Section 1: How Do We Measure Overweight and Obesity?

Section 1:  How Do We Measure Overweight and Obesity?

1. Cindy’s Story

Cindy is the first character in the movie, HBO. She was born in Bogalusa, Louisiana where she also grew. She is a mother of two grown or adult sons and currently a proud grandmother. However, what sticks out about her story is the fact that she weighed 99 pounds only when she was getting married. This, however, changed after her first pregnancy when she got into unhealthy lifestyle and became obese. She has been trying to lose weight on numerous occasions to no avail. Another fact that sticks out is that she has lost her grandmother and mother prematurely, both of whom were obese, from heart complications. This underlines the relationship between obesity and severe ailments.

1. Bogalusa Heart Study.

Bogalusa Heart Study is a long-term population study that has a persistent relationship with the community and addresses capacity building problems in minority health research. Initially, the study was funded in the form of Specialized Center of Research- Arteriosclerosis. The centers used to carry out research on coronary artery diseases, diabetes, mellitus, atherosclerosis, as well as complications of the cardiovascular-renal disease. However, the study has been interested in the fundamental characteristics in early life that eventually cause clinical morbidity, as well as mortality from heart complications.

Section 2:  The Childhood Origins of Adult Diseases

Childhood obesity has severe consequences including high-blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, heart diseases and asthma among other serious complications. These severely reduce the life expectancy of these children. Childhood Behaviors that are known to have serious consequences in later life include excessive watching TV, which is associated with eating snacks. Snacks are usually junk foods that incorporate fats, in which case they cause obesity. Other behaviors include failure to exercise and consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks.

These findings mean that I would have to limit the number of hours that my children and grandchildren will spend on the TV. In addition, nutritional changes will have to be incorporated with the elimination of sugar-sweetened drinks and junk foods. These will be replaced with roughages, while sodas and sports drinks will be replaced with a 100% fruit juice. In addition, the kids will be expected to carry out some physical exercises including walking, running, jogging and others to ensure that they stay healthy and keep fit.

Most surprising of the findings is that obesity is more pronounced in lower-income groups than in high-income groups. Also surprising is the powerful connection that exists between obesity or overweight and heart complications in adulthood.

Section 3:  An Obesity Epidemic

Obesity affects almost all aspects of an individual’s life. It has serious implications on the health of an individual as it increases the risk of various ailments such as heart complications, Type 2 diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure. Rising obesity also drags the economy down through increased costs of healthcare and reduced productivity. Obesity is also one of the contributors to low self-esteem in people, thereby lowering their social life.

The key reason for occurrence of obesity is that most people spend their working hours sited behind computers. This means reduced activity, which is complemented by unhealthy eating habits. Fast-food make up a significant percentage of people’s diets in which case their bodies are packed with fats.

Section 4:  How Much Does Genetics Contribute to Obesity?

1. Genetics and obesity

Studies have shown minimal association between genetics and obesity. Studies have shown that all monogenic defects that cause human obesity disrupt the hypothalamic pathways. In addition, they have profound effects on food intake and satiety. There exists substantial evidence that suggests that the fundamental impacts of genes on obesity in humans are just as likely to have a direct impact on food intake, hunger and satiety rather than nutrient partitioning or metabolic rate. This points to the fact that obesity may, in fact, be a neurobehavioral rather than a metabolic disease.

Section 5:  Disparities

The key disparity is that most obese people in my community are from well-up families unlike the community depicted, where most obese people are from poor backgrounds.

The key root of health disparities among communities is the insufficiency and inaccessibility of parks. In essence, my first priority would be establishing safe parks where people can conduct physical activities. The roads to existing parks would be repaired to enhanc.............