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Essay on Obesity

List of essays on obesity, essay on obesity – short essay (essay 1 – 150 words), essay on obesity (essay 2 – 250 words), essay on obesity – written in english (essay 3 – 300 words), essay on obesity – for school students (class 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 standard) (essay 4 – 400 words), essay on obesity – for college students (essay 5 – 500 words), essay on obesity – with causes and treatment (essay 6 – 600 words), essay on obesity – for science students (essay 7 – 750 words), essay on obesity – long essay for medical students (essay 8 – 1000 words).

Obesity is a chronic health condition in which the body fat reaches abnormal level. Obesity occurs when we consume much more amount of food than our body really needs on a daily basis. In other words, when the intake of calories is greater than the calories we burn out, it gives rise to obesity.

Audience: The below given essays are exclusively written for school students (Class 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 Standard), college, science and medical students.

Introduction:

Obesity means being excessively fat. A person would be said to be obese if his or her body mass index is beyond 30. Such a person has a body fat rate that is disproportionate to his body mass.

Obesity and the Body Mass Index:

The body mass index is calculated considering the weight and height of a person. Thus, it is a scientific way of determining the appropriate weight of any person. When the body mass index of a person indicates that he or she is obese, it exposes the person to make health risk.

Stopping Obesity:

There are two major ways to get the body mass index of a person to a moderate rate. The first is to maintain a strict diet. The second is to engage in regular physical exercise. These two approaches are aimed at reducing the amount of fat in the body.

Conclusion:

Obesity can lead to sudden death, heart attack, diabetes and may unwanted illnesses. Stop it by making healthy choices.

Obesity has become a big concern for the youth of today’s generation. Obesity is defined as a medical condition in which an individual gains excessive body fat. When the Body Mass Index (BMI) of a person is over 30, he/ she is termed as obese.

Obesity can be a genetic problem or a disorder that is caused due to unhealthy lifestyle habits of a person. Physical inactivity and the environment in which an individual lives, are also the factors that leads to obesity. It is also seen that when some individuals are in stress or depression, they start cultivating unhealthy eating habits which eventually leads to obesity. Medications like steroids is yet another reason for obesity.

Obesity has several serious health issues associated with it. Some of the impacts of obesity are diabetes, increase of cholesterol level, high blood pressure, etc. Social impacts of obesity includes loss of confidence in an individual, lowering of self-esteem, etc.

The risks of obesity needs to be prevented. This can be done by adopting healthy eating habits, doing some physical exercise regularly, avoiding stress, etc. Individuals should work on weight reduction in order to avoid obesity.

Obesity is indeed a health concern and needs to be prioritized. The management of obesity revolves around healthy eating habits and physical activity. Obesity, if not controlled in its initial stage can cause many severe health issues. So it is wiser to exercise daily and maintain a healthy lifestyle rather than being the victim of obesity.

Obesity can be defined as the clinical condition where accumulation of excessive fat takes place in the adipose tissue leading to worsening of health condition. Usually, the fat is deposited around the trunk and also the waist of the body or even around the periphery.

Obesity is actually a disease that has been spreading far and wide. It is preventable and certain measures are to be taken to curb it to a greater extend. Both in the developing and developed countries, obesity has been growing far and wide affecting the young and the old equally.

The alarming increase in obesity has resulted in stimulated death rate and health issues among the people. There are several methods adopted to lose weight and they include different diet types, physical activity and certain changes in the current lifestyle. Many of the companies are into minting money with the concept of inviting people to fight obesity.

In patients associated with increased risk factor related to obesity, there are certain drug therapies and other procedures adopted to lose weight. There are certain cost effective ways introduced by several companies to enable clinic-based weight loss programs.

Obesity can lead to premature death and even cause Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Cardiovascular diseases have also become the part and parcel of obese people. It includes stroke, hypertension, gall bladder disease, coronary heart disease and even cancers like breast cancer, prostate cancer, endometrial cancer and colon cancer. Other less severe arising due to obesity includes osteoarthritis, gastro-esophageal reflux disease and even infertility.

Hence, serious measures are to be taken to fight against this dreadful phenomenon that is spreading its wings far and wide. Giving proper education on benefits of staying fit and mindful eating is as important as curbing this issue. Utmost importance must be given to healthy eating habits right from the small age so that they follow the same until the end of their life.

Obesity is majorly a lifestyle disease attributed to the extra accumulation of fat in the body leading to negative health effects on a person. Ironically, although prevalent at a large scale in many countries, including India, it is one of the most neglect health problems. It is more often ignored even if told by the doctor that the person is obese. Only when people start acquiring other health issues such as heart disease, blood pressure or diabetes, they start taking the problem of obesity seriously.

Obesity Statistics in India:

As per a report, India happens to figure as the third country in the world with the most obese people. This should be a troubling fact for India. However, we are yet to see concrete measures being adopted by the people to remain fit.

Causes of Obesity:

Sedentary lifestyle, alcohol, junk food, medications and some diseases such as hypothyroidism are considered as the factors which lead to obesity. Even children seem to be glued to televisions, laptops and video games which have taken away the urge for physical activities from them. Adding to this, the consumption of junk food has further aggravated the growing problem of obesity in children.

In the case of adults, most of the professions of today make use of computers which again makes people sit for long hours in one place. Also, the hectic lifestyle of today makes it difficult for people to spare time for physical activities and people usually remain stressed most of the times. All this has contributed significantly to the rise of obesity in India.

Obesity and BMI:

Body Mass Index (BMI) is the measure which allows a person to calculate how to fit he or she is. In other words, the BMI tells you if you are obese or not. BMI is calculated by dividing the weight of a person in kg with the square of his / her height in metres. The number thus obtained is called the BMI. A BMI of less than 25 is considered optimal. However, if a person has a BMI over 30 he/she is termed as obese.

What is a matter of concern is that with growing urbanisation there has been a rapid increase of obese people in India? It is of utmost importance to consider this health issue a serious threat to the future of our country as a healthy body is important for a healthy soul. We should all be mindful of what we eat and what effect it has on our body. It is our utmost duty to educate not just ourselves but others as well about this serious health hazard.

Obesity can be defined as a condition (medical) that is the accumulation of body fat to an extent that the excess fat begins to have a lot of negative effects on the health of the individual. Obesity is determined by examining the body mass index (BMI) of the person. The BMI is gotten by dividing the weight of the person in kilogram by the height of the person squared.

When the BMI of a person is more than 30, the person is classified as being obese, when the BMI falls between 25 and 30, the person is said to be overweight. In a few countries in East Asia, lower values for the BMI are used. Obesity has been proven to influence the likelihood and risk of many conditions and disease, most especially diabetes of type 2, cardiovascular diseases, sleeplessness that is obstructive, depression, osteoarthritis and some cancer types.

In most cases, obesity is caused through a combination of genetic susceptibility, a lack of or inadequate physical activity, excessive intake of food. Some cases of obesity are primarily caused by mental disorder, medications, endocrine disorders or genes. There is no medical data to support the fact that people suffering from obesity eat very little but gain a lot of weight because of slower metabolism. It has been discovered that an obese person usually expends much more energy than other people as a result of the required energy that is needed to maintain a body mass that is increased.

It is very possible to prevent obesity with a combination of personal choices and social changes. The major treatments are exercising and a change in diet. We can improve the quality of our diet by reducing our consumption of foods that are energy-dense like those that are high in sugars or fat and by trying to increase our dietary fibre intake.

We can also accompany the appropriate diet with the use of medications to help in reducing appetite and decreasing the absorption of fat. If medication, exercise and diet are not yielding any positive results, surgery or gastric balloon can also be carried out to decrease the volume of the stomach and also reduce the intestines’ length which leads to the feel of the person get full early or a reduction in the ability to get and absorb different nutrients from a food.

Obesity is the leading cause of ill-health and death all over the world that is preventable. The rate of obesity in children and adults has drastically increased. In 2015, a whopping 12 percent of adults which is about 600 million and about 100 million children all around the world were found to be obese.

It has also been discovered that women are more obese than men. A lot of government and private institutions and bodies have stated that obesity is top of the list of the most difficult and serious problems of public health that we have in the world today. In the world we live today, there is a lot of stigmatisation of obese people.

We all know how troubling the problem of obesity truly is. It is mainly a form of a medical condition wherein the body tends to accumulate excessive fat which in turn has negative repercussions on the health of an individual.

Given the current lifestyle and dietary style, it has become more common than ever. More and more people are being diagnosed with obesity. Such is its prevalence that it has been termed as an epidemic in the USA. Those who suffer from obesity are at a much higher risk of diabetes, heart diseases and even cancer.

In order to gain a deeper understanding of obesity, it is important to learn what the key causes of obesity are. In a layman term, if your calorie consumption exceeds what you burn because of daily activities and exercises, it is likely to lead to obesity. It is caused over a prolonged period of time when your calorie intake keeps exceeding the calories burned.

Here are some of the key causes which are known to be the driving factors for obesity.

If your diet tends to be rich in fat and contains massive calorie intake, you are all set to suffer from obesity.

Sedentary Lifestyle:

With most people sticking to their desk jobs and living a sedentary lifestyle, the body tends to get obese easily.

Of course, the genetic framework has a lot to do with obesity. If your parents are obese, the chance of you being obese is quite high.

The weight which women gain during their pregnancy can be very hard to shed and this is often one of the top causes of obesity.

Sleep Cycle:

If you are not getting an adequate amount of sleep, it can have an impact on the hormones which might trigger hunger signals. Overall, these linked events tend to make you obese.

Hormonal Disorder:

There are several hormonal changes which are known to be direct causes of obesity. The imbalance of the thyroid stimulating hormone, for instance, is one of the key factors when it comes to obesity.

Now that we know the key causes, let us look at the possible ways by which you can handle it.

Treatment for Obesity:

As strange as it may sound, the treatment for obesity is really simple. All you need to do is follow the right diet and back it with an adequate amount of exercise. If you can succeed in doing so, it will give you the perfect head-start into your journey of getting in shape and bidding goodbye to obesity.

There are a lot of different kinds and styles of diet plans for obesity which are available. You can choose the one which you deem fit. We recommend not opting for crash dieting as it is known to have several repercussions and can make your body terribly weak.

The key here is to stick to a balanced diet which can help you retain the essential nutrients, minerals, and, vitamins and shed the unwanted fat and carbs.

Just like the diet, there are several workout plans for obesity which are available. It is upon you to find out which of the workout plan seems to be apt for you. Choose cardio exercises and dance routines like Zumba to shed the unwanted body weight. Yoga is yet another method to get rid of obesity.

So, follow a blend of these and you will be able to deal with the trouble of obesity in no time. We believe that following these tips will help you get rid of obesity and stay in shape.

Obesity and overweight is a top health concern in the world due to the impact it has on the lives of individuals. Obesity is defined as a condition in which an individual has excessive body fat and is measured using the body mass index (BMI) such that, when an individual’s BMI is above 30, he or she is termed obese. The BMI is calculated using body weight and height and it is different for all individuals.

