Obesity in the world. Causes, consequences, solutions.

Obesity, a global issue.

        Rapidly increasing chronic disease obesity has become a major public health concern,

especially in the developed countries. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), today about 13% of the world's adult population is obese. Moreover, we estimate that child obesity has doubled, and almost quadrupled for teenagers for the past 30 years. Indeed, obesity's rate for teenagers in the United States for example, has increased from 5% in 1980 to 21% in 2014. Despite all the efforts and the preventive measures taken by the international community, over 2.5 millions people still die each year because of obesity and health problems it causes.

        The main reason of this issue is obviously the lack of energy balance in some people. Of course, when you take IN more calories than you use, there is an imbalance that has as consequences eating disorders such as overweight or obesity. Linked to this is very often an inactive lifestyle which increases overweight. Many people sit in front of their computer all day long and  pupils do not exercise enough either. Furthermore, modern lifestyle does not really encourage us to move : driving short distances instead of walking for example. Our modern society allows fewer physical demands at work or at home thanks to new technology and conveniences. However many other causes are often forgotten. Domestic environnement is also an important factor. Indeed, in some neighbourhoods, the lack of sidewalks, public parks, gymnasiums or just safe places to practice sport is a drag on physical expense. Oversized food portions raise questions about the American culture.  American people are served extra large portions in restaurants, theaters, fast food places, and even at home, they eat lots ! Sometimes the amount of food they eat could feed two people and even more. Moreover, some people don't live near supermarkets that sell healthy food such as fresh fruits and vegetables. Let's not forget that income plays an  important role, indeed, healthy food tends to be more expensive. To many people, it seems easier or cheaper to buy fast food rather than eating healthy food, mostly because they have not been taught how to cook healthy food. Social environnement has an influence on the gain of weight as well.  In this way, some studies have proved that having an obese person in your circle of friends increases by 45% your chance to become obese. Finally, we all know that for ages we have always been surrounded by advertisements in order to make us buy all kind of products. This may surprise some people but this is one of the main causes of obesity. There are more and more advertissements, especially on the internet for high-fat snacks or sugary drinks, sold by some of the biggest transnational firms, the most famous one being Coca-Cola. The marketing strategy of these enterprises is to make us think that the products they sell are not bad for our health by highlighting the absence of sugar replaced by chemicals for example. They often target children and teenagers, as they are considered as easily influential customers. Besides social and local environnement and thanks to genetics, we know that  chances of being obese are greater if one or both of your parents are overweight or obese. In addition, children adopt their parents lifestyle and habits and will most likely share their weight problems. Other factors may have less influence on overweight and obesity, but they may have some effects, such as, lack of sleep,  aging, pregnancy or some medicines you take to treat  depression for example.

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