Obesity in North America: Assessing the socioeconomic factors

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

6 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

07/13/2009

Category :

Political science

Sub category :

Social sciences

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Summary :

Introduction
The increased risk of morbidity
The prevalence of obesity among North Americans
Childhood obesity
Obesity and the conception of upward social mobility
The reduction of obesity rates among the wealthy
Conclusion
References

Abstract

obesity has become a north american epidemic that is closely associated with the stereotypical overindulgence of western culture. Unfortunately, the prevalence of obesity is on the rise. In fact, "currently, more that half of Canadian adults are obese or overweight (more than 5 million Canadians are obese and an additional 8 million Canadians are overweight, respectively). The number of obese adults in Canada almost tripled between 1985 and 2001. The prevalence of childhood obesity in Canada is just as alarming. In 1979 the overweight/obesity rate was 15% among children and adolescents aged 2 to 17 years old.

There have been similar effects occurring worldwide, as there are thought to be more than 1 billion overweight adults and more than 300 million of those are thought to be obese (WHO, 2008, par. 2). Yet in north american specifically, there is a number of socioeconomic factors, such as high cost of healthy food and conforming to normative values that contribute to obesity in a culture that is preoccupied with the production of fast, economical and poorly-prepared food.