Obesity has been determined as a risk factor for many diseases. It results from dietary habits, genetics, and lifestyle habits including physical inactivity. Obesity can be prevented so that individuals do not end up having serious complications and health problems. Chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart diseases and relate to obesity in terms of causes and complications.

Factors Influencing Obesity:

Obesity is not only as a result of lifestyle habits as most people put it. There are other important factors that influence obesity. Genetics is one of those factors. A person could be born with genes that predispose them to obesity and they will also have difficulty in losing weight because it is an inborn factor.

The environment also influences obesity because the diet is similar in certain environs. In certain environments, like school, the food available is fast foods and the chances of getting healthy foods is very low, leading to obesity. Also, physical inactivity is an environmental factor for obesity because some places have no fields or tracks where people can jog or maybe the place is very unsafe and people rarely go out to exercise.

Mental health affects the eating habits of individuals. There is a habit of stress eating when a person is depressed and it could result in overweight or obesity if the person remains unhealthy for long period of time.

The overall health of individuals also matter. If a person is unwell and is prescribed with steroids, they may end up being obese. Steroidal medications enable weight gain as a side effect.

Complications of Obesity:

Obesity is a health concern because its complications are severe. Significant social and health problems are experienced by obese people. Socially, they will be bullied and their self-esteem will be low as they will perceive themselves as unworthy.

Chronic illnesses like diabetes results from obesity. Diabetes type 2 has been directly linked to obesity. This condition involves the increased blood sugars in the body and body cells are not responding to insulin as they should. The insulin in the body could also be inadequate due to decreased production. High blood sugar concentrations result in symptoms like frequent hunger, thirst and urination. The symptoms of complicated stages of diabetes type 2 include loss of vision, renal failure and heart failure and eventually death. The importance of having a normal BMI is the ability of the body to control blood sugars.

Another complication is the heightened blood pressures. Obesity has been defined as excessive body fat. The body fat accumulates in blood vessels making them narrow. Narrow blood vessels cause the blood pressures to rise. Increased blood pressure causes the heart to start failing in its physiological functions. Heart failure is the end result in this condition of increased blood pressures.

There is a significant increase in cholesterol in blood of people who are obese. High blood cholesterol levels causes the deposition of fats in various parts of the body and organs. Deposition of fats in the heart and blood vessels result in heart diseases. There are other conditions that result from hypercholesterolemia.

Other chronic illnesses like cancer can also arise from obesity because inflammation of body cells and tissues occurs in order to store fats in obese people. This could result in abnormal growths and alteration of cell morphology. The abnormal growths could be cancerous.

Management of Obesity:

For the people at risk of developing obesity, prevention methods can be implemented. Prevention included a healthy diet and physical activity. The diet and physical activity patterns should be regular and realizable to avoid strains that could result in complications.

Some risk factors for obesity are non-modifiable for example genetics. When a person in genetically predisposed, the lifestyle modifications may be have help.

For the individuals who are already obese, they can work on weight reduction through healthy diets and physical exercises.

In conclusion, obesity is indeed a major health concern because the health complications are very serious. Factors influencing obesity are both modifiable and non-modifiable. The management of obesity revolves around diet and physical activity and so it is important to remain fit.

In olden days, obesity used to affect only adults. However, in the present time, obesity has become a worldwide problem that hits the kids as well. Let’s find out the most prevalent causes of obesity.

Factors Causing Obesity:

Obesity can be due to genetic factors. If a person’s family has a history of obesity, chances are high that he/ she would also be affected by obesity, sooner or later in life.

The second reason is having a poor lifestyle. Now, there are a variety of factors that fall under the category of poor lifestyle. An excessive diet, i.e., eating more than you need is a definite way to attain the stage of obesity. Needless to say, the extra calories are changed into fat and cause obesity.

Junk foods, fried foods, refined foods with high fats and sugar are also responsible for causing obesity in both adults and kids. Lack of physical activity prevents the burning of extra calories, again, leading us all to the path of obesity.

But sometimes, there may also be some indirect causes of obesity. The secondary reasons could be related to our mental and psychological health. Depression, anxiety, stress, and emotional troubles are well-known factors of obesity.

Physical ailments such as hypothyroidism, ovarian cysts, and diabetes often complicate the physical condition and play a massive role in abnormal weight gain.

Moreover, certain medications, such as steroids, antidepressants, and contraceptive pills, have been seen interfering with the metabolic activities of the body. As a result, the long-term use of such drugs can cause obesity. Adding to that, regular consumption of alcohol and smoking are also connected to the condition of obesity.

Harmful Effects of Obesity:

On the surface, obesity may look like a single problem. But, in reality, it is the mother of several major health issues. Obesity simply means excessive fat depositing into our body including the arteries. The drastic consequence of such high cholesterol levels shows up in the form of heart attacks and other life-threatening cardiac troubles.

The fat deposition also hampers the elasticity of the arteries. That means obesity can cause havoc in our body by altering the blood pressure to an abnormal range. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Obesity is known to create an endless list of problems.

In extreme cases, this disorder gives birth to acute diseases like diabetes and cancer. The weight gain due to obesity puts a lot of pressure on the bones of the body, especially of the legs. This, in turn, makes our bones weak and disturbs their smooth movement. A person suffering from obesity also has higher chances of developing infertility issues and sleep troubles.

Many obese people are seen to be struggling with breathing problems too. In the chronic form, the condition can grow into asthma. The psychological effects of obesity are another serious topic. You can say that obesity and depression form a loop. The more a person is obese, the worse is his/ her depression stage.

How to Control and Treat Obesity:

The simplest and most effective way, to begin with, is changing our diet. There are two factors to consider in the diet plan. First is what and what not to eat. Second is how much to eat.

If you really want to get rid of obesity, include more and more green vegetables in your diet. Spinach, beans, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, etc., have enough vitamins and minerals and quite low calories. Other healthier options are mushrooms, pumpkin, beetroots, and sweet potatoes, etc.

Opt for fresh fruits, especially citrus fruits, and berries. Oranges, grapes, pomegranate, pineapple, cherries, strawberries, lime, and cranberries are good for the body. They have low sugar content and are also helpful in strengthening our immune system. Eating the whole fruits is a more preferable way in comparison to gulping the fruit juices. Fruits, when eaten whole, have more fibers and less sugar.

Consuming a big bowl of salad is also great for dealing with the obesity problem. A salad that includes fibrous foods such as carrots, radish, lettuce, tomatoes, works better at satiating the hunger pangs without the risk of weight gain.

A high protein diet of eggs, fish, lean meats, etc., is an excellent choice to get rid of obesity. Take enough of omega fatty acids. Remember to drink plenty of water. Keeping yourself hydrated is a smart way to avoid overeating. Water also helps in removing the toxins and excess fat from the body.

As much as possible, avoid fats, sugars, refined flours, and oily foods to keep the weight in control. Control your portion size. Replace the three heavy meals with small and frequent meals during the day. Snacking on sugarless smoothies, dry fruits, etc., is much recommended.

Regular exercise plays an indispensable role in tackling the obesity problem. Whenever possible, walk to the market, take stairs instead of a lift. Physical activity can be in any other form. It could be a favorite hobby like swimming, cycling, lawn tennis, or light jogging.

Meditation and yoga are quite powerful practices to drive away the stress, depression and thus, obesity. But in more serious cases, meeting a physician is the most appropriate strategy. Sometimes, the right medicines and surgical procedures are necessary to control the health condition.

Obesity is spreading like an epidemic, haunting both the adults and the kids. Although genetic factors and other physical ailments play a role, the problem is mostly caused by a reckless lifestyle.

By changing our way of living, we can surely take control of our health. In other words, it would be possible to eliminate the condition of obesity from our lives completely by leading a healthy lifestyle.

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Essays About Obesity: Top 5 Examples and 7 Writing Prompts

Obesity is a pressing health issue many people must deal with in their lives. If you are writing essays about obesity, check out our guide for helpful examples and writing prompts. 

In the world we live in today, certain diseases such as obesity are becoming more significant problems. People suffering from obesity have excess fat, which threatens their health significantly. This can lead to strokes, high blood pressure, heart attacks, and even death. It also dramatically alters one’s physical appearance.

However, we must not be so quick to judge and criticize obese people for their weight and supposed “lifestyle choices.” Not every obese person makes “bad choices” and is automatically “lazy,” as various contributing causes exist. Therefore, we must balance concern for obese people’s health and outright shaming them. 

To write insightful essays about obesity, you can start by reading essay examples. 

5 Best Essay examples

1. obesity as a social issue by earnest washington, 2. is there such a thing as ‘healthy obesity’ by gillian mohney, 3. problems of child obesity by peggy maldonado, 4.  what is fat shaming are you a shamer by jamie long.

• 5. ​​The Dangerous Link Between Coronavirus and Obesity by Rami Bailony

Writing Prompts for Essays About Obesity

1. what causes obesity, 2. what are the effects of obesity, 3. how can you prevent obesity, 4. what is “fat shaming”, 5. why is obesity rate so higher, 6. obesity in the united states, 7. your experience with obesity.

“Weight must be considered as a genuine risk in today’s world. Other than social issues like body shaming, obesity has significantly more to it and is a risk to human life. It must be dealt with and taken care of simply like some other interminable illness and we as people must recollect that machines and innovation has progressed to help us not however not make us unenergetic.”

Washington writes about the dangers of obesity, saying that it can significantly damage your digestive and cardiovascular systems and even cause cancer. In addition, humans’ “expanded reliance on machines” has led us to become less active and more sedentary; as a result, we keep getting fatter. While he acknowledges that shaming obese people does no good, Washington stresses the dangers of being too heavy and encourages people to get fit. 

“‘I think we need to move away from using BMI as categorizing one as obese/overweight or unhealthy,” Zarabi told Healthline. “The real debate here is how do we define health? Is the vegetarian who has a BMI of 30, avoiding all saturated fats from meats and consuming a diet heavy in simple carbohydrates [and thus] reducing his risk of cardiac disease but increasing likelihood of elevated triglycerides and insulin, considered healthy?

Mohney, writing for Healthline, explains how “healthy obesity” is nuanced and should perhaps be retired. Some people may be metabolically healthy and obese simultaneously; however, they are still at risk of diseases associated with obesity. Others believe that health should be determined by more factors than BMI, as some people eat healthily and exercise but remain heavy. People have conflicting opinions on this term, and Mohney describes suggestions to instead focus on getting treatment for “healthy obese” people

“The absence of physical movement is turning into an increasingly normal factor as youngsters are investing more energy inside, and less time outside. Since technology is turning into an immense piece of present-day youngsters’ lives, exercises, for example, watching TV, gaming, messaging and playing on the PC, all of which require next to no vitality and replaces the physical exercises.”

