Why Weight for Change?

Is our nation getting too fat? We all hear the news reports on obesity rates, and we all have taken a second look at ourselves in the mirror. More the half American adults are overweight, and about half of the overweight are obese (Koplan and Dietz 473). The numbers seem shocking to some, and to others it is not a surprise. But whether we have noticed excessive weight on ourselves, or others, have we noticed the growing trend? According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of obese Americans has increased by 74% from 1991 to 2001; with a 5.6% increase from just 2000 to 2001 (480). At this high rate of increase, what are we to expect five years from now? What about ten years from now? What about our children’s future? Will the increase in obesity lead to a society where very few people will be within the weight range that we view as ideal today? If actions are not taken now, we may be too late.

A typical scale to determine weight compared to your height is calculating your Body Mass Index (BMI), which is one’s weight in kilograms divided by their height in meters, squared. Being overweight is having a BMI of 25 or more, while being obese is having a BMI of 30 or more (Koplan and Dietz 473). Bearing excess weight can hurt someone’s self-esteem, along with their health. Looking at some of the possible health risks, “80% of obese adults have diabetes, high blood cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, gallbladder disease, or osteoarthritis” (Koplan and Dietz 473). Obesity related health risks are not only relevant in adults, but also in

children. Hyperlipidemia, elevated blood pressure, and increased insulin levels are also some possible health risks of those who are overweight. Sadly, 60 % of overweight children, ages 5 to 10, have one of these health risks, while 25% have at least two (Koplan and Dietz 473).

What are the possible causes of these detrimental trends of weight gain and health risks? Greg Crister, an author on the topic of the “obesity epidemic”, claims that the issue is due to lack of dietary restraint (485). Our choice of meals has become that of convenience and size. Crister’s ideas can been verified by surveys conducted, which prove that our daily caloric intake has increased throughout the years. The amount of calories that we consume had increased by about 10% in men and about 7-8% in women from the late seventies to the mid-nineties1. The growing popularity of fast-food chains and unhealthy snacks, commonly known as ‘junk-food’, can be seen by simply counting the amount of McDonalds or Sonics in our areas, or seeing the increase in shelf space for Little Debbie’s and Doritos in the grocery store. Some may choose these selections because they are quick and cheap. Due to their high fat and sugar content and their exaggerated proportion sizes, these are very poor alternatives to fresh foods. Regardless of one’s choice, our caloric intake has increased, and Crister claims it is being reflected in the amplified obesity rate (485).

Crister also feels that the American family has “an unwillingness to set firm and sometimes unpopular food parameters” (485). Parents hold good intentions when they are assuring that their children are never deprived of food and nutrition. But do children know when enough is enough? Are they more aware of being full then some adults who

tend to eat regardless of their hunger? Studies have shown that children under the age of 5 consistently ate the same amount of food, regardless of the portion placed in front of them (Crister 486). Yet, when the same study was done on children age 5 and above, they ate the amount of food placed in front of them, regardless of its size (Crister 486). This shows that children below the age of 5 are more reactive to their bodies and receptive to possible dietary interventions, yet after the age of 5 the possibility may decrease. Other studies were conducted, where obese children, age 6 to 12, were offered frequent dietary advice. This resulted in them being significantly less overweight 10 years later, than those children who were not offered dietary advice; and 30% were no longer obese at all (Crister 486).

In the 1999 Journal of the American Medical Association, Jeffrey P. Koplan, MD, MPH and William H. Dietz, MD, PhD suggest that the reason for our growing obesity rate is due to the imbalance in our ratio of caloric intake (energy input) to physical activity (energy output) (474). They attribute the increase of our energy intake (eating) to environmental changes that have occurred within our society. High availability of food, high caloric valued foods, increase in ‘junk-food’, and increased social eating are some of these changes (Koplan and Dietz 474). The latter part of the ratio is attributed to our lack of physical activity, due to automated work environments