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Running Head: OBESITY AND WEIGHT LOSS 1

Obesity and Weight Loss

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OBESITY AND WEIGHT LOSS 2

Obesity and Weight Loss

In the world today, obesity and overweight has become a huge problem. In the last forty

years, the number of individuals who are obese and overweight has surged histrionically. A study

conducted by the Centers of Disease Control shows that since 1980, a third of American adult

populace has become obese or overweight. There is no doubt that America is the richest country

but also, it is important to note that is the ‘chubbiest’ country in the world, and its obese rumps

have been rebuked in every other nation (Ogden et al., 2014). Ostensibly, the 1980s was the

decade when people abruptly started going ‘crazy’ over slimming, hopping onto the treadmills,

as well as buying pre-packaged non-fatty diets. Nevertheless, whereas all of that was going on,

the figure of overweight Americans increased tremendously. Conferring to an investigation in

the Journal of the American Medical Association, states that more than one-third 78.6 million or

34.9% of United States adults are obese (Ogden et al., 2014). The eating lifestyles of a given

people have progressively become more injurious and these individuals have started to yield

gluttonous youngsters, over-indulgent grownups, in addition to a food business set too much on

gratifying their appetites. There is no doubt that obesity is a big problem in America and there is

the need to reduce weight through apposite dieting as well as exercising.

Obesity may start at a very early age and many children in the American society are

overweight, setting themselves up for severe wellbeing difficulties later in their lives. Type 2

diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol in addition to heart complications are just

selected of the risks of being overweight. Children who are obese also feel less secure, less

contented with their bodies, and they are fatigued way more than normal weight children do.

Many individuals do not understand or realize that their appetites and diets are closely connected

OBESITY AND WEIGHT LOSS 3

to numerous psychological factors. Any individual who has ever overindulged on fries or cookies

when they feel distressed can comprehend this assertion. Numerous researchers have revealed

that individuals tend to consume more when they are apprehensive, depressed or have indications

of other emotive syndromes (Thomas et al., 2014). Certain diets have been identified to have a

soothing effect, even though ill-advisedly it is frequently the calorific diets that do. When a

dejected individual eats to feel well, they most probably increase weight and being overweight or

obese may in turn cause hopelessness as well as the emotional difficulties that signal

overindulging. As a result, rancorous cycle arises.

Being overweight almost certainly causes more emotional issues than just overindulging,

nevertheless. Despondently, obese individuals are very often on a social basis eschewed, judged,

critiqued, as well as made fun of. These people have difficulties finding occupations, friends, and

companions. Being victimized against adds to the emotional stress that obese individuals have to

deal with. Their misery from being overweight may cause spirits of desperateness, making it

appear dreadful for them to try to shade off some weight and transform the way they appear

(Thomas et al., 2014). Food can at times be an authoritative psychoactive substance, and “one

way to view eating disorders is to appreciate that food is a complex mixture and that the body

responds to food as it does to chemicals, such as those found in alcohol and other psychoactive

drugs. Eating disorders are therefore chemical disorders” (Haddock & Dill, 2014, p19).

One of the effective ways of reducing weight and hence averting the risks associated with

obese is selecting the diet carefully. Since natural human foods have been based on grain (rice,

wheat or corn) since the agrarian revolution, the past five thousand years, they ought to be a part

of every individual's diet. Unlike the diets as well as numbers the typical diet ought to entail, the

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current society consumes far too much meat and too little grains. Perhaps the best way forward is

to adopt the diet of vegetarianism; the actual magical pill is in realism, a lifelong diet that is

constructive in more ways than one (Thomas et al., 2014). Vegetarianism is a type of diet that is

shorn of any meat. This type of diet is typically high in fiber, less in fat, in addition to

cholesterol, which is fairly the opposite of what tends to be the issues in illnesses connected to

obesity. Veganism is strict in that is much more limiting a person's diet. A person only takes

foods that have no meat and dairy products (Thomas et al., 2014). Extras would be essential for

the purposes of getting vitamin B12. Individuals who become vegetarians change their foods not

only because of their physical health but also because of their moralities and conceivably their

religious beliefs and practices. Most vegetarians select this lifestyle for numerous explanations

other than just losing weight because there are so many positive implications.

Foods with meat substantially increase the intake of cholesterol and fats, saturated fat

which typically increases levels of blood cholesterol. It is a fact that foods with high content of

meat are also high in energy in addition to fat content, and hence may be related with higher risk

of becoming obese. Wang and Beydoun conducted a study on the risks of meat and they found

out that, “On the basis of the recent nationally representative data, we found a positive

association between the consumption of ‘all meat’ and ‘other meat products’ and BMI, waist

circumference, obesity and central obesity. Those who had high MC (in the top quintile) were

~27% more likely to be obese, and 33% more likely to have central obesity compared to those

with low MC (bottom quintile)” (Wang & Beydoun, 2009, p622). As such, if individuals who are

overweight and obese adopt a vegetarian diet, there is likelihood that they will lose weight and

hence avert so many risks of getting illnesses.

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It is important to note that in a vegetarian diet, there are more fruits, vegetables and

particularly grains in greater quantities which are very essential in maintaining the current body

weight. For overweight individuals, they are likely to help protect the body against diseases that

may emerge as a result of obesity. When losing weight, it is as easy as consuming the same size

or volume of diet as before, just with improved selections and devoid of meat. Additionally, the

foods are typically high in roughage which fill up the belly faster and are then less desirous to eat

more than required (Wang & Beydoun, 2009). Any type of food can be transformed to fat

irrespective of them being carbohydrates or proteins when consumed in excess. The body

naturally turns these foods into fats. Unlike when ingesting fats, with having a lacto-vegetarian

diet, the normal extra foods are carbohydrates and only three-quarters of that diet is transformed

to fat since it takes energy to change carbohydrates into long-term storage. When consuming any

healthy food, it is common to consume foods low in fat and calories which are precisely the

motive of reducing or avoiding fat completely.

