Fat Disease and Diabetes

¶ … Fat and its effect on disease [...] Cause and Effect: Linked Again: Fat and Disease, by Eric Nagourney. It has long been known that obesity can lead to adult onset diabetes, known as Type 2 diabetes, but new studies show even more health risks from obesity, including developing Type 1 diabetes as a child or young adult. Obesity is one of the greatest health risks facing our nation today and it must be conquered if we are to become a healthier and happier nation.

Fat and Disease With obesity a growing problem in our nation, more studies are being done on the effects being overweight has on the body, and scientists are reinforcing just how dangerous it is to be overweight. Writer Eric Nagourney notes, "In one study just published, British researchers reported that children who were overweight developed Type 1 diabetes earlier than those who were not. Excess weight, they said, may speed up the loss of the cells that make insulin in children with a genetic susceptibility to the disease" (Nagourney).

Another study done by researchers at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh seems to reinforce the British study: "It found that the number of children who were overweight when they developed Type 1 tripled from the 1980's to the 1990's" (Nagourney). Clearly, as we raise a greater number of overweight children, the nation's diabetes rate will go up, and the health of our children will continue to deteriorate.

What can we do to change the way America eats, and to alter this plunge toward more cases of diabetes? First, we must educate Americans better about nutrition, and the health affects obesity can have. Being overweight is a serious health concern, and it seems many Americans simply do not recognize or acknowledge that. If we can make Americans more knowledgeable about the foods we eat, we should be able to make better eating and nutritional choices, and manage our weight more effectively.

Secondly, we must make food manufacturers and establishments more knowledgeable about the food they make and serve. America has become a fast food nation - living on fries and cokes, and it has affected our bodies in many ways. Food outlets should be encouraged, both by the government and by popular approval to offer healthier menus with less fat, salt, and starch, and more good nutritional choices that are still quick to fix and easy to eat.

The fast food industry has revolutionized the American diet, but they could revolutionize it in a new and healthy way if they were encouraged. Third, the health care industry needs to be more responsive and supportive of obese patients, and there should be more alternatives open to them to lose weight. Many insurance companies do no pay for diet prescriptions or exercise materials, and in doing so, they do not encourage their patients to be healthy and try to lose weight.

There should be more options available for obese patients, from counseling to medication, to encourage them in their battle against obesity. In the long run, health companies will only save money if they encourage their patients to lose weight, because, as these diabetes.