“To say that obesity is caused by merely consuming too many calories is like saying that the only cause of the American Revolution was the Boston Tea Party.” A quote from Adelle Davis, one who believes obesity is caused by much more than we think. Obesity can be simply defined as the state of being well above one’s normal weight. Obesity is considered to be a chronic disease, similar to diabetes or high-blood pressure. Often, many people have the set idea that obesity and overeating simply occur from someone just doing it, and do not take into effect all the other forces that lead someone to an eating disorder. Several things such as psychological state of mind, one’s biology, or even their cultural background all play a role in someone’s road to obesity or eating disorder. Once you are able to determine the underlying effects that a person has to go along with the natural desire of hungry, that is how you produce an overweight individual.
More often than not, when someone tries to confront an overweight individual they will say, “You need to stop eating so much.” Although it is a contributing factor, the desire to eat is not always the main point. Psychological states are often something that plays heavy in developing obesity and also an eating disorder. Your mood or even simply how you are feeling about yourself internally is crucial when dealing with eating, especially in younger people. Adolescents who are depressed may be at an increased risk of becoming obese. One recent study found that depressed adolescents were two times more likely to become obese at the one year follow up than teens who did not suffer from depression. (Eating Disorders & Obesity, 2008, 6).
The Essay on Men And Eating Disorders
Males with Eating Disorders About seven million women across the country suffer from eating disorders including anorexia nervosa and bulimia and, as a result most research involving these disorders have only been conducted on females. However, as many as a million men may also suffer from these same disorders. Women are not the only people prone to disliking what they see when they look into the ...
Some people go through struggles throughout their life, and often turn to eating as a way to comfort themselves, almost to get away. Children can face the obstacles in schools such as bullies, which can affect their self-esteem, developing a state of depression. This type of situation is referred to as the “chicken & egg case”, which means you do not know what comes first, and what is the cause or the effect. It is assumed that the two usually occur together, and a part of the brain called the HPA axis, links all of these things together. The HPA axis is responsible for releasing cortisol, the so-called “stress hormone.” It plays a critical role in energy metabolism as well as other functions. The problem is, cortisol prompts the body to deposit fat around the abdomen, a pattern that is especially hazardous to health. Chronic stress also begets depression. (Lawson, 2003, 4)
“Obesity, depression and behavioral disorders have all been linked to abnormal functioning of the HPA axis,” says Sarah Mustillo, Ph.D., of Duke University Medical Center. While social factors such as teasing and isolation may contribute to depression in obese kids, Mustillo believes the problem is much more complex. “It’s probably a combination of social and biological factors,” she says, noting, “There’s an interaction between what’s outside your body and what’s inside.” Obesity carries a large social stigma and may bring on depression if it negatively affects self-esteem, body image or social mobility. It may even disrupt the normal hormonal pathways. Then again, depression may also bring on obesity, if a child lacks the energy to exercise or is immobilized by stress. (Lawson, 2003, 7/8)
It is believed that only you can make yourself become overweight, however human biology tied in with genetics can contribute towards obesity. Often biological relatives pass on their similarities in body weight in future generations and Genetic factors also are beginning to be implicated in the degree of effectiveness of diet and physical activity interventions for weight reduction. (Obesity and Genetics, 2005, 6).
The Term Paper on The Correlation Between Obesity Depression And Physical Activity
... change the direction of this obesity-depression cycle it needs to be ... overweight can have a broad meaning. Scientists and physicians, however, have designated a small number of accepted systems associated with body ... a predisposition to obesity as well. Although many people are predisposed to ... eating less food and being more physically active, because a positive energy balance is the cause of obesity ...
