Obesity Today Page 1

Ryan
Psych-106-016RN

4 February 2015

Unit 1

Obesity Today

Obesity Today Page 3

In the society that we live in today obesity has become one of the most detrimental things we have dealt with and continue to deal with in the twenty-first century. There are many contributing factors to produce overweight individuals. The most common are that we as Americans don’t get enough sleep and that most of us live a sedentary lifestyle. For many people to get away from these things is difficult. Their jobs entail sitting at a computer all day and sometimes there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done. These are only two of the more prominent causes of obesity. In 2011-2012 about 32 percent of adults 20 years and older were obese. At the same time about 17 percent of children aged 2 through 19 were obese. (Ogden, Caroll, Kit, Flegal, 2014 ) This is proof that obesity isn’t just effecting the adults of America it is also effecting the youth and future of this country. The first problem beyond the obesity is the lack of sleep which coincides. Without adequate sleep the hunger-related hormones leptin and ghrelin are disrupted. (Hockenbury, Hockenbury, pg. 328 2012) When sleep is restricted blood-levels of leptin; an appetite suppressant decreased by 18 percent, where ghrelin; an appetite stimulant increased by 24 percent. (Hockenbury, Hockenbury, pg. 328, 2012) Gangwisch’s research from 2004 stated that adults who slept only about five hours a night are 50 percent more likely to be obese. It is difficult for adults to get the sleep they need. There just simply