Obesity and Public Affair

The United States public considers obesity as a very serious threat to an individuals health. When ranked by order of seriousness, obesity takes position two after cancer. Women are more likely to express that obesity is a serious health problem compared to men. When considering the possible solution to the obesity problem, most people think it is the role of the individual and the family to maintain a healthy weight. Alternatively, some people believe the entire community
, including the governments, health service providers, food companies, and schools have a role to play. However, individuals have the most responsibility in dealing with the obesity problem. Some of the contributing factors that the public perceives are both individual and environmental (Koh 1654). Some of the individual factors include spending too much time in front of a TV or computer screen, unwillingness to change, and lack of the right information. Some of the environmental factors, on the other hand, include easy access to junk food, the low prices of fast foods, and the excessive advertising of unhealthy foods.
The public sustains support for the government to intervene on the obesity issue; however, they draw the line at guidelines that might interfere with customer choice and the operation of a free market. The majority of the public favor policies that will require an increase in the duration and intensity of physical activity in schools. They also support government policies that require the distribution of nutritional guidelines and calorie information on menus and food products. The public also favors policies that will avail funding to farmers, as the approach will increase healthy alternatives available to the public. Some of the policies that do not find favor with the public include limiting the amount of food one can buy, increasing taxes on unhealthy products, and banning advertisements for unhealthy foods. As compared to the Republicans, the USA Democrats favor the stronger government measures (Tompson, Benz and Agiesta 5).
Whereas overweightness is a problem in the country, an individuals perception of own weight status differs from the reality. This is because most of the overweight individuals are likely to classify themselves as being of the right weight. They also access their risk of developing type 2 diabetes similar to that of individuals with normal weight status. The misperception of individual weight may stem from a lack of communication by health care providers about the weight and the associated risks. A national health interview conducted in 2011, in the USA reveals that more than 50% of overweight individuals never had a conversation about their weight with their doctors (Tompson, Benz and Agiesta 7). People living in poor neighborhoods continue to face a multitude of factors that favor a lifestyle that lead to obesity. In low-income areas, the built environments remain compacted with minimal or no space for outdoor physical activities. Most of the shops in the areas also stock unhealthy foods. Unhealthy foods are cheaper compared to healthy foods thus unpopular with low-income earners. To ensure a healthy population, big spaces must be availed for physical activity; health care providers must discuss weight issues with their patients, and healthy foods must be readily available in low-income areas with minimal disparities on the prices, and information to help people make healthier choices must be available to the public (Bellafante).
A majority of people in Gabon face major challenges on a daily basis because of the increase in urbanization and a western style of life. The issues emerging in the Africa state are perhaps the best example of the challenge facing America. The issue in the country is developing and despite the different in economic income, middle-income earners in both countries seem to face the same challenges as Blinkhorn, Laura and Mascha discovered in their three months internship at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital. A patient in the hospital was suffering from obesity related problems. Poverty related factors increase the risk of obesity among town dwellers like Marie. She exposed to a high numbers of advertisements promoting the sale of high fat content productions, which increase obesity. The sedimentary nature of people living in low income areas increase likelihood of obesity. This is because of the high rate of insecurity in the neighborhoods and the lack of open space where people can engage in sporting activities. The high cost of transportation discourages parents from meeting the cost of taking children to sporting venues (Delgado 134).
The normal food patterns of people living in poverty include cycles of deprivation and surplus. The chronic ups-and-downs in this consumption pattern increase the likelihood of obesity. The cycles of deprivation can also led to unhealthy preoccupation with food. The physiologic implication is increase in the rate of fat storage in the body. This is particularly unfortunate considering of the easy accessibility of high-density food products in poor neighborhoods. This is a challenge for mothers in this situation because they often sacrifice their consumption need to ensure the children are satisfied. This places the mothers at risk of obesity, which is a predictor of child obesity (Jefferson 179). Children and adults from low-income families may also face the risk of high stress and the health implications associated. Sources of stress include financial and emotional pressures, such as paying bills, food insecurity, violence, and other neighborhood factors. Stress increase production of certain type of stress hormones in the body that lead to weight gain. It also results in unhealthy eating habits. Chronic stress may trigger anxiety and depression, which are associated with obesity.
Advertising of high-density food products is a close cutting issue; however, those living in low-income neighborhoods are exposed to a disproportionate rate of marketing. This not only encourages the consumption of these food products in the neighborhoods, but also discourages physical activity. The advertising has significant influence on food preferences of children in the in neighborhoods, the primary targets of the marketing campaign. The low-income limited lives of the poor in these neighborhoods also limit access to health care. Most people rarely visit medical facilities for regular diagnosis, and when the visit they receive low quality care because of the high ratio of doctor to patients. Lower quality care results in a lack of detection and treatment of chronic illnesses, such as obesity when these people visit health care centers (Delgado 152).
Several steps may increase the intake of health foods among the low-income neighborhoods. Banning the advertising of unhealthy food options will not help the situation; the concerned agencies must provide alternatives to these people and educate the people on why they should eat more healthy diets. The underlying issue that affects not only the food habits of the people in these neighborhoods, but also lifestyle is poverty. Poverty is a social evil by is self and must be dealt with as such. Fighting poverty will enable the people in these neighborhoods to access healthier food option and develop stress less frequently. Providing charity, free meals, and food stamps will not solve the situation. Introduction of income earning activities in the areas is the only sure way that will end the poverty menace and the evils that accompany it (Rossen and Eric 78).

 Works Cited
Bellafante, Ginia. "In Obesity Epidemic, Poverty Is an Ignored Contagion." The New York Times 16 March 2014. Online Newspaper.
Blinkhorn, Laura M. and Mascha A. Davis. "Tackling The Weight of the World: What One African Woman Taught Us About Global Obesity." Health Affairs 32.4 (2013): 813-816. Print Journal.
Delgado, Melvin. Social Justice and the Urban Obesity Crisis: Implications for Social Work. New York: Columbia University Press, 2013. Print.
Jefferson, Philip N. The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Poverty. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.
Koh, Howard K. "A 2020 Vision for Healthy People." The New England Journal of Medicine 362.18 (2010): 1653-1656. Print Journal.
Rossen, Lauren M, and Eric A. Rossen. Obesity 101. New York: Springer Pub. Co, 2012. Print.
Tompson, T., et al. Obesity in the United States: Public Perceptions. Survey Report. Chicago: The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 2012. Online Document.