Trent Rowser
Topic Essay Assignment
Obesity in American Adults
November 6, 2014

According to the American Diabetes Association, almost two-thirds of American adults are obese or over weight. (Marks, 2004) With the most obvious cause being poor eating habits and lack of physical activity, inactive adults in the US eat on average 500-800 calories more than needed. Given this, these Americans will gain a pound to a pound and a half a week. (Marks, 2004) Obesity is becoming a severe matter in America and it needs to be addressed within reason. Should the government be doing more to challenge the problem or is it up to the individual? First, what is obesity? Obesity is defined on Harvard’s School of Public Health by stating that obesity is being overweight and having too much body fat, most commonly measured by the body mass index (BMI). Being overweight is defined as a body mass index of 25 or higher. Obesity is defined as a BMI of 30 or higher. BMI uses one person’s height and weight to estimate one person’s “fatness”. (Obesity Prevention Source, 2014). What are the effects of obesity? There are many life altering effects that come along with obesity including coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, many types of cancer, as well as strokes. Social and emotional effects of obesity, including discrimination, lower wages, lower quality of life and a likely susceptibility to depression are no less effecting as well. (Obesity Prevention Source, 2014)
Next, I would like to put obesity in perspective to the economy. When compared to all high income countries, the US has the highest rates of overweight and obesity and it is projected that the obesity rate will rise to around 50 percent by 2030. When looking at income it shows that people with lower income have higher rates than those with a higher income. It also shows that Americans with less education also have higher