Obesity in America Essay - 2779 Words

With society’s ever increasing price tag of education, public schools have gone to great lengths to cut costs from the unessential activities during and after school hours. First it was music programs and art classes; however, with the desperate need for teachers, athletic programs have felt the grunt of this expedition. Now, more than ever, youths in our communities are battling serious problems. Not only are sports and organized athletic programs vital to physical development, but also mental growth and offer children structure and goals. Unfortunately, many schools have to cut back or even eliminate sports/athletic programs due to lack of funding. As the cost of athletic programs increase, many states are forced to pass the fees†¦show more content†¦Accordingly, a recent analysis by Prentice and Jebb (4) has emphasized the contribution of sedentariness to the increased prevalence of overweight in the United Kingdom. Despite these observations, the contribution of exercise to the prevention and treatment of obesity is still perceived as trivial by many health professionals. The perception of many of them was recently well summarized by Garrow (5) who stated that exercise is a remarkably ineffective means of achieving weight loss in obese people, mainly because their exercise tolerance is so low that the level of physical activity that they can sustain makes a negligible contribution to total energy expenditure. When one looks at the currently available literature, it is difficult to disagree with this statement. Indeed, numerous studies have demonstrated that when exercise is used alone to treat obesity, body weight lo ss is generally small (6). In addition, the further weight loss generated by adding an exercise program to a reduced-calorie diet is also often small if not insignificant (7). Traditionally, the study of the impact of exercise on body weight control has focused on its energy cost and on the hope that the body energy loss will be equivalent to the cumulative energy cost of exercise sessions. In practical terms, this means for instance that if a physical activity program induces an excess of energy expenditure of 2000 kcal/week, a similar energy deficit should be expected in the active obeseShow MoreRelatedObesity in America909 Words   |  4 Pages When discussing the issue of obesity in America, it seems to be that there is plenty of blame to go around and most of that blame falls on fast food companies. When searching for a concrete answer to the question used as my title, you will find none because there isn’t one. When asked this simple question, it is easy to blame the o besity problem on fast food considering 8 out of 10 Americans consume fast food according to a report done by the Huffington Post. But after doing more research you willRead MoreObesity in America787 Words   |  4 PagesGood news! We’re Number 2! As declared by a 2013 report from the U.N., America has only the second highest obesity rate in the world at 31.8%, second to Mexico with an obesity rate of 32.8%. America has held on to the title of most obese country for over 60 years. From 13% obesity in 1962, estimates have steadily increased right up to 2013’s 32.8%. This may sound like good news, but the harsh truth is that America didn’t reach the number 2 spot through sweeping diet changes or social conscienceRead MoreObesity in America909 Words   |  4 PagesObesity in America In the United States of America, there is a current epidemic of obesity throughout the country. Every age group is affected by this unfortunate trend. Even children are not immune to the national obesity problem. For a country that has an abundance of job opportunities, educational opportunities, and financial opportunities, it is a sad statement of fact that far too many people are tipping the scales in unhealthy ways. It is a fact that a disproportionate amount of the nationsRead MoreObesity : America s Obesity1204 Words   |  5 PagesDraft Obesity in America How many times a week do you go out to McDonald s or Taco Bell for dinner? If you go more than once or twice a week then you really need to look at your diet and how healthy your lifestyle is. America is having a huge obesity crisis, too many Americans just don’t care about how much they weigh or unhealthy their lifestyle is. From the advertisement of the fast food companies, to people not being able to afford healthier foods, and people just being plain lazy, America hasRead MoreObesity in America2116 Words   |  9 PagesENG 101 SL1 26 June, 2006 Obesity in America Obesity in America is a continually growing problem and even worse our own children are sharing in this problem. A commentary in the Washington Times reports that sixty million Americans are obese. What really is the meaning of obese? Obese is having a body mass index of thirty percent or more. In recent years, the percentage of obese Americans has risen. In the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the National CenterRead MoreObesity in America2898 Words   |  12 PagesIn the United States today, obesity has become an enormous problem. In the last 3 decades, the number of people overweight has increased dramatically. A study done by the Centers of Disease Control showed that since 1980, one third of our adult population has become overweight. America is the richest but also the fattest nation in the world and our obese backsides are the butt of jokes in every other country (Klein 28). The 1980s were a time when Americans suddenly started going crazy over dietingRead MoreObesity in America995 Words   |  4 PagesFences Essay As humans we all have certain motivations behind every action that we exhibit. This is called a hierarchy of needs, and in 1943 a scientist by the name of Abraham Maslow theorized it. When he discovered this characteristic of the human body, he came out with an organized chart, or pyramid. His pyramid showed five different levels, Basic needs, Safety, Love and Belonging, Self esteem, and Self-Actualization. Basically he created a blueprint for life. First you have to lay your foundationRead MoreObesity in America Essay1285 Words   |  6 Pagesa long time, obesity has been one of the notable health concerns that America has struggled with during the last five decades .Obesity as a health concern is not limited to America alone, it is a serious concern among other affluent societies like European countries. A considerable number of Americans spend a significant amount of money trying to lose weight. Obesity become an important focus in the news items during the year 2002.According t o research findings, the rate of obesity among the AmericanRead MoreEssay On Obesity In America955 Words   |  4 PagesObesity in America Over the years the obesity rate in America has increased significantly. From 1990 to 2016, the average percentage of obese adults increased from 11.1% to 29.8%. The escalating obesity rate in America has made obesity prevention one of the top public health priorities. Being overweight has become the new normal in America. Obesity is caused by eating too much and moving too little, depression, and the input of social media. A lot of people wonder why we are so concerned aboutRead MoreThe Problem of Obesity in America840 Words   |  3 PagesObesity: one of the nation’s most critical health problems. â€Å"Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, water, or a combination of these factors. Obesity is defined as having excess body fat† (â€Å"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention†). When energy input and output get out of balance, obesity arises. Many factors can cause someone to become obese such as genetics, metabolism, level of physical activity, and more. â€Å"Overweight and obesity