In her essay, Maldonado discusses the causes and effects of childhood obesity. For example, hereditary factors and lack of physical activity make more children overweight; also, high-calorie food and the pressure on kids to “finish their food” make them consume more. 

Obesity leads to high blood pressure and cholesterol, heart disease, and cancer; children should not suffer as they are still so young. 

“Regardless of the catalyst at the root of fat shaming, it persists quite simply because we as a society aren’t doing enough to call it out and stand in solidarity against it. Our culture has largely bought into the farce that thinness equals health and success. Instead, the emphasis needs to shift from the obsession of appearance to promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors for all, regardless of body size. A lean body shouldn’t be a requisite to be treated with dignity and respect. Fat shaming is nonsensical and is the manifestation of ignorance and possibly, hate.”

Long warns readers of the dangers of fat shaming, declaring that it is reprehensible and should not be done. People may have “good intentions” when criticizing overweight or obese people, but it does not, in fact, help with making them healthier. Long believes that society should highlight a healthy lifestyle rather than a “healthy” body, as everyone’s bodies are different and should not be the sole indicator of health. 

5. ​​ The Dangerous Link Between Coronavirus and Obesity by Rami Bailony

“In a study out of NYU, severe obesity (BMI >40) was a greater risk factor for hospitalization among Covid-19 patients than heart failure, smoking status, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease. In China, in a small case series of critically ill Covid-19 patients, 88.24% of patients who died had obesity versus an obesity rate of 18.95% in survivors. In France, patients with a BMI greater than 35 were seven times more likely to require mechanical ventilation than patients with a BMI below 25.”

Bailony’s essay sheds light on research conducted in several countries regarding obesity and COVID-19. The disease is said to be “a leading risk factor in mortality and morbidity” from the virus; studies conducted in the U.S., China, and France show that most obese people who contracted the coronavirus died. Bailony believes obesity is not taken seriously enough and should be treated as an actual disease rather than a mere “lifestyle choice.”

It is well-known that obesity is an excess buildup of body fat, but what exactly causes this? It is not simply due to “eating a lot,” as many people simply understand it; there are other factors besides diet that affect someone’s body size. Look into the different causes of obesity, explaining each and how they are connected.

Obesity can result in the development of many diseases. In addition, it can significantly affect one’s physique and digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems. For your essay, discuss the different symptoms of obesity and the health complications it can lead to in the future.

It can be safely assumed that no one wants to be obese, as it is detrimental to one’s health. Write an essay guide of some sort, giving tips on managing your weight, staying healthy, and preventing obesity. Include some dietary guidelines, exercise suggestions, and the importance of keeping the balance between these two.

“Fat shaming” is a phenomenon that has become more popular with the rise in obesity rates. Define this term, explain how it is seen in society, and explain why it is terrible. Also, include ways that you can speak about the dangers of obesity without making fun of obese people or making them feel bad for their current state. 

The 21st century has seen a dramatic rise in obesity rates worldwide compared to previous decades. Why is this the case? Explore one or more probable causes for the increase in obese people. You should mention multiple causes in your essay, but you may choose to focus on one only- explain it in detail.

The United States, in particular, is known to be a country with many obese people. This is due to a combination of factors, all connected in some way. Research obesity in the U.S. and write about why it is a bigger problem than in other countries- take a look at portion size, fitness habits, and food production. 

If applicable, you may write about your experience with obesity. Whether you have struggled or are struggling with it in the past or know someone who has, discuss how this makes you feel. Reflect on how this knowledge has impacted you as a person and any lessons this may have taught you. 

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers .If you’re looking for more ideas, check out our essays about bullying topic guide !

Martin is an avid writer specializing in editing and proofreading. He also enjoys literary analysis and writing about food and travel.

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I Want to Reject Diet Culture and Accept My Body — but I Also Want to Be Thinner

Lana Simmons knows that constantly trying to lose weight is a frustrating and disappointing way to live, but she also knows from experience that being big isn't easy in a fatphobic world — and she's not alone.

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I bought Wann’s book, FAT!SO?: Because You Don't Have to Apologize for Your Size , and loved it. I wanted to share her ideas with my doctors, friends and family. But I learned very quickly that the rest of the world wasn’t as open to the concept of body acceptance.

In fact, when I mentioned the book at my next prenatal visit, my doctor told me Wann was “glorifying obesity” and recommended I look into LapBand surgery after I gave birth. After all, it had been recently approved by my insurance carrier and if I didn’t get the weight off I would surely die. In fact, I had been told by doctors since my early 20s that if I didn’t lose weight I would become diabetic at best (even though my blood work never showed this risk), and I wouldn’t live more than another decade at worst. Well, I’ve made it to 42 so far — and I don’t have diabetes.

My history of yo-yo dieting

I started my first diet when I was just 10 years old and centered my life around weight loss for decades. As I grew into my 20s and 30s, my weight went up and down — I would lose 40 to 50 pounds at a time and then gain it all back.

My feelings about fat acceptance would cycle, too. I craved the peace I thought I saw within the body positive movement. I wanted to be okay with my body and not treat it like something that needed to be fixed. I would immerse myself in affirmations of self-love, load my social feed with body-positive influencers, nourish my body with nutrient-dense meals and try to use exercise as a way to care for my body, not punish it. I would work on eating intuitively. But, inevitably, I would regain a large amount of weight, freak out and prepare to hop on another diet.

I completed this cycle over and over until I had my last big weight loss, about 10 years ago. It was a monumental effort that I treated like a full-time job. My spouse, who was in the Air Force, was getting ready to deploy, so I was able to clean out all his high-calorie foods and alcohol. I asked my doctor for a referral to a dietitian and exercise physiologist. I turned all my attention to food, exercise and caring for my two young children. I weighed and measured everything that went into my mouth and exercised two hours a day. I recruited other women to lose weight with me so that we would have a support group.

.css-107b7z2{font-family:MajestiBanner,MajestiBanner-weightbold-roboto,MajestiBanner-weightbold-local,Georgia,Times,Serif;font-size:1.625rem;font-weight:bold;letter-spacing:0.03rem;line-height:1.2;margin:0rem;}@media(max-width: 64rem){.css-107b7z2{font-size:2.5rem;line-height:1;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-107b7z2{font-size:2.8125rem;line-height:1;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-107b7z2{font-size:3.125rem;line-height:1;}}.css-107b7z2 b,.css-107b7z2 strong{font-family:inherit;font-weight:bold;}.css-107b7z2 em,.css-107b7z2 i{font-style:italic;font-family:inherit;} It’s like I could finally live in this world and not be ashamed of who I was.

My whole life centered around my weight loss. Everything. In eight months, I lost 100 pounds. I had loose skin and flour sacks for boobs, but still, it felt amazing! I was able to fit comfortably in plane seats and was unafraid to fly. I felt respected and seen — when I said something, people actually listened. It’s like I could live in this world and not be ashamed of who I was, not have to justify my existence or apologize for the space I occupied.

But soon after my spouse came home from being deployed, he received orders for us to relocate. I was devastated. I knew the only way I would be able to maintain my weight loss was with the support I had from my doctors and friends. As soon as the plane landed at our new location, I started eating foods that were not on my plan. I loved where we lived before, and our new town was not a good fit for me. It was hard making friends, and rather than putting in the effort to do meal prep, I started relying on restaurants. I tried to get back on track, but there was no way to re-establish my routine. I gained all the weight back in less than a year.

Three years after we moved, my spouse retired from the military and we moved to another location. By then, I was deep into the body-positive movement, eating food I enjoyed and barely exercising. But I was worried about how my weight would affect me as I got older. My blood pressure was slowly creeping up and I did not want to be on medication. It’s bad enough to be fat in a doctor’s office — studies have found that many health professionals view overweight patients and lazy and noncompliant — but if were fat and on medication, I knew I would be treated even worse.

When a medical professional tells me I’m obese, or begins to lecture me on how to eat, I feel like all the confidence and strength I have as a woman and a mother disappears and I shut down. I feel ashamed and wonder, Why can’t I eat less, exercise more and not use food as a way to deal with stress?

On the flip side, though, I also wonder, Why does this even matter? Why can’t I exist as is without everyone commenting on my body? Does my weight determine my morality, my intelligence, my creativity? My spouse is very attractive, and many women tell me how “hot” he is. Every time they say this, it feels like they’re really telling me that I’m lucky he married me and he hasn’t cheated on me, and that I should thank my lucky stars that he tolerates my fatness.

Still caught between two worlds

As much as I agree with the body-positive movement in theory, I find that as I get older and my blood pressure is rising, it’s simply not working with my reality. I love the idea of enjoying food and using exercise as a way to care for myself, but the desire to lose weight is real, and it’s not going away. For decades, I have worshiped at the altar of thinness. I have focused on sweating, cutting calories and saying no to outings with friends for fear of cheating on my diet. That desire to be thin has pushed me to extreme, unsustainable behavior.

My desire to lose weight is real, and it’s not going away.

But the other side of this can be just as extreme. Weight loss is all I and so many other women have known for years, yet so many people I've communicated with in the body-positive movement make it clear to me that we are not supposed to talk about weight loss at all . But by not talking about the monster under the bed, we give that monster more power, and I wind up feeling even more anxiety.

When I once posted on a body-positive Facebook group, asking how people were dealing with the pressure to lose weight, I was immediately made to feel bad. I was told I should just tell people to not talk to me about their diet, cleanse my social media and find a doctor who practices Health at Every Size (a philosophy that respects differences in body types and focuses on health rather than weight loss). I was told that if I really loved myself, I wouldn’t be asking that question and I wouldn’t care what anyone thinks of my body. I would wear bikinis and feel no shame.

And this is where I knew that the body positivity movement, or at least the one I had found online, wasn’t something I’d be good at. I knew that me loving myself didn’t look like wearing a bikini, or telling people to stop talking about diets or fighting with medical professionals. Self-love to me, is being okay with my desire to diet, with my desire to not diet, with me being a conflicted human being and wanting to figure out why I am the way I am.

Also, I couldn’t help but notice that so many of the dietitians pushing intuitive eating are thin, white women. How can a thin person tell me to stop dieting? How can they understand what my life is like? Do they understand how I’m treated by doctors who are supposed to be helping me? Or that when I’m grocery shopping, people will comment on what’s in my cart? Or that passersby will fling derogatory terms at me as they’re driving by? I am larger than life yet invisible at the same time. People notice when I walk in the room but want nothing to do with me, because obviously if I knew how fat I was, I would do something about it.

Self-love to me is being okay with my desire to diet or to not diet.

When I'm thinner, I am treated so much better. I am respected, even though I am still the same person! So do I choose a life where weight loss/maintenance consumes 80% of my life, or do a choose a life of growth, creativity, loving and enjoying my family, celebrating life with delicious home-cooked meals, and stimulating conversations? I am treated better when I’m thinner, but I live more authentically when I’m fat . It’s exhausting. I still crave that approval from society, but as I’ve gotten older I realize I just don’t have enough gas in my tank to focus on it. I need to use the energy I have to care for my children and my marriage, to work, be creative and rest. I am unwilling to relinquish all of that to try and make my body more appealing to society.

