Topic > Main causes of obesity and impact on individual health

Obesity is a growing personal and public health concern and has been identified as a lifestyle condition accelerated by poor lifestyle and dietary habits. Obesity has been identified as a predisposing factor for diabetes, heart infections, cancer and high blood pressure. Obesity is considered a lifestyle condition in light of the health promotion model, which explains that good health is more than just the absence of disease. According to this model, individuals should do everything possible to ensure holistic well-being. Having a healthy weight is a significant step towards good health. Obesity leads to decreased productivity in addition to health problems, as it leads to the use of more resources to meet medical expenses, individual underperformance and increased social costs. In this light, all members of society have a personal responsibility to maintain a healthy body weight. Fast food consumption has been documented as a major cause of obesity. Fast foods include junk food taken in fast food outlets such as hamburgers, chips, chicken, fish, ice cream, pizza, hot dogs with french fries, nuggets among others; as well as pre-cooked foods such as homemade tagliatelle (Viola et al, 428). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay According to Finkelstein et al (563) obesity occurs when calorie intake exceeds the body's needs, causing fat accumulation and positive energy imbalance in the body. body, leading to uncontrolled weight gain. There are several causes of obesity, including genetic composition, physical inactivity and, above all, poor eating habits. Studies agree that the main cause of obesity among children and adults is poor eating habits. Viola, (424) states that “Food intake and physical activity are important factors contributing to the development of obesity. If the calorie intake is more than the requirement, it will be stored mainly as body fat… If the stored body fat is not used over time, it will lead to overweight or obesity.” Fast foods contain high calories, saturated fat, salt and sugar, which are the main cause of energy imbalance in the body, fat accumulation, unhealthy body weight and obesity. Numerous studies have been conducted on the contribution of fast food to obesity. As Fraser et al (e77) explains, over the last four decades fast food consumption has increased like never before, and sales have doubled compared to the late 20th century. People have hundreds of good reasons for preferring fast food, citing constraints such as time, cooking appliances and energy savings. With the increasing popularity of fast food, obesity cases have increased exponentially. According to Poti et al, (162), 42.8% of individuals in the United States are at an unhealthy weight while 33.7% are obese, including at least 19% of people under the age of 20. These alarming figures may be the result of several factors, most significantly, the increased popularity of fast food. A report by Viola (426) states that fast foods are essentially highly processed. He explains that fast food is “full of fat, calories and sodium,” saying that with fast food it is possible to consume over 1,500 calories from a single meal. This would mean that the 1500-1800 calories predicted by nutritionists per day are consumed in a single meal, while all the calories present in the following two or three meals remain unused. The