In young children, vegetarianism is important because the early they start this healthy

lifestyle, the lesser the risks of coronary heart diseases and they are more likely to remain in

good physical shape. Just by avoiding meat, meat products in addition to the fat heavy foods,

many Americans will most definitely regain their good health or at least lose weight to

manageable and acceptable levels. Additionally, diseases such as cancer, heart diseases,

diabetes, and ordinary flu risks have been diminished with a lactovegetarian food regime.

Vucenik and Stains, leading researchers in the domain of health states that two out of three

causes of cancer are connected to the diet. Nutritional fat encourages cancers and because this

kind of lifestyle, which is more copious in vitamins, fiber, minerals and compounds such

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carotene (Vucenik & Stains, 2012). Carotene is a chemical that is transformed to vitamin A in

the body and easily be found in red and orange vegetables like carrots.

Another effective way of losing weight occasioned by obesity or overweight is through proper

and regular exercising. Obesity and weight gain results from energy discrepancy. That is, too

many calories ingested and utilizing very few calories automatically leads to weight gain. A

number of factors greatly influence how many calories individuals burn every day. Some of

these factors include but not limited to the size of the body, the age of the individual as well as

genes. However, the most prevalent factor and perhaps the most easily changed is the amounts of

activity individuals engage themselves in a given day. That means, remaining active helps

individuals stay at a healthy weight and or even shed some weight. Consequently, it leads to

lower the risk of heart diseases, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, osteoporosis, as

well as some types of cancers (Ogden et al., 2014). Physical activity also reduces stress while

boosting the mood of an individual. Of note, a sedentary (inactive) way of life does just the

contrary because it makes the body become extremely dormant.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services in conjunction with the

World Health Organization vouches for good health through the involvement in physical

exercises (Ogden et al., 2014). Adults and children ought to get comparable of two and a half

hours of moderate to vigorous physical activities every week. Children, because of their age,

should get even more exercising hours, the equivalent of up to seven hours in a week. Weight

gain during maturity can increase the risks of heart disease and chronic complications. Since it is

so difficult for individuals to shed off weight and keep it off, it is better to avert or avoid weight

gain in the first place. Hearteningly, there is sturdy and reliable evidence that remaining active

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helps individuals slow down what is known as ‘middle-age spread.’ The more active individuals

are, the more probable they are to maintain their weight stable. However, the more inactive they

are, the more likely they are to add a few more and undesirable pounds.

The Women’s Health Study, for instance, conducted a research whereby they closely

monitored 34,000 middle-aged females for a period of thirteen years. The researchers wanted to

validate how much physical activity they required to in order to maintain within five pounds of

their mass. Scientists found that females in the standard weight range at the beginning required

the equivalent of one hour per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity to retain a stable

weight. Vigorous exercises or activities appear to be more operative for weight regulation than

walking slowly. In another study The Nurses’ Health Study II, the researchers closely monitored

about 18,000 women for a period of sixteen years to study the connection between variations in

physical activities and the weight of these individuals. Even though women increased, on

average, about twenty pounds during the course of the research, those who increased their

physical activities by thirty minutes in a day added lesser pounds than women whose activity

intensities remained stable (Roberts et al., 2013). Therefore, there is no doubt that exercise helps

in the management of weight. Essentially, exercise burns calories. The more an obese person

exercises, the more likely he or she will reduce weight and maintain the ideal weight.

In conclusion, obesity is the most common kind of malnourishment as well as one of the

greatest risks to healthy life in the United States and other developed countries. Most people

have died because of health risks associated with obesity. Common heart diseases are instigated

by obesity. The good part is that obesity and or overweight can be easily prevented. The panacea

to obesity lies in consuming the same amount of food but with healthier ones like vegetarianism.

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Another way of losing weight is exercising. Exercising is also significant in ensuring that one

keeps fit and uses up any extra calories that would have otherwise be converted to fats.

Nevertheless, some fats are essential for the body because they help in generating heat, storing

energy, padding in addition to insulation. It is, therefore, important to choose diets wisely and

exercise regularly in order to keep obesity in check.

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References

Haddock, C. K., & Dill, P. L. (2014). The Effects of Food on Mood and Behavior: Implications

for the Addictions Model. Food as a Drug, 17.

Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K., & Flegal, K. M. (2014). Prevalence of childhood and

adult obesity in the United States, 2011-2012. Jama, 311(8), 806-814.

Roberts, A. L., Lyall, K., Hart, J. E., Laden, F., Just, A. C., Bobb, J. F., ... & Weisskopf, M. G.

(2013). Perinatal air pollutant exposures and autism spectrum disorder in the children of

Nurses’ Health Study II participants.

Thomas, D. M., Weedermann, M., Fuemmeler, B. F., Martin, C. K., Dhurandhar, N. V., Bredlau,

C., ... & Bouchard, C. (2014). Dynamic model predicting overweight, obesity, and

extreme obesity prevalence trends. Obesity, 22(2), 590-597.

Wang, Y., & Beydoun, M. A. (2009). Meat consumption is associated with obesity and central

obesity among US adults. International Journal of Obesity,33(6), 621-628.

Vucenik, I., & Stains, J. P. (2012). Obesity and cancer risk: evidence, mechanisms, and

recommendations. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1271(1), 37-43.

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