Finding a middle ground

During the pandemic, rather than continuing to think about my body, I decided to explore other interests. I started gardening, dabbling in hydroponics, podcasting and even woodworking. I didn’t have the time or energy to explore any of these things when I was dieting or involved with the body-positive movement. I also found a HAES-focused doctor, who told me she doesn’t care what the scale says and doesn’t blame every physical issue on my size — but she does want to hear about my own feelings about my weight. I feel like I’ve finally found a doctor who sees me as worthy of good medical care.

I still don’t know how I feel about dieting or the body positive movement. I feel like there is value in both camps. Weight stigma is terrible and should be eradicated, and I think the push to normalize different body shapes and sizes is also important. However, I don’t think we should avoid talking about the fact that some of us do have a desire to change our bodies. I think it’s normal to want to have other people think you look good. I want to be thin (and therefore celebrated by society), rich and have mad woodworking skills. But the truth is I will most likely always be a large middle-class woman who will be working toward making peace with decades of fat hate. I may go on another diet, I may be disgusted with my body during vulnerable moments, I may be totally okay with my body in other moments.

I’m not going to pretend I don’t desire to be a smaller size and blend into society from time to time. I’m also not going to beat my body into weight-loss submission. Both sides of this issue feel stifling to me. We can’t simply sweep the intense weight-focused beliefs our society has held for decades under the rug. By not talking about the desire to change our bodies, its as if the body-positive movement is in a state of denial about how toxic weight-focused beliefs have affected us. We need to talk about how this has shaped our beliefs and values. I don’t know what the answers are, but I’m not going to pretend to be something I’m not — and that alone tends to lower my blood pressure.

Good Housekeeping is committed to exploring how we think about weight, the way we eat and how we try to control or change our bodies in our quest to be happier and healthier. While GH also publishes weight loss content and endeavors to do so in a responsible, science-backed way, we think it’s important to present a broad perspective that allows for a fuller understanding of the complex thinking about health and body weight. Our goal here is not to tell you how to think, eat, or live — nor is to to pass judgment on how you choose to nourish your body — but rather to start a conversation about diet culture, its impact and how we might challenge the messages we are given about what makes us attractive, successful and healthy. To read more, explore our Anti-Diet series , which includes articles on why it's so hard to lose weight , why the BMI is so wrong for so many people , the dangers of fatphobia and more.

Lana Simmons resides in Virginia with her spouse, two teens, cat, doggo and chickens. When not actively embarrassing her kids, she likes to dabble in woodworking and gardening. @Lanaswoodgarage

@media(max-width: 64rem){.css-o9j0dn:before{margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-right:0.625rem;color:#ffffff;width:1.25rem;bottom:-0.2rem;height:1.25rem;content:'_';display:inline-block;position:relative;line-height:1;background-repeat:no-repeat;}.loaded .css-o9j0dn:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/goodhousekeeping/static/images/Clover.5c7a1a0.svg);}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.loaded .css-o9j0dn:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/goodhousekeeping/static/images/Clover.5c7a1a0.svg);}} Investigating Anti-Diet Culture

Backlash: New AAP Guidelines on Childhood Obesity

Why the BMI Is Wrong for So Many People

What It's Really Like to Date While Fat

What Is the Health at Every Size Movement?

The Results of Our Body Image Survey Are In

How to Raise a Body-Positive Kid

I Refused to Lose Weight for My Wedding

Being Pregnant Triggered My Disordered Eating

How to Shut Down Diet Talk

How I Protect My Mental Health From Fat Shaming

PSA: 'Have You Lost Weight?' Is Not a Compliment

Obesity Essay

Last updated on: Feb 9, 2023

Obesity Essay: A Complete Guide and Topics

By: Nova A.

11 min read

Reviewed By: Jacklyn H.

Published on: Aug 31, 2021

Are you assigned to write an essay about obesity? The first step is to define obesity.

The obesity epidemic is a major issue facing our country right now. It's complicated- it could be genetic or due to your environment, but either way, there are ways that you can fix it!

Learn all about what causes weight gain and get tips on how you can get healthy again.

On this Page

What is Obesity

What is obesity? Obesity and BMI (body mass index) are both tools of measurement that are used by doctors to assess body fat according to the height, age, and gender of a person. If the BMI is between 25 to 29.9, that means the person has excess weight and body fat.

If the BMI exceeds 30, that means the person is obese. Obesity is a condition that increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, and other medical conditions like metabolic syndrome, arthritis, and even some types of cancer.

Obesity Definition

Obesity is defined by the World Health Organization as an accumulation of abnormal and excess body fat that comes with several risk factors. It is measured by the body mass index BMI, body weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of a person’s height (in meters).

Obesity in America

Obesity is on the verge of becoming an epidemic as 1 in every 3 Americans can be categorized as overweight and obese. Currently, America is an obese country, and it continues to get worse.

Paper Due? Why Suffer? That's our Job!

Causes of obesity

Do you see any obese or overweight people around you?

You likely do.

This is because fast-food chains are becoming more and more common, people are less active, and fruits and vegetables are more expensive than processed foods, thus making them less available to the majority of society. These are the primary causes of obesity.

Obesity is a disease that affects all age groups, including children and elderly people.

Now that you are familiar with the topic of obesity, writing an essay won’t be that difficult for you.

How to Write an Obesity Essay

The format of an obesity essay is similar to writing any other essay. If you need help regarding how to write an obesity essay, it is the same as writing any other essay.

Obesity Essay Introduction

The trick is to start your essay with an interesting and catchy sentence. This will help attract the reader's attention and motivate them to read further. You don’t want to lose the reader’s interest in the beginning and leave a bad impression, especially if the reader is your teacher.

A hook sentence is usually used to open the introductory paragraph of an essay in order to make it interesting. When writing an essay on obesity, the hook sentence can be in the form of an interesting fact or statistic.

Head on to this detailed article on hook examples to get a better idea.

Once you have hooked the reader, the next step is to provide them with relevant background information about the topic. Don’t give away too much at this stage or bombard them with excess information that the reader ends up getting bored with. Only share information that is necessary for the reader to understand your topic.

Next, write a strong thesis statement at the end of your essay, be sure that your thesis identifies the purpose of your essay in a clear and concise manner. Also, keep in mind that the thesis statement should be easy to justify as the body of your essay will revolve around it.

Body Paragraphs

The details related to your topic are to be included in the body paragraphs of your essay. You can use statistics, facts, and figures related to obesity to reinforce your thesis throughout your essay.

If you are writing a cause-and-effect obesity essay, you can mention different causes of obesity and how it can affect a person’s overall health. The number of body paragraphs can increase depending on the parameters of the assignment as set forth by your instructor.

Start each body paragraph with a topic sentence that is the crux of its content. It is necessary to write an engaging topic sentence as it helps grab the reader’s interest. Check out this detailed blog on writing a topic sentence to further understand it.

End your essay with a conclusion by restating your research and tying it to your thesis statement. You can also propose possible solutions to control obesity in your conclusion. Make sure that your conclusion is short yet powerful.

Obesity Essay Examples

Essay about Obesity (PDF)

Childhood Obesity Essay (PDF)

Obesity in America Essay (PDF)

Essay about Obesity Cause and Effects (PDF)

Satire Essay on Obesity (PDF) 

Obesity Argumentative Essay (PDF)

Obesity Essay Topics

Choosing a topic might seem an overwhelming task as you may have many ideas for your assignment. Brainstorm different ideas and narrow them down to one, quality topic.

If you need some examples to help you with your essay topic related to obesity, dive into this article and choose from the list of obesity essay topics.

Childhood Obesity

As mentioned earlier, obesity can affect any age group, including children. Obesity can cause several future health problems as children age.

Here are a few topics you can choose from and discuss for your childhood obesity essay:

• What are the causes of increasing obesity in children?
• Obese parents may be at risk for having children with obesity.
• What is the ratio of obesity between adults and children?
• What are the possible treatments for obese children?
• Are there any social programs that can help children with combating obesity?
• Has technology boosted the rate of obesity in children?
• Are children spending more time on gadgets instead of playing outside?
• Schools should encourage regular exercises and sports for children.
• How can sports and other physical activities protect children from becoming obese?
• Can childhood abuse be a cause of obesity among children?
• What is the relationship between neglect in childhood and obesity in adulthood?
• Does obesity have any effect on the psychological condition and well-being of a child?
• Are electronic medical records effective in diagnosing obesity among children?
• Obesity can affect the academic performance of your child.
• Do you believe that children who are raised by a single parent can be vulnerable to obesity?
• You can promote interesting exercises to encourage children.
• What is the main cause of obesity, and why is it increasing with every passing day?
• Schools and colleges should work harder to develop methodologies to decrease childhood obesity.
• The government should not allow schools and colleges to include sweet or fatty snacks as a part of their lunch.
• If a mother is obese, can it affect the health of the child?
• Children who gain weight frequently can develop chronic diseases.

Obesity Argumentative Essay Topics

Do you want to write an argumentative essay on the topic of obesity?

The following list can help you with that!

Here are some examples you can choose from for your argumentative essay about obesity:

• Can vegetables and fruits decrease the chances of obesity?
• Should you go for surgery to overcome obesity?
• Are there any harmful side effects?
• Can obesity be related to the mental condition of an individual?
• Are parents responsible for controlling obesity in childhood?
• What are the most effective measures to prevent the increase in the obesity rate?
• Why is the obesity rate increasing in the United States?
• Can the lifestyle of a person be a cause of obesity?
• Does the economic situation of a country affect the obesity rate?
• How is obesity considered an international health issue?
• Can technology and gadgets affect obesity rates?
• What can be the possible reasons for obesity in a school?
• How can we address the issue of obesity?
• Is obesity a chronic disease?
• Is obesity a major cause of heart attacks?
• Are the junk food chains causing an increase in obesity?
• Do nutritional programs help in reducing the obesity rate?
• How can the right type of diet help with obesity?
• Why should we encourage sports activities in schools and colleges?
• Can obesity affect a person’s behavior?

Health Related Topics for Research Paper

If you are writing a research paper, you can explain the cause and effect of obesity.

Here are a few topics that link to the cause and effects of obesity.Review the literature of previous articles related to obesity. Describe the ideas presented in the previous papers.

• Can family history cause obesity in future generations?
• Can we predict obesity through genetic testing?
• What is the cause of the increasing obesity rate?
• Do you think the increase in fast-food restaurants is a cause of the rising obesity rate?
• Is the ratio of obese women greater than obese men?
• Why are women more prone to be obese as compared to men?
• Stress can be a cause of obesity. Mention the reasons how mental health can be related to physical health.
• Is urban life a cause of the increasing obesity rate?
• People from cities are prone to be obese as compared to people from the countryside.
• How obesity affects the life expectancy of people? What are possible solutions to decrease the obesity rate?
• Do family eating habits affect or trigger obesity?
• How do eating habits affect the health of an individual?
• How can obesity affect the future of a child?
• Obese children are more prone to get bullied in high school and college.
• Why should schools encourage more sports and exercise for children?

