Obesity: causes, health effects, and management strategies

Obesity and Its Relation to Personal Inadequacy

The problem of obesity in the United States and other developed countries has reached what some researchers refer to as "epidemic" proportions. As one researcher states, obesity is.".. poised to become the nations leading health problem and No. 1 killer" and is "...already the cause of 400,000 deaths a year...or 45 per hour..." (Hearne) This view is supported by other research statistics such as the fact that "Thirty-four percent of U.S. adults, 20-74 years of age, are overweight and an additional 27% are obese" and "The prevalence of overweight and obesity is steadily rising. The percentage of obese adults and overweight children has doubled in the last 20 years, and the percentage of overweight adolescents has tripled" (Kreulen).

However, while the fact of obesity is not in dispute what are more difficult to ascertain are the causes of obesity. Notwithstanding the fact that many studies clearly show that numerous cases of obesity are due to biological and hereditary problems, this factor is not taken into account in the societal judgment and perceptions of those with a severe overweight problem. In fact, there is in most western societies an intense and endemic prejudice towards those who are excessively overweight. This prejudice is also related to social norms, which stress an ideal of beauty and health that favors thinness. Therefore, fat people are often automatically seen as being ugly. Associated with these perceptions are many unrealistic, unfair and biased views about fat people - for example, that fat people are lazy and generally decadent.

Spake states in his article Rethinking Weight, " at the heart of this obesity epidemic is a debate over whether obesity is a biological "disease" and should be treated like any other life-threatening illness -- cancer, heart disease "(Spake). The problem arises when an individual's overweight condition is perceived as a negative reflection of inner character and morals as well as the individual's abilities and potential.

Very often, as Spake and others emphasize, fat people are judged without taking into account that there may be biological factors over which the individual has little if any control. This is also creates a problematic cycle of events for the obese person, as the feeling of inadequacy created by this prejudice often leads to a further exacerbation of any eating disorders and issues that may have initiated the obese state in the first place. Quoting Xavier Pi-Sunyer, director of the Obesity Research Center at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, Spake reiterates the fact, that, "... there's enough data now relating to mechanisms of food intake regulation that suggest obesity is a biologically determined process,." (Spake).

Spake also notes that discrimination against obese individuals is not a new phenomenon in society and that it has a history going back to at least the time of the early Christian church, where "gluttony" was seen as one of the seven deadly sins. (Spake) the association of overweight with sin may be part of the underlying motivation within Western society for the bias towards the overweight individual. Nevertheless, the fact remains that in modern societies" Most overweight adults have suffered ridicule, self-consciousness, or depression, particularly if they were obese as children or adolescents. Severely obese patients frequently report workplace discrimination. One woman told researchers: "They put my desk in the back office where no one could see me."

Spake)

Another commentator, Hillel Schwartx, in his article Fat and Noise affirms the perception of this innate prejudice against the obese person in society. He states this in unequivocal terms.

Fatness is positioned in American society not simply as a feature of physical appearance but as the core constituent of some human beings, who are identifiable through and through by their evident bulk and weight. Americans may in fact be trained from an early age to sense the approach of fat people so that they may keep their distance from something so horrible and dangerous.

Schwartx)

The contemporary rationale for this prejudice is based on false generalizations that lead to unfair prejudices. For example, overweight people are considered fat because they lack any willpower. Worley, another theorist in this field is of the opinion that, "Our society believes that thinness signals self-discipline and self-respect, whereas fatness signals self-contempt and lack of resolve (Worley) Worley also analyses the this prejudice in modern society, "If you've grown up in twentieth-century American society, you probably believe that being fat is a serious personal, social, and medical liability. Many Americans would rather die or cut off a limb than be fat... (Worley). There is an underlying prejudice towards the excessively overweight that has, to a large extent, become an accepted part of society. As Worley states, it has become "...acceptable to shun fat people and make them the butt of cruel jokes" (Worley). Worley, Schwartz and others also emphasis the negative way that fat people are treated in public, as well as by family members. This leads to feelings if shame and a loss of self-esteem, with all the negative psychological aspects that this implies.

However, there are organizations that have realized the extent of this problem and who actively involved in raising public awareness about unfair prejudice and in helping combat such prejudice in society. The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) has reacted against this innate prejudice in society by providing a platform and a venue for those who are discriminated against on the basis of their appearance. The site provides information and data that suggests, for instance, that obesity may be the result of genetics.

NAAFA is also extremely helpful in outlining some of the most common ways in which obese people are prejudiced against. The data available explores the ways in which discrimination and bias can take place in the employment situation. "Discrimination in employment due to body size is rampant throughout the United States, as evidenced by documentation of numerous cases and successful litigation on file at NAAFA, Inc." (NAAF Policy: EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION) NAAFA also provides ways in which such discrimination can be addressed.