Obesity in America and Public Health

Paper Summary:

This paper defines obesity as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, which, in most cases, means that the individual is about 30 pounds over their ideal weight. The author points out that a factor complicating the calculation of the cost of obesity to public health is that obesity engenders and is linked to a wide range of other diseases and ailments that also increase the cost to the public sector and health care in general. The paper concludes that alarm bells with regard to public and private health care and obesity have been ringing for some time now; however, this alarm has risen to a new and more strident level by the increasing number of children and adolescents who now are overweight or obese.

Table of Contents
The Extent of the Problem
Obesity: Definition and Causes
Related illness
Public Health
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Obesity has a concomitant affect on an individual's overall health and can subsequently be connected to other illness and ailments and is also an exacerbating factor in many common diseases. "As obesity rates continue to grow at epidemic proportions in this country, the net effect will be dramatic increases in related chronic health conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease." Obesity also has an effect on many common illnesses such as diabetes, particularly type-2 diabetes. This form of diabetes is usually diagnosed in patients over 40 years of age and is caused by the body's inability to process insulin correctly. This form of diabetes is directly linked to obesity and physical inactivity."

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