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Topics for Essay on Obesity as a Problem

Do you think a rise in obesity rate can affect the economy of a country?

Here are some topics for your assistance regarding your economics related obesity essay.

• Does socioeconomic status affect the possibility of obesity in an individual?
• Analyze the film and write a review on “Fed Up” – an obesity epidemic.
• Share your reviews on the movie “The Weight of The Nation.”
• Should we increase the prices of fast food and decrease the prices of fruits and vegetables to decrease obesity?
• Do you think healthy food prices can be a cause of obesity?
• Describe what measures other countries have taken in order to control obesity?
• The government should play an important role in controlling obesity. What precautions should they take?
• Do you think obesity can be one of the reasons children get bullied?
• Do obese people experience any sort of discrimination or inappropriate behavior due to their weight?
• Are there any legal protections for people who suffer from discrimination due to their weight?
• Which communities have a higher percentage of obesity in the United States?
• Discuss the side effects of the fast-food industry and their advertisements on children.
• Describe how the increasing obesity rate has affected the economic condition of the United States.
• What is the current percentage of obesity all over the world? Is the obesity rate increasing with every passing day?
• Why is the obesity rate higher in the United States as compared to other countries?
• Do Asians have a greater percentage of obese people as compared to Europe?
• Does the cultural difference affect the eating habits of an individual?
• Obesity and body shaming.
• Why is a skinny body considered to be ideal? Is it an effective way to reduce the obesity rate?

Obesity Solution Essay Topics

With all the developments in medicine and technology, we still don’t have exact measures to treat obesity.

Here are some insights you can discuss in your essay:

• How do obese people suffer from metabolic complications?
• Describe the fat distribution in obese people.
• Is type 2 diabetes related to obesity?
• Are obese people more prone to suffer from diabetes in the future?
• How are cardiac diseases related to obesity?
• Can obesity affect a woman’s childbearing time phase?
• Describe the digestive diseases related to obesity.
• Obesity may be genetic.
• Obesity can cause a higher risk of suffering a heart attack.
• What are the causes of obesity? What health problems can be caused if an individual suffers from obesity?
• What are the side effects of surgery to overcome obesity?
• Which drugs are effective when it comes to the treatment of obesity?
• Is there a difference between being obese and overweight?
• Can obesity affect the sociological perspective of an individual?
• Explain how an obesity treatment works.
• How can the government help people to lose weight and improve public health?

Writing an essay is a challenging yet rewarding task. All you need is to be organized and clear when it comes to academic writing.

• Choose a topic you would like to write on.
• Organize your thoughts.
• Pen down your ideas.
• Compose a perfect essay that will help you ace your subject.
• Proofread and revise your paper.

Were the topics useful for you? We hope so!

However, if you are still struggling to write your paper, you can pick any of the topics from this list, and our essay writer will help you craft a perfect essay.

Are you struggling to write an effective essay?

If writing an essay is the actual problem and not just the topic, you can always hire an essay writing service for your help. Essay experts at 5StarEssays can help compose an impressive essay within your deadline.

All you have to do is contact us. We will get started on your paper while you can sit back and relax.

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Marketing, Thesis

As a Digital Content Strategist, Nova Allison has eight years of experience in writing both technical and scientific content. With a focus on developing online content plans that engage audiences, Nova strives to write pieces that are not only informative but captivating as well.

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We Need to Talk About Fatphobia

Excited to be out of our class that normally runs late on Wednesday night, my friends and I happily walked through Harvard Yard. We were completely engrossed in conversation as we moved along one of the zigzagging sidewalks. It was fairly dark, but I saw an older man coming through one of the gates, walking in our direction. Just as my friends and I passed the man, he slowed down to say to us “fat hobbit girls.” Completely shocked by what had happened, my friends and I continued walking, briefly maintaining small talk until we went our separate ways.

Even though we had separated and that strange moment had passed, that collection of words stuck in my head. Fat. Hobbit. Girls. As a girl who has been short and overweight her entire life, I have heard similar words, but never that bizarre and specific grouping. And yet, no matter the context, the word “fat” always has the power to completely shatter me.

But, why? Why should a stranger’s application of the word “fat” leave me feeling utterly broken? How and why can a single word have that much power?

In truth, I have always implicitly understood the power of the word “fat” and its many proxies. Whether a bully or a family member uttered the word, it symbolized the reality that I did not look how the world expected me to, that I did not reflect the ideal tall and slender feminine form. While looking different is not inherently bad, the meaning of “fat” assured me otherwise. The word was delivered as a punishment that ultimately intended to make me feel disgusting, ashamed, and guilty.

And it always worked, even if that punishment was carried out by a stranger in Harvard Yard, because most people, myself included, have internalized the idea that there are horrible implications of being fat. We are conditioned to believe that being fat means you are ugly, unproductive, lazy, unathletic, slobby, and clumsy, and we willingly buy into “fatphobia.”

Although people of all sizes are capable of exhibiting these characteristics, people perceived as fat must actively work to refute such accusations. Even at Harvard, I have subconsciously been affected by this. I never get an extra side of fries or a second dessert at the dining hall. I carefully navigate the rows of seats in lecture halls. I never shirk opportunities to help in a group project. I have always worried that if I did not do these things, it could simply confirm the assumptions people make about me based on my appearance.

For all of Harvard’s activism and wokeness, I was initially surprised that fatphobia rarely, if ever, comes up in conversation here, but the reality is that Harvard students are image-obsessed. Perhaps acknowledging fatphobia here chips away at the persona of perfection some students attempt to cultivate.

But fatphobia is a cause worth discussing. Besides the personal psychological effects I enumerated above, fatphobia has profound, wide-reaching ramifications. Overweight people, especially women, are paid less and have a harder time finding a job . People who are overweight often receive worse medical care because doctors are likely to attribute unrelated symptoms to obesity. Young adults who perceive themselves as overweight have an increased risk of suicidal ideation .

The power we give to the word “fat” creates these issues, and we turn a blind eye. We cannot ignore the damage we create. In order to dismantle fatphobia, we need to unlearn the assumptions we make about fat people. Rather than “fat” as a moral condemnation, it should simply be a visual descriptor.

This might sound idealistic and naive, but I firmly believe that we are all capable of this on an individual scale. Since that Wednesday night at Harvard Yard, I have vowed to never let “fat” control my life. I will look how I will look, and if others judge me for that, it is not my responsibility to prove them wrong. I will never assume a person’s character or work ethic based on their appearance. I implore you to do the same to begin to atone for the trauma and injustice we have inflicted.

Libby E. Tseng ’24, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Pforzheimer House.

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470 Obesity Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Looking for obesity essay topics? Being a serious problem, obesity is definitely worth writing about.

Dietary Fat and Disease

The types of fats in your diet can affect the development of diabetes.

• Good fats, such as the polyunsaturated fats found in liquid vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds, can help ward off type 2 diabetes ( 16 ), whereas trans fats do the opposite. ( 6 , 17 )
• If you already have diabetes, eating fish can help protect you against a heart attack or dying from heart disease. ( 25 ) Eating omega-3 fats from fish does not protect against diabetes, even though there is much evidence that these marine omega-3 fats help prevent fatal heart disease. ( 26 )

Heart Disease

In a randomized controlled trial ( 27 ) a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts, both rich sources of unsaturated fat, reduced the incidence of major cardiovascular events amongst patients with diabetes or other risk factors over a 4.8-year follow-up.

• This study highlighted that low-fat diets are continuing to lose credibility, and that incorporating healthy fats – such as those included in the Mediterranean diet – can improve heart health.
• There isn’t one exact Mediterranean diet, as this eating style takes can incorporate the different foods, eating patterns, and lifestyles in multiple countries that border the Mediterranean Sea. However, there are similarities that define a Mediterranean eating pattern including:

– High intake of olive oil, nuts, vegetables, fruits, and mainly whole grain cereals – Moderate intake of fish and poultry – Low intake of dairy products, red meat, processed meats, and sweets – Wine in moderation, consumed with meals

Researchers once suspected an association between dietary fat and common cancers. However, in adults, the percentage of calories consumed from total fat appears to have no significant association with cancer risk, and there is currently no clear evidence linking any specific type of fat with cancer incidence.

Breast Cancer

In the early 1980s, most nutrition experts believed that dietary fat was a major cause of breast cancer. ( 28 , 29 ) This thinking was largely based on international comparisons showing higher breast cancer rates in countries with higher per capita fat intake. But as more prospective studies and randomized controlled trials were performed over the next couple of decades, the apparent link between total fat intake and breast cancer has faded. ( 30 )

• The Women’s Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial, which was specifically designed to examine the effect of a low-fat diet on the development of breast cancer, showed similar rates of breast cancer in women eating a low-fat diet and in those eating a “regular” diet. ( 31 )
• One study from the National Institutes of Health–AARP Diet and Health Study found a very weak positive association between fat and postmenopausal breast cancer, ( 32 ) but when combined with the many other studies detailed above, the overall evidence does not support a relationship between total fat intake and breast cancer. In a recent study, saturated fat was weakly associated with one form of breast cancer, but this could have been due to differences in physical activity and needs confirmation. (citation below)
• Although studies of different types of fat have largely failed to find a link with breast cancer, some evidence suggests that animal fat intake in young women may be linked to higher risk of breast cancer. In the Nurses’ Health Study II, premenopausal women who ate diets high in animal fat had a 40 to 50 percent higher risk of breast cancer, compared to women who ate the least animal fat. ( 33 ) Because vegetable fat was not related to risk of breast cancer, these findings suggest that red meat and high-fat dairy products may contain other factors, such as hormones, that increase risk of breast cancer.
• Some European studies have reported suggestive findings of lower breast cancer risk among women with a high intake of monounsaturated fats (mainly in the form of olive oil). ( 34 , 35 )

Colon Cancer

As with breast cancer, international comparisons initially suggested an association between total dietary fat intake and colon cancer risk. But later and better studies contradicted these earlier findings and revealed no significant association.

• Women in the Women’s Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial who ate a low-fat diet developed colon cancer at the same rate as women who didn’t. ( 36 )
• Although fat intake doesn’t seem to increase colon cancer risk, there is strong evidence that high consumption of red meat (beef, pork, and lamb) and especially processed meat (hot dogs, bacon, and deli meats) does increase colon cancer risk. ( 37 ) Based on this evidence and other studies related to heart disease and diabetes, it’s best to limit red meat consumption to no more than twice a week, and to avoid processed meats.

Prostate Cancer

Although the exact connection between dietary fat and prostate cancer is unclear, there is some evidence that diets high in animal fat and saturated fat may increase prostate cancer risk. However, other studies have shown no association, while others have implicated unsaturated fats. More research is needed to elucidate any possible links between dietary fat and prostate cancer.

