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With the continuous improvement of people’s living standards, obesity has become a very common social phenomenon. “According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) (2009-2010), approximately 69% of adults are overweight or obese, with more than 78 million adult Americans considered obese.” (By NIH 13/02/2013 P1) As the number of obese people continues to increase each year, the obesity crisis has also attracted widespread concern. The causes of obesity are food availability, excessive intake of sugar and lack of physical exercise. Ways to reduce obesity are a daily diet that reduces sugar intake, more physical activity and the roles of government.
What Are the Main factors that Cause Obesity?
Food Availability
The first factor affecting people’s obesity is the supply of food, which has increased dramatically in modern society. Food is everywhere, especially junk food. Shops display tempting foods that are most likely to get your attention. Another problem is that junk food is usually cheaper than healthy food. For example, some poor people don’t have enough money to buy fresh and healthy foods, maybe in the dairy shop where they live, only soda, sweets and processed packaged junk food are sold. “A U.S. study reported that customers who frequent urban corner convenience stores spend on average $3 per visit. Their most common purchases are sodas, chips, prepared food, pastries, and candy. Regular soda was the most popular beverage purchase.” (By Stephen T. Sinatra n.d. P4) These unhealthy foods contribute to obesity.
Excessive Intake of Sugar
Adding sugar may be another serious problem in modern diets. Taking too much sugar can change the hormones and biochemistry in the body. This in turn helps to gain weight. Excessive intake of sugar may cause insulin resistance and elevated insulin levels. For most people, experts agree that some of the sugar added to the diet is good. “But the truth is that most Americans consume too much – an average of nearly 57 pounds of sugar per person per year. This may affect us, making it easier for us to crave more sugar and lead to obesity.” (By UCSF n.d. P1) This does not include sugars naturally found in foods such as fruits and milk. Sugary drinks, sweets and baked goods are the main sources of added sugar. Added sugars may be difficult to find on food labels because they appear in many terms we are not familiar with, such as corn syrup and agave nectar. These unhealthy habits increase obesity.
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Lack of Physical Exercise
The life of urbanites has become very busy, and people are more willing to play games and on mobile phones during the limited rest time. Coupled with the convenience of modern transportation and the universality of private cars, the opportunities for people to walk are greatly reduced. Due to overtime work, there is less time left for people to freely move, which also poses a hidden danger for everyone’s health. If we don’t do proper exercise, we can’t consume the provided energy, so that the extra kilojoules are stored as fat. Less exercise leads to obesity.
How People Can Reduce Obesity?
Daily Diet Reduces Sugar Intake
“Dr. Robert Lustig, a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology in the University of California and a pioneer in decoding sugar metabolism, says that your body can safely metabolize at least 6 teaspoons of added sugar per day.”（Dr. Mercola 23/3/2019 P6）The above indicates that the intake of sugar is appropriate. Drink water instead of soda or juices and don’t add sugar to your coffee or tea. For example, instead of sugar in recipes, you can try things like cinnamon, almond extract, vanilla, ginger or lemon which will reduce obesity.
Do More Physical Activity
Increase daily exercise, such as doing some regular exercise like walking after a meal, swimming, mountain climbing and other aerobic exercises or even outdoor chores, all of which are good ways to stay healthy and avoid excessive obesity. “The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults aged 18–64 should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or do at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week, an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity.” (World Health Organization n.d. P2）Doing more exercise will reduce the chance of obesity.
The Roles of Government
The government should play an important role for solving obesity. Encourage food manufacturers to sign up to a range of pledges as part of the Public Health Responsibility Deal. A great deal of work is occurring on obesity prevention policies, including nutrition policies in schools, policies to encourage consumption of water in lieu of sugared beverages, tax increases on sugary drinks and restrictions on marketing to people obesity. For example, New Zealand government policies on food sold in schools. A nutrient profiling system has underpinned these policies to identify the ‘red light’ foods that can only be sold once or twice a term in the schools.
Conclusion
Above we know the main causes of obesity are food availability, adding more sugar and less exercises. The solutions to obesity are eating less sugar, increasing exercise and government policies. Whether you are obese or not, at risk of being overweight or healthy, you can take steps to prevent unhealthy weight gain and related health problems. If obesity continues to exist, the resulting disease will be the biggest challenge we face in the future. I think we should spend more money and energy to prevent and promote health, not to treat this disease
