Obesity: An Epidemic

By Akash Raju

In 2017, it was estimated that over 4 million people died as a direct result of being overweight and or obese. From 1975 to 2016, children, age 5-19 showed an increase from 4% to 18% globally in obesity and overweight rates! With statistics like this, it's no wonder author Akash Raju felt a calling to publish his experience with and knowledge of

• Language: English
• Publisher: New Degree Press
• Release date: May 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9781637301678

Book preview

Obesity: An Epidemic

Akash Raju

new degree press

copyright © 2021 Akash Raju

All rights reserved.

Obesity: An Epidemic

ISBN

978-1-63676-702-4 Paperback

978-1-63730-065-7 Kindle Ebook

978-1-63730-167-8 Digital Ebook

Contents

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Introduction

Chapter 1

A History of Obesity

Chapter 2

the Modern Perspective on Obesity

Chapter 3

myths About Obesity

Chapter 4

the Causes of Obesity

Chapter 5

the Effects of Obesity

Chapter 6

principles of Community-Based Obesity Management

Part 1

Chapter 7

principles of Community-Based Management

Part 2

Conclusion

Acknowledgments

APPENDIX

Introduction

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Epidemic. The word conjured horrid images of disease and death, of raging plagues tearing through countries. Often, society associates the word with viruses: the Spanish Flu, H1N1, or even the recent coronavirus outbreak. Yet, there is a pandemic far greater in its scope and affects more people than any disease could infect. It is both insidious and dangerous, hiding in plain sight. It is perhaps the most dire health crisis facing civilization today.

The obesity epidemic, while it’s not something we typically recognize as a disease, has reached the point where the medical community has looked closer at its definition. It is now, in fact, classified as a disease by the American Medical Association. Obesity is now plaguing hundreds of millions of people across the world, with people affected by the condition in almost every country.¹ The broad consequences of this worldwide phenomenon have negatively affected everything from mental health to healthcare systems themselves. It is also something that has affected me, personally.

As a child, I was extremely overweight. My routine visits to the doctor made me painfully aware of how my hurting knees or my inability to keep up with the other kids in gym class were a direct consequence of my level of body fat. The physical risks caused by my overweight body weren’t the worst of my problems, unfortunately. My self-image was plagued by my insecurities about my body, so much so that I lived in a constant state of worry about being known as the fat kid. Fear of social ostracization due to my body, and the impact that took on my mental health, was a wake-up call. This was the moment that made me shed my excess weight, beginning my journey to health. It was not an easy task. I had no idea where to start initially, and many of my first attempts at dieting ended in failure or even more weight gain. My unhappiness with my body only increased from then on until I found support in my friends and family in my journey. They helped me lay out a solid future plan to reduce weight which set body weight targets every few weeks that they would help me meet through their support. I also participated in many new community exercise events where I learned how to do different exercises that I never knew before that helped me slowly become more fit over time.

I didn’t see many results even when I first started my exercise routine and diet, which was greatly discouraging, but as the weeks turned into months, I slowly shed my excess body weight. It was incredibly liberating, but what was truly surprising was how I changed mentally rather than physically. I found myself becoming more outgoing and confident in social situations, and I was no longer ashamed of looking at myself in the mirror. I felt stress I didn’t even know I had, melt away. It took me roughly a year to lose my excess body weight, but I ended up enjoying the whole process as I continued to meet my goals and strive for greater ones. The support and validation from my friends and family in meeting these goals were greatly encouraging as well, and I truly believe they were a key reason in me being able to accomplish what I did. The lessons I learned in my weight loss journey persisted even after I achieved a healthy weight. I had no intention of ever returning to what I had gone through those earlier years of my life being overweight, so I resolved to keep true to the habits I learned and keep them in mind lifelong. To this day, I track my diet and make sure to exercise regularly, not only to keep me healthy but also to remind myself of the effort and time I put in all those years ago to improve my health. And I don’t want to stop at just improving my own health. I want to use my experience to help others accomplish the same thing I did and ultimately achieve a better life.

For the countless people who have gone through the same thing, struggling because of your weight, I am dedicating this book to you. I want you to know you are not alone. You are one of the millions of people fighting to gain back control of your bodies. And trust me, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Your goals aren’t a far-off fantasy. They are indeed attainable.

With my personal experience and knowledge on the subject, I have come to the belief that obesity needs discussion on its impact within all walks of life, from the consequences it has on a person’s mental health, disease risk, and social isolation to the broader structural impacts on healthcare deliverance and doctor-patient relationships. Obesity is an all-encompassing disease, so it is only fitting that its approach is just as encompassing.

Currently, obesity rates continue to grow across the West, with near-obesity levels in the United States specifically projected to reach nearly 40 percent of the population, according to a recent CDC report.² It is a staggering, unbelievable number, and even I still have trouble wrapping my head around it. This figure does not even include 32 percent of the US population, which is overweight—despite similar health issues. The rising percentage of this epidemic has led to major repercussions in the overall economy of the United States, as well.³

Yet, there remains a silver lining to this epidemic, one that has the potential to be welcomed by all with open arms. Numerous small-scale community initiatives across the country have used unique approaches and incentives to moderately lower obesity rates in certain areas. Many of these initiatives, while dwarfed by those funded by the federal government, have had significantly longer-lasting and sustainable effects on combating obesity than their national counterparts ever had.⁴ Examining the multidisciplinary causes, risks, and history of the disease allows society to work together as a community. In these small community efforts, new methods are being developed, focusing on previously alternative approaches to combating this common disease by taking into account the multidisciplinary causes, risks, and history of the obesity epidemic. As a result, by examining the root causes of obesity, its risks, history, and the various myths surrounding it in popular culture, we can fight the crisis. We must also, as a society, develop new methods focusing on less mainstream approaches to handling this pandemic.

Only through a fundamental change in how we approach the problems of obesity can we hope to stave off the ever-increasing onslaught of the obesity pandemic and ensure that it does not continue to afflict future generations. As a result, I write this book to not only highlight the problems and causes of the obesity crisis but solutions to how we can move forward and directly address obesity.

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1 Obesity and Overweight, World Health Organization, April 1, 2020.

2 Overweight and Obesity, Center of Disease Control and Prevention, October 29, 2020.

3 Ibid.

4 Andrew Pollack, AMA Recognizes Obesity as a Disease, New York Times, June 18, 2013.

Chapter 1

A History of Obesity

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The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future.

—Theodore Roosevelt

Having a confident understanding of the history of obesity allows for society to be less likely to repeat these mistakes that have resulted in the obesity crisis in the first place. If we can attain this knowledge, we may then be able to generate solutions to combat the obesity epidemic and prevent a great deal of suffering and hardship it causes in future generations.

Throughout history, obesity as a human condition has always been present. But we haven’t had the same awareness of it as we do today. There are few records of obesity throughout history. Likely, this lack of recorded information on this health issue was due to the relative lack of obesity itself in countries with preindustrial/industrializing economies compared to countries today. These societies often needed good weather for sustainable food production, and this dependency sometimes resulted in periodic