Other Cancers

Preliminary research has also linked the intake of certain kinds of fat with other cancers, though more research is needed to confirm these results. In the Nurses’ Health Study, Harvard researchers found that a high intake of trans fats was associated with risk for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. ( 38 )

Other Chronic Conditions

There is a small but growing body of work on the effects of dietary fats on conditions such as depression, ( 39 ) osteoporosis, ( 40 ) age-related memory loss, ( 41 ) cognitive decline, ( 42 ) macular degeneration, ( 43 ) multiple sclerosis, ( 44 ) infertility and endometriosis, ( 45 , 46 ) and other chronic conditions. The preliminary findings do not offer sufficient evidence to suggest modifying dietary fat recommendations.

6. Hu, F.B., J.E. Manson, and W.C. Willett, Types of dietary fat and risk of coronary heart disease: a critical review. J Am Coll Nutr, 2001. 20(1): p. 5-19.

16. Riserus, U., W.C. Willett, and F.B. Hu, Dietary fats and prevention of type 2 diabetes. Prog Lipid Res, 2009. 48(1): p. 44-51.

17. Mozaffarian, D., et al., Trans fatty acids and cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med, 2006. 354(15): p. 1601-13.

25. Hu, F.B., et al., Fish and long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake and risk of coronary heart disease and total mortality in diabetic women. Circulation, 2003. 107(14): p. 1852-7.

26. Kaushik, M., et al., Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, fish intake, and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Am J Clin Nutr, 2009. 90(3): p. 613-20.

27.  Estruch R, Ros E, Salas-Salvadó J, et al., Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease with a mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts. New England Journal of Medicine. 2018 Jun 13. [Note: reference updated in June 2018 due to retraction and republication ]

28. Willett, W.C. and B. MacMahon, Diet and cancer–an overview. N Engl J Med, 1984. 310(10): p. 633-8.

29. Willett, W.C. and B. MacMahon, Diet and cancer–an overview (second of two parts). N Engl J Med, 1984. 310(11): p. 697-703.

30. Smith-Warner, S.A., et al., Types of dietary fat and breast cancer: a pooled analysis of cohort studies. Int J Cancer, 2001. 92(5): p. 767-74.

31. Howard, B.V., et al., Low-fat dietary pattern and risk of cardiovascular disease: the Women’s Health Initiative Randomized Controlled Dietary Modification Trial. JAMA, 2006. 295(6): p. 655-66.

32. Thiebaut, A.C., et al., Dietary fat and postmenopausal invasive breast cancer in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study cohort. J Natl Cancer Inst, 2007. 99(6): p. 451-62.

33. Cho, E., et al., Premenopausal fat intake and risk of breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst, 2003. 95(14): p. 1079-85.

34. Sieri, S., et al., Dietary patterns and risk of breast cancer in the ORDET cohort. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 2004. 13(4): p. 567-72.

35. Kushi, L. and E. Giovannucci, Dietary fat and cancer. Am J Med, 2002. 113 Suppl 9B: p. 63S-70S.

36. Beresford, S.A., et al., Low-fat dietary pattern and risk of colorectal cancer: the Women’s Health Initiative Randomized Controlled Dietary Modification Trial. JAMA, 2006. 295(6): p. 643-54.

37. World Cancer Research Fund, A.I.f.C.R., Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective – Online.

38. Zhang, S., et al., Dietary fat and protein in relation to risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma among women. J Natl Cancer Inst, 1999. 91(20): p. 1751-8.

39. Lucas, M., et al., Dietary intake of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids and the risk of clinical depression in women: a 10-y prospective follow-up study. Am J Clin Nutr, 2011. 93(6): p. 1337-43.

40. Kruger, M.C., et al., Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids: selected mechanisms of action on bone. Prog Lipid Res, 2010. 49(4): p. 438-49.

41. Parrott, M.D. and C.E. Greenwood, Dietary influences on cognitive function with aging: from high-fat diets to healthful eating. Ann N Y Acad Sci, 2007. 1114: p. 389-97.

42. Devore, E.E., et al., Dietary fat intake and cognitive decline in women with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care, 2009. 32(4): p. 635-40.

43. Hodge, W.G., et al., Efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids in preventing age-related macular degeneration: a systematic review. Ophthalmology, 2006. 113(7): p. 1165-72; quiz 1172-3, 1178.

44. Schwarz, S. and H. Leweling, Multiple sclerosis and nutrition. Mult Scler, 2005. 11(1): p. 24-32.

45. Chavarro, J.E., et al., Dietary fatty acid intakes and the risk of ovulatory infertility. Am J Clin Nutr, 2007. 85(1): p. 231-7.

46. Missmer, S.A., et al., A prospective study of dietary fat consumption and endometriosis risk. Hum Reprod, 2010. 25(6): p. 1528-35.

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• v.13(7); 2021 Jul

Obesity: causes, consequences, treatments, and challenges

Obesity has become a global epidemic and is one of today’s most public health problems worldwide. Obesity poses a major risk for a variety of serious diseases including diabetes mellitus, non-alcoholic liver disease (NAFLD), cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, and certain forms of cancer ( Bluher, 2019 ).

Obesity is mainly caused by imbalanced energy intake and expenditure due to a sedentary lifestyle coupled with overnutrition. Excess nutrients are stored in adipose tissue (AT) in the form of triglycerides, which will be utilized as nutrients by other tissues through lipolysis under nutrient deficit conditions. There are two major types of AT, white AT (WAT) and brown AT, the latter is a specialized form of fat depot that participates in non-shivering thermogenesis through lipid oxidation-mediated heat generation. While WAT has been historically considered merely an energy reservoir, this fat depot is now well known to function as an endocrine organ that produces and secretes various hormones, cytokines, and metabolites (termed as adipokines) to control systemic energy balance. Studies over the past decade also show that WAT, especially subcutaneous WAT, could undergo ‘beiging’ remodeling in response to environmental or hormonal perturbation. In the first paper of this special issue, Cheong and Xu (2021) systematically review the recent progress on the factors, pathways, and mechanisms that regulate the intercellular and inter-organ crosstalks in the beiging of WAT. A critical but still not fully addressed issue in the adipose research field is the origin of the beige cells. Although beige adipocytes are known to have distinct cellular origins from brown and while adipocytes, it remains unclear on whether the cells are from pre-existing mature white adipocytes through a transdifferentiation process or from de novo differentiation of precursor cells. AT is a heterogeneous tissue composed of not only adipocytes but also nonadipocyte cell populations, including fibroblasts, as well as endothelial, blood, stromal, and adipocyte precursor cells ( Ruan, 2020 ). The authors examined evidence to show that heterogeneity contributes to different browning capacities among fat depots and even within the same depot. The local microenvironment in WAT, which is dynamically and coordinately controlled by inputs from the heterogeneous cell types, plays a critical role in the beige adipogenesis process. The authors also examined key regulators of the AT microenvironment, including vascularization, the sympathetic nerve system, immune cells, peptide hormones, exosomes, and gut microbiota-derived metabolites. Given that increasing beige fat function enhances energy expenditure and consequently reduces body weight gain, identification and characterization of novel regulators and understanding their mechanisms of action in the beiging process has a therapeutic potential to combat obesity and its associated diseases. However, as noticed by the authors, most of the current pre-clinical research on ‘beiging’ are done in rodent models, which may not represent the exact phenomenon in humans ( Cheong and Xu, 2021 ). Thus, further investigations will be needed to translate the findings from bench to clinic.

While both social–environmental factors and genetic preposition have been recognized to play important roles in obesity epidemic, Gao et al. (2021) present evidence showing that epigenetic changes may be a key factor to explain interindividual differences in obesity. The authors examined data on the function of DNA methylation in regulating the expression of key genes involved in metabolism. They also summarize the roles of histone modifications as well as various RNAs such as microRNAs, long noncoding RNAs, and circular RNAs in regulating metabolic gene expression in metabolic organs in response to environmental cues. Lastly, the authors discuss the effect of lifestyle modification and therapeutic agents on epigenetic regulation of energy homeostasis. Understanding the mechanisms by which lifestyles such as diet and exercise modulate the expression and function of epigenetic factors in metabolism should be essential for developing novel strategies for the prevention and treatment of obesity and its associated metabolic diseases.

A major consequence of obesity is type 2 diabetes, a chronic disease that occurs when body cannot use and produce insulin effectively. Diabetes profoundly and adversely affects the vasculature, leading to various cardiovascular-related diseases such as atherosclerosis, arteriosclerotic, and microvascular diseases, which have been recognized as the most common causes of death in people with diabetes ( Cho et al., 2018 ). Love et al. (2021) systematically review the roles and regulation of endothelial insulin resistance in diabetes complications, focusing mainly on vascular dysfunction. The authors review the vasoprotective functions and the mechanisms of action of endothelial insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 signaling pathways. They also examined the contribution and impart of endothelial insulin resistance to diabetes complications from both biochemical and physiological perspectives and evaluated the beneficial roles of many of the medications currently used for T2D treatment in vascular management, including metformin, thiazolidinediones, glucagon-like receptor agonists, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, sodium-glucose cotransporter inhibitors, as well as exercise. The authors present evidence to suggest that sex differences and racial/ethnic disparities contribute significantly to vascular dysfunction in the setting of diabetes. Lastly, the authors raise a number of very important questions with regard to the role and connection of endothelial insulin resistance to metabolic dysfunction in other major metabolic organs/tissues and suggest several insightful directions in this area for future investigation.

Following on from the theme of obesity-induced metabolic dysfunction, Xia et al. (2021) review the latest progresses on the role of membrane-type I matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP), a zinc-dependent endopeptidase that proteolytically cleaves extracellular matrix components and non-matrix proteins, in lipid metabolism. The authors examined data on the transcriptional and post-translational modification regulation of MT1-MMP gene expression and function. They also present evidence showing that the functions of MT1-MMP in lipid metabolism are cell specific as it may either promote or suppress inflammation and atherosclerosis depending on its presence in distinct cells. MT1-MMP appears to exert a complex role in obesity for that the molecule delays the progression of early obesity but exacerbates obesity at the advanced stage. Because inhibition of MT1-MMP can potentially lower the circulating low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of cancer metastasis and atherosclerosis, the protein has been viewed as a very promising therapeutic target. However, challenges remain in developing MT1-MMP-based therapies due to the tissue-specific roles of MT1-MMP and the lack of specific inhibitors for this molecule. Further investigations are needed to address these questions and to develop MT1-MMP-based therapeutic interventions.

