Obesity as a Global Burden
Over the years, the overall life style of people across the globe has changed and modified immensely, much of which can be attributed to the dynamics in the social, economic, technological and other aspects of human life. These changes in the overall global scenario have influenced the way of living of people across the world both positively as well as negatively. While life has become easy due to several changes and innovations, with the progress and changes in the global framework several issues of concern has also cropped up in the life of people across the world, which with their widespread effects have left lasting impression on life of people. These bothering issues have made the policy makers and other relevant personnel to study and think about resolving such issues.
With changes in the way of living of people across the world, several lifestyle diseases have also cropped up and some of them have gained immense magnitude and expansion, thereby becoming issues of concern globally. One such globally bothering problem in the contemporary global framework is the continually increasing burden of obesity. Obesity or the problem of being over-weight has spread across all corners of the world, irrespective of their growth, social welfare, demographic patterns and life style habits. The expanse and the nature of this health hazard have earned it the title of a life style disease. As per the recent statistics (2015), almost 5% of children (107.7 million) and around 12% of adults (603.7 million) across the world are found to be obese
Keeping this into consideration, the essay tries to discuss about the rising issue of obesity and the global burden, which the problem has imposed, on the health care and welfare frameworks across the different parts of the world. It also discusses the implications of obesity and its linkages with other chronic or non-chronic diseases and the extent of these linkages. The essay also tries to shed light on the policies and strategies, which have been taken globally in this aspect and their effectiveness in mitigating the problem. Primarily focusing on the global burden of obesity, the essay also highlights the magnitude of the problem of obesity and the related problems, linkages, policy interventions and measures taken to combat the same with reference to the United States of America, which has one of the highest obesity burdens in the world.
The problem of obesity as a life style disease being increasingly becoming global issue of concern due to immense and long lasting negative impressions and direct or indirect linkages with other serious health related problems, have led the scholars, policy makers and researchers working in this aspect to explore and study about the problem and its expanse and implications. Extensive literary works are present in this aspect, which not only elaborate about obesity as a global problem and its implications but also discuss about the policy frameworks and steps taken across the world to combat the problem. The following section of the essay tries to explore the above-discussed aspects with reference to the literary works and empirical evidences present globally, with emphasis on the magnitude of problem existing over the years in the USA.
Body Mass Index and Obesity
Obesity: A Life Style Disease
Different scholars and medical personnel have defined the problem of obesity, broadly generalized as the problem of excessive weight among people, differently over the years. However, the most comprehensive definition of obesity can be put forward in terms of the Body Mass Index of the individuals, as has been highlighted in the work of Drincic et al. (2012). Obesity, as per the assertions of the author, is the medical condition of accumulation of unnecessary and excessive body fat, which may be to the extent of having negative health implications for the concerned people.
To understand the concept and classification of obesity, it is important to know about its indicator, the Body Mass Index (BMI). The BMI of an individual is obtained by dividing the weight of the concerned individual by the square of the height of the same. Conventionally, a person is said to be obese if the BMI of that person exceeds 30 kg/m2 and if the same remains within the range of 25 kg/m2 to 30 kg/m2, then the person is considered to be overweight (Nikolopoulou & Kadoglou, 2012).
Egger & Dixon (2014), in their working paper names obesity as a lifestyle disease increasingly dominating the global health scenario. The term “Life style disease” is coined for those diseases and health related problems, which usually crops up due to different life style habits and ways of living. Generally, life style diseases are associated to a specific targeted group of people whose life style and the way they live lead to the creation of several health problems, which are typical to that causal habit in their everyday life. According to the authors and supported by the paper of Nic Suibhne et al. (2013), lifestyle, which includes eating habits, mobility and different socio economic aspects, contribute considerably to the emergence of obesity in the population, thereby justifying the usage of the term “life style disease” for referring to the nature of obesity.
The problem of excessive weight has been prevalent in the global scenario over the years. However, the there has been an unprecedented surge in the problem, globally in the last few years, which can be seen from the increase in the percentage of population (Both male as well as female) coming under the domain of obesity and obesity related problem.
As is evident from the above figure, the percentage of global population falling under the obesity has considerably increased for both male population as well as female population. However, the figure also shows that irrespective of the time period considered, obesity as a life style disease is more acute a problem for the global female population than their male counterpart.
Obesity as a Life Style Disease
The findings of the above figure are strongly asserted by the report of the World Health Organization regarding the prevalence of obesity in the global scenario and the increase in the magnitude of the same over the years (World Health Organization, 2017). According to the statistics provided by the report, published in 2017, there has been a shocking increase in the global obesity in the contemporary period, with the obesity in the recent years increasing to more than double to what it was in 1980. As the report suggests, in 2008, around 1.5 billion people (of twenty years and above) have been found to be obese of which an alarming 500 million are found to be obese globally. Of these 500 million, 200 million were found to be men while the number of women has been found to be as high as 300 million.
