Essay on Obesity in America

In America today, a general change in living standards has contributed to changing lifestyles that have amplified health problems that now affect a huge part of the population. Obesity is high on the list of such problems. Although obesity is a health condition which is a risk factor for several chronic ailments, it is also a sociological problem that indicates underlying social problems. The essay discusses the issue of adolescence in black youths, possible methods of mitigation and sociological theory that weaves all these observations together.

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The problem of obesity or having too much body fat is sociological as well as a health problem especially among in the black community. Statistics today point out that blacks have the highest percentage of obese adults and children. Though the variations in obesity prevalence from one race to another may indicate genetic factors as predisposing factors to obesity, more recent developments in the community and a general change in lifestyle has both compounded and contributed to the high prevalence of obesity in the black community. As the black people get economic freedom and the standards of living improve, the community has had access to the trappings of American life with junk food and increased screen time being high on the list. Black kids have more access to video games, computers, television and less time on the field using calories. While the greater percentage of black people among the obese as compared to other racial groups is a sign of inherited obesity, the prevalence of other causative factors and the adoption of a more sedentary lifestyle may contribute to an even bigger problem. Physical education should be more emphasized in the school curriculum to mitigate the problem obesity in time. Adoption of a healthy diet, which distances one from the risk of obesity should also be encouraged to stitch obesity in time, in particular among the populations most inclined to spending a significant portion of their days in front of screens and who do virtually no physical exercise at all.

Among black children, one of the effects of being obese is being subjected to ostracism. Though stigma related to obesity manifests subtly often, obese children are ostracized by adults and their peers, and there are exposed to dozens of anti-obesity messages on different media. It may make the children feel as if they are uniquely responsible for their obesity problem, and that they are failures for failing to control their weight. Such thoughts could compound the problem by causing low self-esteem and causing eating disorders such bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa in the children especially when they become adolescents. Obesity, especially in the black population, has caused health problems especially heart complications and diabetes even in the younger black people. While obesity can be prevented or mitigated through lifestyle changes, it often happens one pound of fat at a time and may be barely susceptible except to the obsessive before it has already progressed. Often, individuals may not notice or care that their lifestyle choices are slowly moving them overweight to obese and this makes obesity hard to mitigate. Though obesity is not a disease, it is a public health problem which predisposes the obese individual to more vicious chronic illness such as diabetes.

We live in an overly body conscious society. Societal obsessions and perceptions of the ideal celebrity body make obesity not only a health problem but a sociological problem too. The obese individual has to deal with the attendant health risks for obesity as well as the social ostracism and stigma. These factors may, in turn, lead to more complex problems since individuals may try wrong remedies and solutions, mostly owing to poverty and ignorance. When this reaction is evaluated from the perspective of the social learning theory, the obese individual is thus at a distinct sociological disadvantage in achieving their full potential from social interactions.

A sociological approach is needed to counter the societal problem of obesity. First, to effectively communicate to people the importance of healthy lifestyles to avoid obesity and control it, and secondly to fight the stigma that is associated with obesity, to ensure that obese persons have the support and the optimum social conditions for recovery.