Lastly, Huang et al. (2021) present new findings on a critical role of puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase (PSA), an integral non-transmembrane enzyme that catalyzes the cleavage of amino acids near the N-terminus of polypeptides, in NAFLD. NAFLD, ranging from simple nonalcoholic fatty liver to the more aggressive subtype nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, has now become the leading chronic liver disease worldwide ( Loomba et al., 2021 ). At present, no effective drugs are available for NAFLD management in the clinic mainly due to the lack of a complete understanding of the mechanisms underlying the disease progress, reinforcing the urgent need to identify and validate novel targets and to elucidate their mechanisms of action in NAFLD development and pathogenesis. Huang et al. (2021) found that PSA expression levels were greatly reduced in the livers of obese mouse models and that the decreased PSA expression correlated with the progression of NAFLD in humans. They also found that PSA levels were negatively correlated with triglyceride accumulation in cultured hepatocytes and in the liver of ob/ob mice. Moreover, PSA suppresses steatosis by promoting lipogenesis and attenuating fatty acid β-oxidation in hepatocytes and protects oxidative stress and lipid overload in the liver by activating the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2, the master regulator of antioxidant response. These studies identify PSA as a pivotal regulator of hepatic lipid metabolism and suggest that PSA may be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for treating NAFLD.

In summary, papers in this issue review our current knowledge on the causes, consequences, and interventions of obesity and its associated diseases such as type 2 diabetes, NAFLD, and cardiovascular disease ( Cheong and Xu, 2021 ; Gao et al., 2021 ; Love et al., 2021 ). Potential targets for the treatment of dyslipidemia and NAFLD are also discussed, as exemplified by MT1-MMP and PSA ( Huang et al., 2021 ; Xia et al., 2021 ). It is noted that despite enormous effect, few pharmacological interventions are currently available in the clinic to effectively treat obesity. In addition, while enhancing energy expenditure by browning/beiging of WAT has been demonstrated as a promising alternative approach to alleviate obesity in rodent models, it remains to be determined on whether such WAT reprogramming is effective in combating obesity in humans ( Cheong and Xu, 2021 ). Better understanding the mechanisms by which obesity induces various medical consequences and identification and characterization of novel anti-obesity secreted factors/soluble molecules would be helpful for developing effective therapeutic treatments for obesity and its associated medical complications.

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• Cheong L.Y., Xu A. (2021). Intercellular and inter-organ crosstalk in browning of white adipose tissue: molecular mechanism and therapeutic complications . J. Mol. Cell Biol . 13 , 466–479. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Cho N.H., Shaw J.E., Karuranga S., et al. (2018). IDF Diabetes Atlas: global estimates of diabetes prevalence for 2017 and projections for 2045 . Diabetes Res. Clin. Pract . 138 , 271–281. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
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• Huang B., Xiong X., Zhang L., et al. (2021). PSA controls hepatic lipid metabolism by regulating the NRF2 signaling pathway . J. Mol. Cell Biol . 13 , 527–539. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Loomba R., Friedman S.L., Shulman G.I. (2021). Mechanisms and disease consequences of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease . Cell 184 , 2537–2564. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
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Leave Fat Kids Alone

The “war on childhood obesity” has only caused shame.

By Aubrey Gordon

Ms. Gordon is the author of the forthcoming book “What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat.”

I was in the fourth grade, sitting in a doctor’s office, the first time my face flushed with shame. I was, I had just learned, overweight.

I will remember the pediatrician’s words forever: It’s probably from eating all that pizza and ice cream. It tastes good, doesn’t it? But it makes your body big and fat.

I felt my face sear with shame.

There was more: Just imagine that your body is made out of clay. If you can just stay the same weight, as you grow, you’ll stretch out. And once you grow up, you’ll be thin and beautiful. Won’t that be great?

I learned so much in that one moment: You’re not beautiful. You’re indulging too much. Your body is wrong. You must have done it. I’d failed a test I didn’t even know I’d taken, and the sense of failure and self-loathing it inspired planted the seeds of a depression I would live with for many years.

As the holiday season approaches, with its celebratory family meals and seasonal treats, I worry about the children across the country who will endure similar remarks, the kind that shatter their confidence, reject their bodies and usher them into a harsh new world of judgment.

For the rest of my childhood, I weathered the storm of conversations like the one I had at the doctor’s office. Well-meaning, supportive adults eagerly pointed out my perceived failings at every turn. As the years went on, more and more foods, I was told, were off limits.

It wasn’t just that I shouldn’t eat them; it was that they were sinful, bad, tempting . Many of those foods — eggs, nuts, avocados — would later fall back into the good graces of healthy eating. At the time, though, they were collateral damage in a crusade to cut calories at all costs. Fiber, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, protein — they were all sacrificed at the altar of calories in, calories out. The focus was never on enjoying nutritious foods, just on deprivation, will and lack.

My life was filled with self-flagellation, forced performances to display my commitment to changing an unacceptable body. Adults asked openly about what I had eaten, when I had exercised and whether I knew how to do either correctly. After all, if I was still fat, it must be my fault.

My body wasn’t just a body, the way a thinner one might have been. It was perceived as a burden, an inconvenience, a bothersome problem to solve. Only thinness would allow me to forget my body, but despite my best efforts, thinness never came.

The more I and others tried to change my size, the deeper my depression became. Even at such a young age, I had been declared an enemy combatant in the nation’s war on childhood obesity, and I felt that fact deeply. Bodies like mine now represented an epidemic, and we were its virus, personified.

The war on obesity seemed to emerge, fully formed, near the turn of the millennium, but its roots run deeper than that. C. Everett Koop, surgeon general under President Ronald Reagan, made fatness a priority for his office in the 1980s. In 2004, nearly three years after the Sept. 11 attacks, Surgeon General Richard Carmona compared the war on obesity to the war on terror. Suddenly, fat people weren’t just neighbors, friends or family members — we were enemies to be feared.

The war on childhood obesity reached its zenith with the 2010 introduction of the national “Let’s Move!” campaign, “dedicated to solving the problem of obesity within a generation.” It was a campaign against “childhood obesity” — not specific health conditions or the behaviors that may contribute to those health conditions. It wasn’t a campaign against foods with little nutritional value, or against the unchecked poverty that called for such low-cost, shelf-stable foods. It was a campaign against a body type — specifically, children’s body types.

In 2012, Georgia began its Strong4Life campaign aimed at reducing children’s weight and lowering the state’s national ranking: second in childhood obesity. Run by the pediatric hospital Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, it was inspired in part by a previous anti-meth campaign. Now, instead of targeting addiction in adults, the billboards targeted fatness in children. Somber black-and-white photographs of fat children stared at viewers, emblazoned with bold text. “WARNING: My fat may be funny to you but it’s killing me. Stop childhood obesity.” “WARNING: Fat prevention begins at home. And the buffet line.” “WARNING: Big bones didn’t make me this way. Big meals did.”

The billboards purported to warn parents of the danger of childhood fatness, but to many they appeared to be public ridicule of fat kids. Strong4Life became one of the nation’s highest-profile fat-shaming campaigns — and its targets were children.

These declarations of an obesity epidemic and a war on childhood obesity all doggedly pursued one question, and one question only: How do we make fat kids thin? In other words, how do we get rid of fat kids?

Overwhelmingly, childhood anti-obesity programs hinged on shame and fear, a scared-straight approach for fat children. As of 2017, fully half of the states required that schools track students’ body mass index. Many require “B.M.I. report cards” to be sent home to parents, despite the fact that 53 percent of parents don’t actually believe that the reports accurately categorize their child’s weight status. And observational studies in Arkansas and California have shown that the practice of parental notification doesn’t appear to lead to individual weight loss or an overall reduction in students’ B.M.I.s. One eating disorder treatment center called the report cards a “pathway to weight stigma” that would most likely contribute to the development of eating disorders in predisposed students.

Experiencing weight stigma has significant long-term effects, too. A 2012 study in the journal Obesity asked fat adults to indicate how often they had experienced various weight-stigmatizing events. Seventy-four percent of women and 70 percent of men of similar B.M.I. and age reported others’ making negative assumptions. Twenty-eight percent of women and 23 percent of men reported job discrimination. The effects of stigma were especially dire for young people, very fat people and those who started dieting early in life. To cope, 79 percent of all respondents reported eating, 74 percent isolated themselves, and 41 percent left the situation or avoided it in the future. Rather than motivating fat people to lose weight, weight stigma had led to more isolation, more avoidance and less support.

Despite ample federal and state funding, multiple national public health campaigns and a slew of television shows, the war on obesity does not appear to be lowering Americans’ B.M.I.s. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, since 1999 there has been a 39 percent increase in adult obesity and a 33.1 percent increase in obesity among children.

Weight stigma kick-starts what for many will become lifelong cycles of shame. And it sends a clear, heartbreaking message to fat children: The world would be a better place without you in it.

Yet, despite its demonstrated ineffectiveness, the so-called war on childhood obesity rages on. This holiday season, for the sake of children who are told You’re not beautiful. You’re indulging too much. Your body is wrong. You must have done it, I hope some parents will declare a cease-fire.

Aubrey Gordon, who has written under the pseudonym “Your Fat Friend,” is a columnist for Self magazine, a co-host of the podcast “Maintenance Phase” and the author of the forthcoming book “ What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat .”

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram .

• Biology Article

Table of Contents

What are Fats?

Types of fats, essential fatty acids.

According to nutrition facts, fats are an essential part of the diet and play an important role in maintaining a healthy life.

Fats and cholesterol tend to be the most focused terms of the public and health enthusiasts. There is a valid reason behind this. Fat happens to be the most concentrated source of energy in the diet that providing about 8 to 9 calories per gram, while on the other hand,\\ carbohydrates and proteins have only four calories per gram. Fat is known to have three elements which include carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. But, it has more carbon and hydrogen than oxygen, leading to nine calories per gram. Fats are the source of energy in food, belong to a group of elements called lipids, and they are all combinations of saturated and unsaturated fats.

The human body is well designed, which makes up two types of fats, essential for the proper functioning of the body and are obtained from the food consumed. These fats play a major role in controlling inflammation, blood coagulation , and brain development. It also serves as a storage unit for storing the body’s extra calories in fat cells or adipose tissue that helps to insulate the body. They tend to be an important source of energy. Fats also help the body absorb and transport the vitamins A, D, E, and K through the bloodstream.

Also check: Lipogenesis

There are four different types of fats:

• Saturated Fat

It is responsible for bad cholesterol. They are found in most animal products like cheese, milk, meat and so on and hence one must limit the quantity of intake. Unsaturated fat, on the other hand, is the substance that should be used in place of saturated fats to lower cholesterol levels. Trans fatty acids that one gets from vegetable oils also play a role in increasing cholesterol levels. Consuming saturated fat in large quantities is the most popular reason for heart disease as it causes cholesterol to block the arteries.

• Monounsaturated fats

Monounsaturated fats are healthy fats found in Avocados, Macadamia nuts, Peanuts, Olives and Olive oil. It plays a vital role in protecting the heart and is also involved in supporting insulin sensitivity, fat storage, weight loss, and healthy energy levels.