The findings cited in the report of WHO, is strongly supported by the data provided by World Obesity Federation, which provides a detailed break-up of the total obesity burden in the global framework (Worldobesity.org, 2018). As per the data provided by the concerned report, the problem of obesity is more chronic and fatal than it appears to be. The report suggests that around 65% of the global population live in the places where obesity is a greater fatal problem than that of underweight. The findings of the report also shows the depth of the problem of obesity and its increasing dominance among the children across the world, as nearly 43 million of the total global population of children (Under five years) were found to be overweight in the year 2010.
Obesity over the years has become a concern of immense concern globally due to its direct linkage with fatality. The statistics of the European Association for the Study of Obesity shows that obesity lies among the topmost reasons of global casualties.
As can be clearly observed from the above figure, of the major causes of untimely casualties in the world as a whole, the problem of overweight or obesity comes second just after that of smoking problems. This in turn makes obesity not only one of the major life style diseases in the world, but also the second most widespread cause of untimely deaths among the population of all strata across the world.
Popkin, Adair & Ng (2012), adds to the above assertions, arguing that the problem of obesity, in terms of magnitude and rate of increase is not only a problem of those countries, which have a higher standard of living and where the general affordability of people are high. The authors suggest that the problem of obesity is equally prevalent in the developing countries also, in spite of their inferior quality of living.
Magnitude of Obesity as a Global Problem
The above figure makes it evident that obesity is also an issue in the developing countries with the problem being more acute for the female population. The arguments of the authors are strongly augmented by the empirical findings in the works of Pinhas-Hamiel & Sabin (2013), which shows that the burden of obesity in the developing countries is even more high than that of the developed ones. According to the authors, the number of obese people amounting to 557 million in the developed countries and a striking 904 million in the developing ones.
Keeping into consideration the extent and magnitude of the problem of obesity in the global framework as a whole, this section of the essay emphasizes on the extent of the concerned problem prevailing in one of the most developed and globally influencing economies in the contemporary period that is the United States of America. The USA has over the years, shown consistently impressive trends of growth and development not only in terms of economic prosperity but also in terms of the overall welfare of the residents of the country (Andrews & Withey, 2012). The general traits and standard of living of the residents of the country are considered to be higher than majority of the countries of the world, which includes all the developing countries and many developed countries as well.
However, the country does not show impressive traits in every aspect of life, which includes the general health issues of the residents of the country, in spite of the presence of world-class medical and health care facilities in the country. The country, in the contemporary period, ranks as one of the top most countries in the global framework, in terms of the extent of obesity in the population of the country. As the statistics provided by the American Heart Association suggests, in the recent period, the total number of obese adults in the country is as high as 78 million while the number of children who are obese in the country is as high as 13 million, both the numbers being equally striking and scaring (Heart.org, 2018). Currently around one third of the total population of the country is obese, which in also bringing in other diseases like Type 2 diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure and stroke.
The empirical evidences provided by this reported is strongly augmented in the scholarly works of Boualaoui (2015), according to whom not only the current numbers of obese people in the country is alarming, but the trend of increase in the numbers over the years, in the country, is also frightening, which is shown as follows:
Obesity as a Cause of Mortality
From the above figure, it is evident that the rate of growth of obesity in the USA has been alarmingly high, with the rate increasing from 1960s till the current period. If the current trend of increase in obesity prevails, then by 2030 the projected percentage of obese population in the country is expected to reach to 50% of the total population.
As is evident from the above figure, the share of heart disease related deaths has remained consistently high in the USA over the years and the share of cancer has significantly increased over the years. Much of this is attributed to the increasing burden of obesity in the country over the years.
Reason behind the increase in obesity in the contemporary period in the USA
Wright & Aronne (2012) elaborate the general factors behind the increasing dominance of the problem of obesity in the USA, in their research paper. Of the significant causal factors, the primary ones, as put forward by the author are as follows:
- Genetics- According to the authors, the primary causal factor behind this life style disease is the presence of obesity in the genetics of any individual. The author tracks down the root cause of the same to the absence of the weight controlling and signally hormone, Leptin in the systems of the individuals, the absence of which can lead to obesity. Often this problem of absence of this hormone is genetic as presented by the authors in their paper.
