause of preventable death if the public remains uneducated about the risks.

Obesity is defined by a person's Body Mass Index (BMI.) "Anyone with a BMI (a ratio between height and weight) of 25 or more is considered overweight according to the National Institute of Health" (Faud). A healthy BMI is anywhere from 18.5 to 24.9. If you visit a doctor they can easily calculate your BMI for you. "34 percent of U.S. adults are considered overweight, and an additional 31 percent are obese" (Faud). There is a fine line between being overweight and being obese. People with a BMI of 25-29.9 are overweight, where as people with a BMI of 30 or greater are considered obese.

Obesity has become one of the leading causes of preventable death in the U.S. "We have become a nation of heavyweights; 60 million of us are obese because we eat too much and exercise too little" (Foreman). Citizens of the U.S. have taken advantage of the food available. We eat far more than we exercise. "Food is so overproduced in the U.S. that there are 3,800 calories per person per day, and we only need about half of that" (Spake 76). To maintain a healthy body weight, we only need about 2,000 calories a day. We eat what is available, and in the U.S. food is always available.

The only cure for obesity is awareness. Obesity is a serious problem that doesn't get the attention it deserves (Severson). Our government needs to take responsibility and educate the public about the dangers of obesity. People need to be educated because if they don't know the dangers they won't give it much attention. The