Obesity Affects Millions of People

Obesity affects millions of people every year because of the changing world, which makes things easier for individuals not to exercise. With that knowledge, it is apparent the changing world has also created ways to where people can get the fat removed by surgery, which is a major health risk. "Atul Gawande tells the story of Vincent Caselli, who underwent a gastric bypass to lose weight by surgically reducing the size of his stomach, thus making him physically unable to eat and absorb the nutrients from more than an ounce of food at a sitting. The statistics on the gastric-bypass procedure, the last resort of people who cannot shed weight in other ways, confirm the sharp rise of obesity in this country. According to the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, in 1992 surgeons performed 7-6,200 of the procedures. In 2002, the number jumped to 63,100 and one year later to 103,200. Gawande, who assisted on the surgery, calls this "among the strangest operations surgeons perform" in that it "is intended to control a person's will -- to manipulate his innards so that he does not overeat." Those who, like Caselli, are morbidly obese and whose weight profoundly reduces their quality of life are turning to the gastric bypass more frequently. Gawande, a surgical resident and also a staff writer for the New Yorker, uses the story of Caselli to "contemplate the human appetite." As such, he provides a fitting and compelling end to the selections in this chapter on obesity (Picador and Gawande, 2002). From there, it is apparent obesity is a serious matter in American society due to the quick fix changing society. Furthermore, this explains why the city of Chicago needs a low calorie restaurant since it is one of the largest areas in America.

Obesity

Along with that, obesity is a growing problem that is killing the American people within society. With new technology, people do not have to work as hard, which gets them to physical unmotivated to be active. Furthermore, like McDonald's has set the tone for bigger food portions such as the super sized meal. From there, it is apparent that with the trend of bigger food portion trend, the grocery stores have a larger selection of products that they can be easily made by the consumer who is at risk of becoming obesity.

Even though American society has super sized its food portions for people to eat, overweight individuals are still look down on due to their food intake. Society sees fat people are not active and they do not deserve to be a part of normal society, which means they are of their own minority group due to their size. "Six out of 10 Illinoisans are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And people watch more television here than in the other cities in the survey, said Men's Fitness editor Neal Boulton, citing data from Nielsen Media Research" ("Chicago named "Fattest city in America"). Furthermore, obesity is a real problem within American society especially in the Chicago area because it outcast people for their size, which suggests there should be a low calorie restaurant. This is because people can kill themselves trying to lose the pounds that they need in order to be accepted. Having a low calorie restaurant will give people in Chicago a healthier choice in their meal planning.

Along with that, despite what society says about obesity, surgery is very dangerous to resolve long-term issue with a quick fix. From that knowledge, scientists suggest that people should live their body size and lose the weight that they can in order to live healthy. "Unfortunately, improvements are not sustained if weight is regained; and for the vast majority of persons, weight loss is followed by a slow, inexorable climb to the preintervention body weight -- or even higher.15 Bariatric surgical treatments, such as gastric bypass, can induce long-term weight loss, but are appropriate only for selected patients with a body-mass index of at least 40 or a body-mass index of at least 35 along with obesity-related medical conditions.6 Losing weight is difficult for most obese persons, yet long-term maintenance of a reduced weight is even more challenging" (Yanovski and Yanovski 2002).

Despite what people are presented with as far as what is acceptable in society regardless food portions are super sized, the best way to lose weight is eating healthy and exercise because surgery could lead to other fatal issues for those individuals who are considered to be obese. With that said, a low calorie restaurant would benefit Chicago due to the fact it will give the people more of a choice in eating healthier.

Within past evidence, it clearly shows that people are convinced that being thin is the only way to live. However, this is what the media has created and not doctors and scientists suggest for society, which means surgery does not have to be an option unless it is truly an emergency for the patients health.

The same vicious circle surrounding other minorities surrounds fat people, who have more difficulty getting into the best colleges and who are not promoted as quickly as their leaner rivals. How they look is more important than how well they do their jobs. The New York City Traffic Department in 1965 dismissed six meter maids for being overweight; National Airlines fired a stewardess for being 4 Ibis overweight. As of 1982 only Michigan had a law specifically banning discrimination on account of weight. In 1980 a New Yorker cartoon depicted a judge sentencing a defendant: "It is the Court's opinion that, although innocent, you are dangerously overweight." This comedy had already been played out in Miami, where a woman being sentenced for a misdemeanor assault explained that at 315 Ibis she was too heavy to work. The judge gave her three years' probation on the condition that she lose 65 Ibis at 3 Ibis per week; if she went off her diet, she would go to prison (Schwartz).

From there, it is apparent that doctors and scientists understand there are different body sizes, which requires different weights. Furthermore, due to the fact that society suggests that people should be thin, losing weight will not improve a person's self-esteem because it will never be good enough in the eyes of the media. Since these are the facts of society, scientists suggest people should live with their bodies and lose what they can that they feel comfortable with, which makes them happy. Opening a restaurant that serves low calorie meals will help the society to maintain this healthy attitude.