Obesity is identified as an epidemic which has been in the United States for many years and yet the number of obese and overweight adults continuously grows. Studies indicate that the rate of obesity decreased in Kansas . However, it has increased in Minnesota, West Virginia, Colorado, and Washington, and has remained stable in the other states between the year 2015 and 2016. The trend also shows that adult rates of obesity have now exceeded 35% in five states and also top 30% in 25 states. The state with the utmost number of obesity among adult is in West Virginia which has a rate of 37.7 percent while Colorado has the lowest with 22.3% (Trust for America's Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2017) . Obesity is considered to be a multifaceted health matter that results from numerous reasons and contributing aspects such as individual factors that include behavior and genetics. Behavior often includes physical activities, medical use, dietary patterns, and other factors. Other contributing factors that are in the society comprise the physical activities and food, marketing, skills and education, and food promotion. Obesity is a serious worry mainly as it is related to poorer mental health outcomes, a decrease in the quality of life, and is considered to be the chief source of death in the US and the whole world. It also has other effects on adults in the country.
The Effects of Obesity
Obesity has become a serious medical condition in the United States where the trend shows that obesity rates among adults have now exceeded 35% in approximately five states and also top 30% in around 25 states (Trust for America's Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2017) . Obesity has many effects including health consequences where adults who have obesity often are at a higher risk of getting many health disorders and severe illnesses when matched to those who have normal weight. The health condition that people with obesity risk having include stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes osteoarthritis, breathing problems and sleep apnea, low quality of life, gallbladder disease, coronary heart disease, and mental illness that include anxiety, clinical depression, and other mental disorders. It is vital to analyze the costs of the risk of obesity on the health of individuals because as a result health care costs of obesity in the United States have increased and expected to further increase, along with the rates of obesity over the coming years (Neporent, 2013). It includes the money that is directly being spent on prescription drugs and medical care that is related to obesity. Countries that have a lower obesity rate than the United States often share a smaller share of their healthcare money on obesity even though the burden is still being considered to be sizable.
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Diabetes as an effect of obesity
Diabetes and obesity are considered to be the highest and the most serious threats that affect the health of the world. More specifically, type 2 diabetes is considered to be the most common form of diabetes that affects individuals who are diagnosed with diabetes. In many cases, the threat of type 2 diabetes increases in physically inactive lifestyles and obesity. It is worth noting that type 2 diabetes is a type of diabetes that is insulin independent. It often results from insulin resistance which is the inability of the body to properly use insulin or it can also be considered to be insulin deficiency, which is the inability of the body to produce adequate amounts of insulin. Insulin resistance is associated with high blood pressure and abdominal obesity. Insulin resistance can be acquired, which is mainly associated with obesity resulting from the circulating free fatty acid that often disrupts the insulin signal pathways and also resists the insulin action to transport glucose in the muscles that result in the type 2 diabetes. There is also the assumption that obesity often results in diabetes which is a metabolic condition that in many cases develops into the type 2 diabetes.
Inactivity comes with being obese which then increases the risk of the disease. Physical activity helps in controlling weight, using up energy in the form of glucose makes the cells sensitive to insulin.
Another factor that relates obesity and diabetes is the fat distribution. The body fat is divided into two parts that include the subcutaneous fat which is estimated to be approximately 80% of the total body fat while the remaining 2% is the visceral fat that lies within the abdomen, pelvis, and thorax ( Masters, 2013) . The visceral fat is considered to be the main cause of many problems such as obesity. The visceral fat raises the production of adipocytokines which then results in insulin resistance and inflammation, and also results in the decrease in the secretion of insulin-sensitizing adipocytokines. Muscle insulin and hepatic resistance can be as a result of increased levels of free fatty acid that is found in the portal and systemic circulation system. In many cases, the distribution of the abdominal fat is a more effective way of diagnosing diabetes as compared to the total abdominal fat.
Obesity also has an effect on the free fatty acids in terms of increasing their production. Lipolysis is regarded as the breakdown of triglycerides to form the free fatty acids that are more frequent in the visceral tissue as compared to the subcutaneous fat. In the case of obesity, there is an increase in the fat, mass which then increases the rate of lipolysis. The process of lipolysis is common in obese individuals and those who have type 2 diabetes. The free fatty acids, in this case, stimulate gluconeogenesis that can result in insulin resistance and can also decrease the secretion of insulin. The ability of β cells to sufficiently secrete insulin to be able to compensate the insulin resistance that is in the individual in order to maintain the normal blood glucose level often helps in determining if the individual will, remain insulin resistant with the normal levels of glucose or if the person will develop type 2 diabetes.
Considering the fact that diabetes is caused by obesity, the best prevention measure includes treating obesity and increasing physical activities to reduce the risk of negative effects on insulin secretion in the body system. It means that it is vital for people to control unwanted weight gain. Lifestyle modification programs often help people make positive lifestyle changes that include goal setting that is for weight loss and diabetes risk factors. Weight loss often reduces the risks that relate to comorbidities such as obesity-related malignancy through the process of improving blood pressure and blood glucose level.
Conclusion
Taken together, it is evident that obesity is a crisis in the United States and touches everyone in one way or the other. The effects of the condition require people to take the conditions seriously. It is especially serious considering the fact that obesity is linked to type 2 diabetes because people with obesity have a higher risk of getting the disorder as opposed to normal people who have a healthy weight . Regular Physical activities and healthy eating often improve the blood glucose level, the insulin sensitivity, and other health issues. However, the good news is that obesity, which is the main cause of type 2 diabetes is preventable because people can reverse the trends that have led to the current epidemic by making the necessary changed to the public practices and policies so that healthy activities and food choices become easy choices to everyone. In addition, there are beneficial medical treatments to those who already have the condition that needs to be considered. More specifically, gastric bypass surgery is an option that many people have of losing weight fast. It is a permanent treatment that has been known to assist people in losing a definite amount of weight and is mainly for adults. The procedure makes the belly reduced and in addition, it permits food to avoid the small intestine of the person. In addition, it assists the individual to feel full at a higher rate than normal and thus resulting in fewer calories that are being immersed in the body. It then results in weight loss. It is an option that needs to be considered by people with the condition considering the negative effects that it has including societal and economic consequences, medical problems such as having problems with sleeping and having a hard time getting pregnant in the case of women. The condition has also encouraged stigmatization of these individuals in the US and it is costly because of the prescription drugs and medical care that is linked to obesity.
References
Masters, R., Et. Al. (2013). The Impact of Obesity on US Mortality Levels: The Importance of Age and Cohort Factors in Population Estimates. American Journal of Public Health , Pp. 1895–1901.
Neporent, L. (2013, 06 12). 7 Surprising Effects of Obesity . Retrieved from ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/obesitys-surprising-effects/story?id=19376609#7
Trust for America's Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2017, 08 01). Obesity Rates & Trends . Retrieved from Trust for America's Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: https://stateofobesity.org/rates/
