Final Project
Jennifer Sonognini
HCA/250
10/12/2014
Corinne Halpren

Faculty Materials
Obesity cost America nearly $150 billion a year, and 1 in every 3 adults are obese, and 1 in every 6 children are obese. Obesity is the major cause of death in heart disease, cancer, and diabetes ("Obesity Epidemic", 2014). It is a disorder where an extreme amount of body fat consumes the body. A little body fat is okay, but when there is an excessive amount, there is risks for diseases and many health problems like; high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. (Mayo Clinic, 2014)
There are many factors for someone becoming obese, with many complicated changes in the environment that contribute to this. People now days find food that are more readily available, seeing more fast food restaurants on almost every corner, people are always on the go, so a home cooked meal is not as convenient than stopping at a fast food restaurant or going out to a restaurant. Geological issues also contribute, with some communities being built, where the store, schools, and places of employment are no longer walking distance, so people are lacking the physical activity of walking to place, it is more convenient to drive. Even some communities, especially poor and rural areas do not always offer trails, parks, and recreational centers for people to get active. Technology also interferes with people being more active, being that there are more TV options, people working or schooling in front of a computer all day, and then come home to play video games. People are more and more eating foods that are processed, high in sugars, fats, and calories. Eating these types of foods is not good for you, unlike eating a home cooked meal. All these societal, economic, and cultural conditions are all contributions for obesity ("Obesity Epidemic", 2014).
Other factors that may cause obesity is; genetics, family habits, pregnancy, lack of sleep, quitting smoking, medication side effects, age, and even some medical problems can lead to obesity. So obesity is not always self inflicted and cannot always be controlled (Mayo Clinic, 2014) Obesity can happen to anyone, any gender, any religion, any ethnicity, and at any age, but as time continues the risk for obesity increases as the body begins to change, hormones change, muscle mass decreases and lifestyles changes and people become less active. Lower muscle mass triggers a decrease in metabolism, so the body does not digest the food as quickly as it used to. Even stress can lead to a person over eating, to compensate for the pain, or frustration they may be having ("Obesity Information", 2014).
However, there are solutions that can help reduce or minimize obesity; eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking more water, being more active, restricting TV or screen time to minimum for children, and encourage more physical play time, and get involved with the school health advisory council. Communities can provide incentives in supermarkets to sell and provide more affordable fruits and vegetables, they can also organize farmers markets to promote healthy livings and provide local farmers to sell fruits and vegetables. Employers can contribute by offering resources to healthy living, offer healthier option foods, and have lactate rooms for new mothers that breastfeed to pump and or feed their new born babies, being that breastfed babies are less likely to become obese at an older age ("Obesity Epidemic", 2014).
Being obese can lead to many health issues; high blood pressure, stress, cancers, diabetes, heart disease, and illnesses. When someone is obese, the body has an excess amount of fat, which puts pressure on internal organs, damaging and corrupting them. Pressure on the organs or within the blood streams leads to high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and high triglyceride levels. Diabetes may come with obesity, when a person eats a high count of sugar foods, or when they consume not enough good sugars