According to the CDC, over a third of Americans are classed
as obese, which suggests that obesity is far from being an individual problem.
Society has undergone profound changes over the past century, so that nowadays
most people are engaged in less physically intensive work; they have more
options about what to do with their free time and they generally spend less
time preparing nutritionally balanced meals. One of the consequences of this is
that people’s waistlines have been expanding.
Dietary habits
The way in which people eat and the food that they choose to consume is very different from years gone by. There are so many more options than there used to be that the choice can be overwhelming. Food is relatively cheap, particularly the kinds of food that are crammed full of sugar and fat, and so people are more likely to opt for cheap, tasty and quick-to-prepare meals than to pick out raw ingredients and prepare a meal from scratch. Individuals are less likely to sit around the table and eat together as a family and will often graze on snacks instead of eating proper meals or will eat snacks as well as hefty meals.
Activity levels
Besides picking up poor eating habits, a significant proportion of the population are not getting enough exercise either. Most people have jobs which involve a lot of sitting around, which doesn’t exactly burn many calories. On top of this, they are not making enough effort to incorporate exercise into their day. It is recommended that individuals should engage in moderate intensity exercise at least five times a week to stay healthy, but even this amount is too much for some. However, this doesn’t stop them from eating as if they are training to run a marathon. The end result is, of course, weight gain.
General lifestyles
For many people, modern society is characterised by stress. People may not be working in physically demanding jobs, but that doesn’t make the work they do any easier. Most are having to work long hours for very little reward and there are other stresses that people have to deal with, from financial issues to relationship worries. None of this is new, but there seems to be less stability in people’s lives than in the past and many people turn to food for comfort in times of stress. Not only that, stress can lead to the excess production of cortisol, a hormone which can promote weight gain.
It therefore isn’t difficult to see why it is so many people struggle to maintain a healthy weight. Individuals find themselves with less certainty in their lives, worried about what the future holds in store, and food provides them with a cheap way of feeling better about everything. In their spare time they want to relax and enjoy what they’re doing, and so they are more likely to switch on the television than go to the gym. Unfortunately, because people aren’t making enough effort to keep their calorie intake in check, they end up weighing more than they would like, which could have a detrimental impact on their health.
Dietary habits
The way in which people eat and the food that they choose to consume is very different from years gone by. There are so many more options than there used to be that the choice can be overwhelming. Food is relatively cheap, particularly the kinds of food that are crammed full of sugar and fat, and so people are more likely to opt for cheap, tasty and quick-to-prepare meals than to pick out raw ingredients and prepare a meal from scratch. Individuals are less likely to sit around the table and eat together as a family and will often graze on snacks instead of eating proper meals or will eat snacks as well as hefty meals.
Activity levels
Besides picking up poor eating habits, a significant proportion of the population are not getting enough exercise either. Most people have jobs which involve a lot of sitting around, which doesn’t exactly burn many calories. On top of this, they are not making enough effort to incorporate exercise into their day. It is recommended that individuals should engage in moderate intensity exercise at least five times a week to stay healthy, but even this amount is too much for some. However, this doesn’t stop them from eating as if they are training to run a marathon. The end result is, of course, weight gain.
General lifestyles
For many people, modern society is characterised by stress. People may not be working in physically demanding jobs, but that doesn’t make the work they do any easier. Most are having to work long hours for very little reward and there are other stresses that people have to deal with, from financial issues to relationship worries. None of this is new, but there seems to be less stability in people’s lives than in the past and many people turn to food for comfort in times of stress. Not only that, stress can lead to the excess production of cortisol, a hormone which can promote weight gain.
It therefore isn’t difficult to see why it is so many people struggle to maintain a healthy weight. Individuals find themselves with less certainty in their lives, worried about what the future holds in store, and food provides them with a cheap way of feeling better about everything. In their spare time they want to relax and enjoy what they’re doing, and so they are more likely to switch on the television than go to the gym. Unfortunately, because people aren’t making enough effort to keep their calorie intake in check, they end up weighing more than they would like, which could have a detrimental impact on their health.
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