In talking about obesity, it is very controversial if it should be considered a choice, or a disease. In June of 2013, The American Medical Association (AMA) labeled obesity as a disease, rather than just a risk factor for many other diseases. Although I agree with the AMA that obesity is a disease, many people think otherwise. In the opinion piece from the Chicago Tribune, Obesity a choice, not a disease, Oren Spiegler discusses how we as Americans choose to be obese and that labeling it a disease is just an excuse.
According to Spiegler, calling obesity a disease is a big mistake on the AMA’s part. All that it will do is “provide an excuse for those who have the ability to control their weight, but elect not to do so”. Obesity is a result of the way in which we choose to live our lives. With portions being larger and unhealthy food being not only readily available but also thrown in our faces by television and ads, we have a tendency to eat them more and more and spend less time eating healthy, home cooked meals. Our bodies were also designed to be active, but in today’s society the norm is “sitting in front of some type of screen rather than engaging in vigorous aerobic outdoor activity”. Diseases are classified as something that is contracted “through no fault of the sufferer”. With obesity that is not the case.
I do agree with Spiegler in the fact that we do have some fault in obesity regarding our food choices and sedentary lifestyles. If we took more time to educate ourselves on healthy eating or just got off the coach once in a while to do some activity, the obesity epidemic might not be as bad. However, I do not agree that it is 100% the fault of the people. Genetics definitely play a part in certain peoples struggles with weight. The food industry also plays a big role in obesity. They make and brand food as “healthy” or “low-fat”, when in reality that food is just as bad if not worse for you because it makes up for its low category by being WAY too high in other. Now you might think the food industry are people so yes, obesity is a choice. But if people are buying these “low-fat” foods, they are choosing to try and be healthier, not dive further into obesity.
I do recognize that once people become obese they might just deal with and not do anything to try and change it, but that does not mean that the act of becoming obese was a choice. With the size of obesity and the predicted growth there is no way it can be just a choice. Why would so many people choose to live their lives so miserably, opening up the door to so many other diseases as well as early death? In my opinion, they wouldn’t.
With all of the research done on obesity thus far, if the AMA is going to label it as a disease, I think it is only right to agree with them. They are the experts and they know best so instead of trying to argue that it is actually a choice, we should accept their decision and continue trying to find ways to prevent and eliminate obesity.
Hi Savannah,
I really enjoyed reading your post. I find this really interesting because it’s such a widespread and relevant issue in our nation. I found it really helpful that you included the information from the Chicago Tribune and talked about how you agreed with it. The issue of whether obesity is a disease or a choice is very controversial. In my opinion, I think that sometimes it actually can be one or the other. Obviously if you have the option and ability to buy healthy foods and do fitness activities, but are choosing not to, that shouldn’t be considered a disease. However, most times there is no choice and a person may become obese due to genetics, or other health concerns such as thyroid issues for example. Next blog I think it would be a great idea to expand on the societal factors such as the advertising of foods you had briefly talked about and our lazy culture. There are many efforts promoting health and fitness such as Michelle Obamas campaign, but why are they not successful? Are factors like poverty and culture not allowing this change? What more should/can be done regarding this change?
Great job!
Rose
Hey Savannah!
As a nursing major I found your topic to be particularly interesting, especially since it’s such a controversial issue in the US that affects so many people. I really liked that you included information from multiple sources and showed details from both sides of the argument; whether obesity is a disease or a choice. Something you could look further into in your research could be the experiences of people struggling with obesity, such as how they came to be obese and what they are doing to try and improve their health.
I can’t wait to see what else you come up with on this topic!
Susanne
Savannah,
I really enjoyed your blog post! Obesity is obviously a serious issue we deal with in the United States. I personally agree with you I think obesity it has to do with both genetics and choice; I think it depends on the individual. Someone can be active and healthy and then hit a point in their life where they stop exercising and eat badly and they could potentially reach that weight level of obesity. And there are also people who genetically are just larger and they have an extremely hard time maintaining weight and gain and store fat at higher rates then other people. I liked how you started the blog it grabbed my attention; your flow was really good while also being informative. I liked how you pointed out where you agree and disagree, and both of these reasons were supported really well. I also thought it was good to add how food labels are misleading and give other examples as to how our society can at sometimes cater to obese people by promoting fast food and selling false labeled products. For your next blog there are many things you can do, but I think you should expand on one of the examples you mentioned. You could look further into the misleading food labels or look into a person who is genetically obese and compare their habits to someone who choose to live this way. Besides that I really enjoyed your blog!
Morgan
Hey Savannah,
I think your approach to the issue is much more solution-centered than Spiegler’s article. Spiegler probably, just like you, wants to change the obesity status in the United States, but instead of looking towards assessment of hindrances and possible solutions she kinda seems like she just wants to guilt America into being “personal[ly] responsible” citizens. Unfortunately principle-centered solutions don’t prove to be as effective as goal-oriented ones. For example it would be much harder for me to resist a chocolate muffin at Trabant upon seeing it than it would for me to avoid the visual stimulus altogether by not walking into Trabant to begin with.
I think it strengthened your post when you were able to acknowledge the points Spiegler had to make. Any argument that presents both sides is an argument a foot ahead ones that don’t. It seems that you’re trying to consider the obesity problems not just from a strict point of view of all responsibility on citizens or all responsibility on food industries. I think this is especially important because then you don’t become tied up either part of the spectrum which are both flawed.
Something I would suggest you could do for your next post is research how authorities like AMA categorize diseases and what criteria they’re following that leads them to categorize obesity as such. If the audience understands the mechanism behind the classifying of a disease perhaps they’ll better understand why “the experts” have made it so.
Other than that I think it’s great that you’re approaching the situation first by assessing the problem. Sometimes with topics such as obesity people jump right into solutions without first bringing the reader to the problem. So coodos on that! I look forward to reading your other posts.
-Shannon Salva
Hello Savannah,
this was very interesting article. i enjoyed that you were not entirely opposed or in agreement with the linked article, but that you stayed to the middle; pointing out good points of his argument while bringing in some of his own when you disagreed.
personally, while i understand that obesity is an issue, i feel that looking at stats on a sheet of paper does not do the problem to justice because it fails to account for how diverse the human experience is. in my personal case, i played football for 4 years in high school, staying on a high protien diet and lifting at least 3 times a week. i was able to keep an average weight of 280 pounds, 80 pounds high then the “healthy weight” for someone of my height. contrary to being morbidly obese and getting righting to drop and second from high cholesterol, i was in the best shape of my life. personally i think the standard they set for us can be somewhat ridiculous, since if i weighed under 200 pounds right now i would look like a skeleton.
sincerely,
Nathan Robinson