Running head: OBESITY

Obesity: A Global Dilema

Juan Moreno
English 1010
April 12, 2015

OBESITY

Since the turn of the century one of the most prevalent issues in modern times has been
the diet and nutrition of the masses. What were once small family owned farms are now towering
factories, where there was once conscious effort for quality food, theres now a conscious an
effort for monetary gain and expansion. Not much room and thought is given to the reality of
what people are deciding to put in their mouths and how their health is affected. As our society
grows bigger and bigger and the food industry fluctuates in order to meet the high demand of the
consumers, how exactly has the overall health of the worlds citizens been affected? What are the
consequences and what is being done to decrease the negative effects that poor nutrition is
having on people. Ignorance is bliss but when it comes to food it can also mean decay and in
many cases death.
diet and nutrition and especially the ill effects that a bad diet can have, much of the
spotlight is put on the United States and understandably so as it does have a long history of being
a very unhealthy environment food wise, with its long list of fast food joints and high sugar diets.
When taking into consideration the rest of the world however the U.S. is actually not at the top of
the obesity list. Take Saudi Arabia for example:
The worsening obesity problem here also is manifesting itself in other ways. Some 20%
of the Saudi adult population has Type 2 diabetes, a condition linked to obesity, according to the
International Diabetes Federation, compared with
8.3% in the U.S., according to the CDC. The cost of diabetes treatment in Saudi
Arabia is expected to rise to $2.4 billion in 2015, more than triple that spent in
2010, according to a recent study in the Journal of Family and Community
Medicine.(Wang 9)

OBESITY

This information is alarming as the stereotypical belief that obesity is a problem that the
U.S. mainly faces is being challenged by the reality that nutritional health is a very large issue
that expands the entire globe:
While solid national data are hard to come by, some experts say that obesity has turned
into a serious health problem for Saudi children, with an estimated 9.3% of school-age youths
meeting the World Health Organization's body-mass-index criteria for obesity, according to
research published in 2013 in the Saudi Journal of Obesity. About 18% of school-age children in
the U.S. were considered obese in 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.(Wang 4) Saudi Arabia is just one of many examples of rising obesity rates among
the world and while there is much being done in an effort to stifle the epidemic, there are more
negative outlooks than good.
Rising international obesity rates have deep rooted causes that go beyond just the
assumption that high fructose corn syrup and other sugary substances are the ones to blame.
Many experts agree that the rise in obesity is a combination of things, ranging from not enough
stay at home moms to huge increases in fast food industry. One expert. states that:
According to the Department of Agriculture, in 1970 the food supply provided
2,086 calories per person per day, on average. By 2010, this amount had risen to 2,534
calories, an increase of more than 20 percent. Consuming an extra 448 calories each day could
add nearly 50 pounds to the average adult in a year.(Brody 4)
This information conveys the strong idea that society itself is the driving force behind the
diet choices of people around the world. The increase in more calories do not all come from
sugar contradictory to popular belief, Sugar, it turns out, is a minor player in the rise.

OBESITY

4
References:

Wang, Shirley S. "Global Gluttony: As Kids Get Fatter Doctors Turn to the Knife." Wall Street
Journal, 29 Mar. 2014. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
Brody, Jane E. Many Fronts in the Obesity War. New York Times. 21 May.
2013:D.4. SIRS issue researcher. Web. 10 April 2015
Gough, Deborah. Children Lured to Unhealthy Food. The Age (Melbourne). 26
Dec. 2012: 5. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 11 April 2015.
Cohen, Deborah. 5 Myths about Obesity. Washington post. 29 Dec. 2013: B.2.
SIRS Issues Researcher. Web 7 April. 2015.