A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Foster Care And...

In the U.S. 397,122 children are living without permanent families in the foster care system, as of 2012, more than 58,000 children in the U.S. foster care system were placed in institutions or group homes, not in traditional foster homes (CCAI, 2012). Can these children developmental need be meet in institutions and enable children to make sucker attachments? The American Journal of Psychiatry’s article â€Å"A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Foster Care and Institutional Care for Children With Signs of Reactive Attachment Disorder† examines signs of emotionally withdrawn and indiscriminately social reactive attachment disorder in three groups of young Romanian children that were abandoned by their parents. The placement of children into an institution was made by Romanian child protective officials. The research group ensured that no child, once placed in foster care, through the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, would be returned to an institutional setting , either during or after the study (Smyke, 2012). The article follows perfect experimental design according to Introductory Psychology (Manley 2010). Three groups were used in each condition of the independent variable which is the condition of care each child receives. The three groups were: children that were placed into institutionalized care, children placed into foster care, and children who were raised in their biological families. The children raised in their biological families were born at the sameShow MoreRelatedUnderstanding Reactive Attachment Disorder ( Dsm )2831 Words   |  12 Pages Understanding Reactive Attachment Disorder An L. WineKing Liberty University Abstract This paper is a review of how attachment disorders were first defined in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM) in 1980, and how the descriptions have evolved over the past 30 years of research efforts which have provided new insights into the disorder. The main attachment disorder discussed is Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), that has recently been expanded to

