THE ADULT OBESITY EPIDEMIC IN THE UNITED STATES: A Comprehensive Approach Including the Financial Costs, the Societal Costs, the Solutions, and the Future of Food and Weight Gain

Description

This is both a descriptive and a prescriptive approach to the adult obesity epidemic in the United States. First, the book shows the origins of obesity and how it blew out of proportion to become a crisis in an era of advanced medicine. The books precisely describes the factors of obesity, which are multipronged: the food producers, the government, the food marketing experts, the food distributors and the restaurants, and even the victims themselves: the obese. An analysis of the costs and implications of obesity supports and corroborates the author’s views by showing obesity’s financial, societal, and psychological costs. On the other hand, the prescriptive side, the author makes the case for reversing the situation through strong and potentially efficient recommendations – non-systematic and systematic – by suggesting that both the public and policymakers focus not only on why people overeat, but also modify the environment and behaviors, redefine personal responsibility, and encourage corporate social responsibility. Finally, the author explores the outlook for eating habits and obesity in the United States by the years 2030, 2050, 2100 and beyond. This is a book intended for not just people impacted by obesity, but also for health professionals and policymakers.

Abstract

Why are four out of ten people living in the United States obese? There may not be a specific and definite answer to this question, but no one can say they’re not aware of this epidemic. While most of us may allege different causes that drive obesity, we are all aware of what the culprit is. It’s, for the most part, the food. Bigger portions, poor and confusing diet, inactivity, you name it, it always comes down to the food we eat. Everything is big in America: cars, houses, companies. The food is big too, which makes up for the biggest people. America has now become the fattest nation in the world. People are either overweight or obese. … Obesity is now second only to smoking as a major cause of preventable death in America. 400 000 deaths per year are associated with obesity. While fast foods are not the only cause of obesity, their impact on obesity is important. McDonald’s is the largest fast-food restaurant chain in the world. … McDonald's is not responsible for the way Americans eat, said Arndt (2007). But the inescapable fact is that it serves an enormous number of them. … When examining overweight and obesity trends across North America, more American men and women were found to be obese or overweight than Canadians. The prevalence of being either obese or overweight among American men (71percent) was higher than among Canadian men (65 percent), and higher in American women (62 percent vs. 49 percent). How did we get here? Something profound has changed to cause this. A combination of conditions has eroded the ability of vast numbers of people to make healthy choices, even though most people know the rudiments of healthy living.

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