Obesity in Women

By: Sarah Haseeb

According to The World Health Organization, there are over 1 billion people who are overweight and around million people that are obese in the world. Studies show that obesity causes long term medical costs to rise and it is more dangerous for obese women than men. I will say that as far as social consequences, women certainly suffer more than men. Society puts great emphasis on the looks of a woman, and obese women suffer more criticism and prejudice than men, said Carolyn Forbes, health and physical education teacher. According to The News and Observer, two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. Rates of children obesity has also tripled in the past years. I think that obesity is a major problem here in United States. I think that women are more affected by obesity is because they are more feminine, said Alexi Girdauskas, sophomore at Athens. Professor and director of The Health Economics Program at the George Washington University, Avi Dor, and his colleagues concluded that expense in medical treatment for obese woman is $4,879 and $2,646 for men individually. Obesity is not only costly but it is also more dangerous to women than men. According to Weight-control Information Network, obesity can cause early death, arthritis, heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Women can also suffer from different kinds of cancer and fertility problems.

Obesity is a huge problem in America. Obesity also has major consequences and has been proven to be a direct link to many diseases including heart disease, cancer, stroke and type II diabetes to name a few. It can also be tied to joint problems, etc, said Forbes. According to MedPage Today, obesity also has a social effect on women. Obese women are often depressed and stressed, especially about their body figure. In some cases, obesity can cause discrimination. Some studies show that overweight women earn less money than women that are fit. In a way, I think that its unfair how obese women get paid less because of their weight, said Nardos Bayu, junior. According to The Permanente Journal, discrimination against overweight people has been classified into three categories: education, health care and employment. I think in some cases yes it does affect women more than men. Naturally, women are going to be a little more plump than men, that's just the way our body chemistry is. The key thing to remember is how active the person is and what are their dietary habits. said Robert Jackson, health and physical education teacher. According to DocShop, obesity can be caused by environmental, genetic and physiological issues. The message is plain and simple, if you neglect daily exercise and have poor eating habitsyou are setting yourself up for major health problems in the future, said Jackson. According to WebMD, treatment for obesity would be more successful if long-term plans are made with doctors as well as changing eating habits and getting physically active.