How a Friend Change My Life Free Essays

Friends Really Do Change Your Life I believe friends can impact your life. Whether negatively or positively, the people you surround yourself with have a significant impact on where your life takes you. Specifically, I believe my best friend got me to where I am today. We will write a custom essay sample on How a Friend Change My Life or any similar topic only for you Order Now I am now and have been on a path to success since she entered my life. Four years ago, I was a trouble maker, rule breaker and all out rebel. The girls that I surrounded myself were known for their bad attitudes and party habits. I have watched their lives get destroyed because of the decisions they made. I believe by stepping away from them, I have become a more structured and overall better person. During my friendship with my former group of friends, I had no rules. I stayed out hours past midnight, threw parties without my parent’s permission or knowledge, and didn’t care who I associated myself with. Thankfully, I was level-headed enough to never give in to the pressure of trying drugs or alcohol. I was only in it for the fun. Four of these girls, however, lacked the better judgment I was lucky enough to have. They drank constantly, smoked pot, and ditched school almost every day. After several years of this, I had had enough. Unfortunately, by associating myself with this group I had somewhat ruined my reputation. Even though I stayed away from drugs, people at school assumed I was just as crazy as the rest of the girls. The girls eventually dropped out of school and I was left trying to find people that would accept me. I knew of another girl at school that I hadn’t talked to in a few years. She was in Honors classes and theater, so we rarely crossed paths. Our parents, however, were best friends and always encouraged her and I to hang out but we never found much in common. After separating myself from my former group, she and I became friends. I quickly found myself realizing what true friendship really was and was surprised to have found it with someone I had once thought to be so different from me. Four years later, we are best friends and closer than anyone could imagine. Through the lives of my former friends, I have seen what my path could have been. I could have been without a high school education, without a job, without my dignity and without a true friend. I have learned that who you associate yourself with can have a strong impact on your future. By becoming friends with someone I thought was on the right path, I, myself, can see a bright future ahead of me. I am extremely thankful to have found someone who helped me get on this path. I believe that without her, I would not be who I am today. How to cite How a Friend Change My Life, Papers

Importance of Enzymes free essay sample

Enzymes are large proteins that are responsible for catalysing thousands of metabolic processes that sustain life. Enzymes work similarly to those catalysts used in industry by lowering activation energy and therefore dramatically speeding up the rate of a reaction, however, these biological catalysts are highly selective to their substrate. Almost every chemical reaction that occurs in a cell requires enzymes in order to occur at rates required for the sustenance of life. Enzymes have an active site which has a complimentary base to a specific substrate, when these bind an enzyme-substrate complex is formed. There are two hypotheses for the formation of an enzyme-substrate complex; the lock and key hypothesis explains that only one substrate (they key) will fit into the active site (lock). The induced fit hypothesis is when the active site changes shape so that the enzyme moulds itself around the substrate. A simple example of the importance of enzymes in digestion is lactose- intolerance. We will write a custom essay sample on Importance of Enzymes or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Lactose is a sugar found in milk, and is digested by an enzyme found in the intestines called lactase. A lack of this enzyme can result in lactose- intolerance, whereby the undigested lactose is fermented by bacteria causing a host of intestinal complications. However, milk can be artificially treated with purified lactase. Even if a person had the best supplemented diet, it would be worthless without the use of enzymes to allow the polymers to be broken down rapidly. The digestive system is just one of the many processes in which enzymes play a key role. The proteins and carbohydrates that we consume are polymers, they are large, insoluble molecules which mean that they cannot be directly absorbed into our blood to be assimilated into new products. They need to be hydrolysed into smaller, more soluble molecules by adding water, this hydrolysis is catalysed by a number of different enzymes. Two important glands along the digestive system produce and release these enzymes to aid the breakdown of food, firstly, the salivary gland which secretes saliva consisting of the enzyme amylase (a carbohydrase). Secondly, the pancreas releases pancreatic juice consisting of amylase, tripsin, chymotripsin and lipase into the duodenum. As well as the release of enzymes, the pancreas also releases hormones in the regulation of blood glucose. The alpha cells of the Islets of Langerhans detect a fall in blood glucose and respond by secreting glucagon into the blood, only the receptors  on liver cells can respond to the glucagon by activating an enzyme that converts glycogen to glucose, to increase the blood sugar level and return it to a normal level. Without this enzyme, stores of glycogen would not be converted to glucose and the blood sugar level would remain too low. Genes determine our phenotype because they contain the information to produce an organisms proteins and enzymes, the order of bases in the gene decide the order of amino acids in the protein and therefore, decide the type of enzyme that is produced. The nature and development of organisms is determined by the metabolic pathways taken by these enzymes. Mutations in the DNA base sequence may mean that a gene codes for a non-functioning or different enzyme, so the active site is no longer specific to the substrate, and enzyme-substrate complexes cannot be formed therefore, certain metabolic pathways cannot be enabled. Finally, Enzymes are even useful for the manufacture of food for humans, as many are used in the food industry, created from genetically modified bacteria. For example, amylases are produced and used to break down starch during the production of beer and proteases are used to tenderize meat.