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Hur 1!
Olivia Hur
Ms. Barr
ELA 8 Honors
11 February 2016
Obesity
In the United States, approximately 72 million people, over a third of the adults, are
considered obese. Obesity is the state in which one has an excessive amount of body fat.
According to the National Institute of Health, one is considered obese if their BMI (Body Mass
Index) is over 30. An unhealthy eating habit and a lack of exercise can cause obesity. Obesity
may lead to cancer along with many other health issues such as type 2 diabetes and heart
diseases. To prevent this disease which causes many harmful effects to our body, one must
control their eating habits and put in more physical activity into their routine. Considering the
number of obese people and its negative effects, we can see how it is a major problem here in the
United States. However, with a few steps, it can be prevented.
Some may say the main cause of obesity is not one’s lifestyle, but actually their genes.
However, many sources have proved this theory wrong. The main causes of obesity are an
inactive lifestyle, a lack of energy balance, and sometimes, the environment. For example, in
America, we have large food portions and little accessibility to safe places to walk. This leads
many people to be inactive for they spend a lot of their time sitting in a desk, sofa, car, etc. This
inactive lifestyle does not allow the energy we took in from our food to be let out which causes
obesity.
Hur 2!
Although there are many other causes for health problems, many different kinds of it are
caused from obesity. Obesity causes not one, but many types of cancer including esophagus,
pancreas, colon, rectum breast, endometrium, kidney, thyroid, and gallbladder cancers. This is
because estrogen produced by fat tissues can cause many different types of cancer and chronic
low-level inflammation, usually found in obese people, can create a higher risk of cancer. Not
only that, obesity can also cause type 2 diabetes and heart diseases. With an excessive amount of
fat, our bodies become insulin resistant, which causes our bodies to be unable to take the sugar
out of our blood which results to high blood sugar levels and causes a higher chance of type 2
diabetes.
Once obese, it is extremely hard to go back. However, there are many ways to prevent it
before it starts. To prevent obesity, one must change their inactive lifestyle and unhealthy diet,
the two main causes of obesity. For a more active lifestyle, one should spend less than two hours
watching tv or doing the computer and try to put more physical activity into their life cycle.
Having about one hour of exercise a day is useful to reduce the risk of obesity. Also, cutting
down on unhealthy foods and consuming more healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables
instead of foods filled with sugar and fat will prevent obesity. The site suggests at least five
servings of fruit and vegetables each day to create a healthy eating habit. Additionally, for
infants, breastfeeding will help prevent obesity from 15 to 40 percent.
Obesity is a common and harmful disease effecting many Americans and people around
the world today. It is caused mainly from unhealthy eating habits and a lack of exercise, but can
be prevented by fixing their diet and exercise routine. Clearly, obesity is a significant problem
here in the United States which can be reduced with a few changes.
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Sources:
"Obesity and Cancer Risk." National Cancer Institute. National Institutes of Health, 3 Jan. 2012.
Web. 9 Feb. 2016.
Obesity." Effects of Obesity. Stanford Health Care, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.
"How Can Overweight and Obesity Be Prevented?" - NHLBI, NIH. National Institutes of Health,
13 July 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
"Overweight & Obesity." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 19 June 2015. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.