- Food habits- Another primary factor significantly contributing to the consistently increasing problem of obesity across the world, which is also specially relevant for the situation of obesity related problems in the USA is the dynamics and changes in the food habits of the population in general. According to the authors, by increasing the level of glucose in the body, excessive carbohydrate consumption leads to deposition of fat in the body. Their arguments are supported by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition whose data shows the direct relation between the carbohydrate intake and obesity:
- Overeating/Improper eating- This is directly linked to the above factor. Datar & Nicosia (2012) relates the problem of obesity directly with the habit of excessive eating or eating unhealthy foods. According to them the addiction of the contemporary population, especially youth and children, towards junk foods or fast foods, leads to over consumption of the same, which thereby contributed to the problem of obesity aggressively. The increased consumption of junk foods is attributed to the increasing number of food chains coming up in the country which have been especially targeting the youth and the children of the country.
- Less Mobility- Mytton, Clarke & Rayner (2012), according to whom another factor, which contributes collectively, is the considerable decrease in the physical exercise and movement of people nowadays, supports the views of the authors. Much of this can be attributed to the technological innovations, which have increased the convenience of people and in a way have made them lazy to a considerable extent.
Jokinen (2015), highlights another significant aspect of the problem of the worldwide problem of obesity. According to the author, obesity, as a life style disease itself, is one of the primary causal factors of many other health related problems in the contemporary global scenario, which includes the following problems:
- Insulin resistance
- High Blood pressure
- Type 2 diabetes
- High blood pressure and cholesterol
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Gall bladder and uterus cancer in women and colon cancer in men
- Osteoarthritis
Obesity being the biggest driver of the chronic diseases in the country, the obesity related costs of the country vary between from 147 billion to 210 billion USD annually. In addition to that, absenteeism from jobs, due to obesity related health issues cost around 4.3 billion yearly. Obese adults spend nearly 42% more from their pockets than the non-obese people for health related issues. The per capita expenditures of severely obese people in the country are found to be 81% higher than those with normal body weight. In 2000 alone, around $11 billion was spent on the health related issues of just moderately obese adults in the country (Stateofobesity.org, 2018).
In the recent period, due to the consistently increasing problem of obesity, the health department and relevant policy planners across the world, including the USA have implemented several measures for reducing the magnitude and extent of the problem of obesity:
Measures taken globally:
In their paper, Wadden et al. (2012), discusses the various measures, which have been already taken by the developed countries across the world, including New Zealand, Australia and others, which includes the following:
- Encouragement to the population in practicing healthy life style and incorporating healthy food habits in their life style.
- Government in many countries has also started keeping pathway for bicycle traffic.
- In many places, the governments have imposed heavy taxes on the junk food chains in order to decrease the consumption of the same.
- Awareness generation regarding the importance of proper nutritional intake and the necessity to eradicate obesity has been started as early as in the school levels in several countries.
Obesity in Developing Countries
It is evident from the above figure that while the problem of obesity has grown enormously in the USA over the years, the same has remained considerably low in similar economies like Switzerland, Netherland and Germany. Much of this can be attributed to the robust policies taken by these countries in terms of awareness generation, promotion of healthy life style, work habits and food habit, than that of the USA. Countries like Netherland and Switzerland promote such programs and have stricter laws regarding advertisement and selling of junk or unhealthy foods than that of the USA, from which the latter can take inspiration.
(Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2018) shows the recent policies and measures which have been adopted by the USA to reduce the problem of obesity in the country, which includes the emphasis on the aspect of awareness generation among public regarding the need to reduce obesity and adapt to a healthy lifestyle with proper food habits. The hospitals and reputed medical care centers can also join hands in the process of campaigning to highlight the adverse effects of obesity. The government also has planned to promote exercises and bicycling, like its fellow countries in order to combat obesity in the coming years.
According to the studies conducted by various medical research institutes, it is found that if the government of the country invests 10 USD per person in terms of boosting the community based programs in order to encourage physical exercise, proper nutritional intake and anti-smoking habits, and then it can save around $16 billion per year. This can be in terms of obesity related medical expenditures within five years. This in turn signifies that the country can get a return of $5.60 on every $1 investment in these programs. The Medicare and Medicaid plans can save enormously with the implementation of these strategies (Stanfordhealthcare.org, 2018).
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it is evident that obesity, in the contemporary period, has increased in magnitude and expanse and the same is considered as one of the primary lifestyle diseases in prevailing in the global scenario. The problem is prevalent not only in the developed countries but also in the developing ones. Obesity is considered as one of the primary preventable causes of unnatural deaths across the world and comes with direct linkages to many other chronic health related problems, which includes diabetes, high cholesterol, cardiovascular diseases and several types of cancer as well. The problem of obesity is even more acute in countries like that of the USA, where the share of obese population has been constantly increasing. Several steps have already taken by the government of the country to combat this situation. However, there remains scope of improvement in the plan and strategic framework of the country to reduced the problem of obesity in those countries including the USA.
References
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