Despite you possibly having genes that may lead to obesity or the even being overweight, rather than changing your genes you can change your attitude. All people hunger and desire to eat ranges and vary, and people can often still maintain that and keep control. Also, your metabolism is a contributing factor as well, and often people don’t take into account how much easier it is for the body process food for some people, and for some it is not as easy. You can always be the one in control, but overeating is often how people let themselves down and hurt themselves the most. Overeating correlates well also with “binge” eating, this is when you consume a large amount of food at a very rapid pace. People do not even understand or acknowledge that this style of this eating is what they are doing. Compulsive overeating is characterized by an addiction to food. Compulsive overeater’s use food as a way to cope with stress, emotional conflicts and daily problems. Emotional eating has to do with how many hours you spend preoccupy with thoughts about what you are eating. (Corner, 2008, 7)
A proven fact is that your culture and current background and environment contribute just as much as other things when discussing obesity and being overweight. An alarming statistic is this right here; the prevalence of significant obesity (body mass index over 30) in the U.S. population is 29% for Caucasians, 34% for Hispanics and 40% for African Americans. Fully 78% of African American females are overweight or obese. The likelihood of being overweight in the poorest 25% of the population is twice that of people in the highest quarter of economic class. (Brownwell, 2007, 1-2) The surrounding around an individual also must be taken into consideration, as those in areas where there is more poverty and fewer locations to take part in physical activities are at a higher risk to become obese. People living in poverty find it hard to be physically active. Leisure time is rare and concerns with neighborhood safety keep both children and adults indoors. Poor individuals are less likely to work for companies with fitness facilities, and there is no discretionary income to join health clubs, have personal trainers, etc. Poor schools have worse facilities and fewer organized sports, and safety issues prevent children from walking or biking to school. Therefore, with poor eating habits, a low self-esteem, and the in ability to remain physically active to counter what you eat, it is hard to not become overweight, with a strong likely hood of entering the category of obesity.
The Research paper on Persuasive speech: People should support organic food production
Ladies and Gentlemen, Have you ever thought about the food you eat? Of course you have, we all do. We think about the taste, the ingredients and the health benefits, but we don’t question where the food comes from and we barely think about all the chemicals and toxins added to it, because most foods that we are surrounded with are all the same, most food companies that we enjoy are not organically ...
In conclusion, simply defining someone’s reasoning for overeating and becoming obese as just eating too much is ludicrous. The brain and our psychological feelings may be the first place that start or trigger the cause and effect of how you handle your eating and how your body reacts. At a young age, depression is one of the leading causes in eating disorders and those who are already becoming obese. Also biologically, being overweight can simply run in your genes and also lead towards your body size, tied in with overeating, is another obstacle to face when struggling against obesity and being overweight. Often, people consider their eating habits as normal or something that everyone else does, and are the last ones usually to notice that they have a problem with eating. Overeating or binge eating have the largest effect on one’s weight, and usually is triggered from nothing else but the individual considering consuming the food. The individual always is control at first when making choices in what they eat, but once the brain spends most of its time planning it’s next meal or simply thinking what to eat next, it is tough to look back. You can sometimes counter the bad affects of eating improperly by staying physically active, but for some people of lower status or those living in a bad area, that is not always the case. Without the proper facilities around or the safety to go out and be active on your own time, losing this weight becomes much harder. As you can see, a person who is obese is not something that merely happens overnight, there are several underlying forces that tie together and produce the overweight individuals we see. To conquer this struggle, one must look at themselves first and understand what is going on, and that food does not heal all things. An individual has the ability to stop it all, and remain in control of their own situation before the other forces step in and take control of you.
The Term Paper on The Future of Biopsychology-Obesity
Academic Integrity: All work submitted in each course must be the Learner’s own. This includes all assignments, exams, term papers, and other projects required by the faculty mentor. The knowing submission of another persons work represented as that of the Learner’s without properly citing the source of the work will be considered plagiarism and will result in an unsatisfactory grade for the work ...
References
Brownwell, Kelly D. (2007, September 27).
LA Times Culture Matters in the Obesity Debate.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-dustup21sep21,0,5946625.story
Corner, M. (2008, June 26).
Obesity and Overeating the Shocking Facts. Retrieved October 5,
2009, from
Definition of Obesity. (2009) Last Reviewed February 21, 2001 from
http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=4607
Eating Disorders & Obesity: How are they related?.(2008) Reviewed September 9, 2008 from
http://www.athealth.com/consumer/disorders/obesityeatingdis.html
Obesity and Genetics. (2005) Posted January 1, 2005
http://www.medicalmoment.org/_content/risks/jan05/286751.asp
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