Trans fats are also called unsaturated fatty acids or trans fatty acids. These fats are naturally obtained in several foods such as beef, lamb, whole milk, cheese, cream, and butter from cattle. Conjugated linoleic acid is a natural trans fatty acid which is beneficial in strengthening the immune system and inhibiting the development of cancer. However, most trans fatty acids are made when manufacturers convert liquid oils into solid fats. In the application of hydrogenation, vegetable oils are hydrogenated to produce vegetable shortening, margarine, peanut butter, and other products used for salad dressing. Trans fats are present in many processed foods such as baked food items, cookies, crackers, snack foods, deep-fried foods and other food made or fried in partially hydrogenated oils.

• Polyunsaturated Fats

Polyunsaturated fats are healthy fats, which are abundantly found in both plant and animal foods, such as vegetable oils, Walnuts, Flax seeds, salmon, etc. These fats include both Omega 3 and Omega 6 fats. Omega 3 helps reduce inflammation and supports healthy hormone levels and cell membranes. Omega 6 fatty acids play an important role in supporting healthy brain and muscle functioning.

We need a small amount of omega-6 fatty acids in our diet. Corn, soybean, safflower, cottonseed, grapeseed and sunflower oils are all high in omega 6’s. Apart from these, omega-6 fatty acids are also found in most baked goods like bread and bakery snacks and packaged foods like cookies, crackers, chips, and french fries, which are not stable.

Our body is capable of synthesizing most fatty acids, apart from these three essential fatty acids : Linoleic acid, Linolenic acid, and Arachidonic Acid. These designated essential fatty acids must be supplied through the diet. The deficiency symptoms of these fatty acids include poor growth, and skin irritation and have been seen in infants fed with the formula lacking these essential nutrients.

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Science News

New studies add to these fats' image problem

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By Jessica Gorman

November 5, 2001 at 1:05 pm

Supermarkets are stocked with enough varieties of butter, margarine, and spreads to give a shopper pause. It’s no small task to decipher which sticks and tubs contain which types of fat—and which fats are best for your health.

The skinny on fat keeps changing. Whereas nutritionists first differentiated between just a couple types of fats, a subcategory of the forms that seemed less harmful later came to be seen as risky, after all (SN: 5/21/94, p. 325). Over the past several years, evidence has continued to mount against the food component called trans fat. It’s been implicated in diseases ranging from coronary heart disease to diabetes.

Trans fats are almost everywhere in the U.S. diet. They transform vegetable oils into solid substances suitable for use in many foods. From french fries and margarine to store-bought cookies and crackers, trans fats are ubiquitous in fast food restaurants and grocery stores. Consumers don’t yet see these fats listed in the “Nutrition Facts” box on a tub of margarine, but they already can find dairy-aisle spreads advertised as being low in trans fat.

Now, while some researchers are conducting new studies to further investigate the role of trans fats in disease, others are learning how to make appealing foods with fewer trans fats. To be sure, both the basic and applied sciences of trans fats have become hot.

Carbon chains

Categories of fats get their names from their patterns of hydrogen atoms in the molecules. All fatty acids, which make up fats, contain chains of carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms attached to some or all of the carbons.

Unsaturated fats, such as those in corn and soybean oil, have double bonds at a variety of positions along their carbon chains. Typically, each carbon atom participating in a double bond also bonds to one hydrogen atom and the next carbon atom in the chain. Fats with one double bond are called monounsaturated, and those with more double bonds are polyunsaturated.

Saturated fats, such as those found in butter, get their name because they don’t have any double bonds—the carbon chain holds the greatest possible number of hydrogen atoms. Earlier research linked saturated fats to a variety of diseases, so many people switched to products, like margarine, that contain unsaturated fats.

Trans fats contain a type of unsaturated fatty acid that didn’t raise much of a health alarm until the past decade. Their name refers to a feature of their bonds. At the location of each double bond, a fatty molecule bends, either in a so-called cis or trans direction. Cis configurations are those in which the molecule on both sides of the double bond bends in the same direction—both either up or down. In trans configurations, the

chain bends in opposite directions on either side of the double bond—making a zigzag.

There are some naturally occurring trans fats, primarily in the meat of cows and other ruminant animals. But most trans fats in foods come from the processing of oils for margarines, shortenings, and prepared foods.

To transform vegetable oils into solid or semi-solid substances, producers change some double bonds into single bonds. The most common process that they use is called partial hydrogenation. This method leaves many fatty acids in the trans formation, which assemble, like a stack of chaise lounges, into a solid much easier than those in the cis shape do.

Links to heart disease

As of yet, there isn’t a consensus among health professionals about how a diet high in trans fats compares to one heavy in other fats. However, the most recent research is adding to the already worrisome case against trans fats. The fats first raised concerns because studies in 1990 suggested that they raise concentrations of the so-called bad form of cholesterol, or LDL, in the body while lowering levels of HDL, the good form of cholesterol. What’s more, other research since then has linked diets containing a lot of trans fat to coronary heart disease.

The conclusions of two new reports by Dutch researchers strengthen the connection between coronary heart disease and high trans -fat intake. In the first study, reported in the March 10 Lancet , scientists collected detailed information on the dietary habits of 667 elderly men from Zutphen, the Netherlands, in 1985, 1990, and 1995. By the most recent survey, 98 of the men had developed or died from coronary heart disease.

The disease turned up more often in those men who had eaten more trans fats than the other volunteers ate, report Daan Kromhout of the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment in Bilthoven, the Netherlands, and his colleagues. Looking at each man’s 1985 diet, Kromhout and his colleagues found that for every additional 2 percent of trans fats consumed, a man was about 25 percent more likely to develop coronary heart disease within 10 years.

The Zutphen men in 1985 ate more trans fats than most people in western Europe and the United States did, the researchers point out. Over the study’s duration, the men surveyed decreased their trans -fat intake from an average of 4.3 percent of their diet in 1985 to 1.9 percent in 1995. Yet people in western Europe generally consume about 0.5 to 2.1 percent of their food as trans fats, and those in the U.S. take it in as about 2 percent of their food, the researchers say. The report’s conclusion should be confirmed in a much larger survey, notes Kromhout.

More evidence for a link between trans fatty acids and coronary heart disease appeared in a study in the July Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology . In this small trial, Nicole M. de Roos of Wageningen University in the Netherlands and her colleagues provided diets that were high in either trans fats or saturated fats to 29 healthy men and women.

For 4 weeks, half the volunteers ate food prepared with margarine made from partially hydrogenated soybean oil, so their diets were rich in trans fats. The other half ate food prepared using palm kernel oil, so their diets were high in saturated fat. Then, the people on the trans diet switched to the saturated fat diet, and vice versa.

As expected, the researchers found that the trans -heavy diet reduced concentrations of good cholesterol in the blood. These HDL concentrations were 21 percent lower in participants when they were on the trans diets than when they were on the saturated fat diet, de Roos and her colleagues report.

Meanwhile, the researchers also found that blood vessel function, proposed to be an indicator of coronary heart disease, decreased in subjects while they were on the high- trans diet. The diet’s impact seemed to be reversible, says de Roos. When participants on the trans diet switched to the saturated fat diet, their blood vessel function improved.

Further studies are needed to confirm that blood vessel function indeed is indicative of heart disease, notes de Roos. Also, she adds, it’s not yet clear whether lowered concentrations of HDL in the blood of trans -diet subjects decreased blood vessel function or whether the result is a separate action of the fats.

In yet one more recent report, another correlation has pinned blame on trans fats. In this case, the disease is diabetes. Walter C. Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health and his colleagues followed 84,204 women for 14 years, asking them about their diets every few years.

The researchers found no correlation between the most common form of diabetes and the intake of total fat or of saturated or monounsaturated fatty acids. However, a woman’s risk of developing this adult onset, or type II, diabetes increased with greater intake of trans fats, report Willett’s team in the June American Journal of Clinical Nutrition .

On the other hand, eating more polyunsaturated fats that haven’t been artificially hydrogenated, and so don’t contain elevated amounts of trans fats, lowered the risk of type II diabetes in the women.

“The more you look, the more problems you see with trans fats,” says Willett.

No consensus

With all of these negative possibilities for a diet high in trans fats, some researchers such as Kromhout and Willett say it already makes sense to cut back on them. Yet there isn’t consensus on which fats in the diet might replace them.

Rick Cristol of the Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Margarine Manufacturers, for example, points to a study published last year by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. The work—funded by the university, the margarine association, and the United Soybean Board—found that a diet including margarine, even with its trans fat, reduces bad cholesterol on average more than does a diet including butter, which contains much saturated fat.

The work by de Roos came to the opposite conclusion. “I think we can be fairly certain that trans fats are worse than saturated fats,” she says. On the other hand, she adds, people shouldn’t avoid trans fats by eating more saturated fat.

There’s yet another complicating aspect of the debate. From its studies, Kromhout’s team concludes that there’s no difference in the behavior of manufactured trans fats, such as those made through vegetable oil processing, and those found in ruminant animals. They’re all bad, these researchers say.

However, Antti Aro of the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki finds this conclusion far from convincing. In fact, adds Aro, many trans fats from animals transform in cows or people to a specific type of trans fat known as conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA. Evidence is building that this fat has a variety of benefits, such as fighting cancer and enhancing immunity (SN: 3/3/01, p. 136: The Good Trans Fat ).

Yet researchers point out that most trans fat, should someone wish to avoid it, is found in packaged and prepared foods. Although many people in the United States don’t eat as much trans fat as do the subjects in the recent studies, some do. It’s easy. Many consumers are unaware of just how much trans fat is in prepared foods such as store-bought cookies and crackers, says de Roos.

Some researchers, like David Kritchevsky of the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, state that trans fats tend to get more bad publicity than they deserve. Scientists need to pinpoint which trans fats are the problem, says Kritchevsky, who notes that most studies don’t identify the locations of trans double bonds in the fats consumed. Moreover, he says, other types of foods that are eaten by participants could influence the outcome of studies designed to measure only trans fats’ effects.

Kritchevsky, for one, says that people shouldn’t panic over trans fats. Some scientists would have “the public scared to death about anything with the word trans in it,” he says. Although people have been eating more and more hydrogenated oils full of trans fats in the last few decades, there’s been a simultaneous decrease in heart disease, he notes.

“I wouldn’t recommend that you run out and look for [ trans fats],” Kritchevsky says, but he’d be interested in seeing more research determining how these substances behave in the body.

Manufacturers react

Despite the lack of a consensus on some matters, studies linking diets high in trans fats to ill health are leading some manufacturers and researchers to try to lower the trans fat content in food (see https://www.sciencenews.org/sn_arc97/5_31_97/food.htm).

Cristol says that margarine manufacturers have greatly reduced their products’ trans -fat content in recent years. They would welcome Food and Drug Administration labeling of trans fats, he adds, to show just how little is present in margarine as compared with many other foods.

Food producers, especially in Europe, have worked on various methods to lower the trans -fat content of foods in recent years. Some researchers dilute hydrogenated oil with liquid oil, while others avoid hydrogenation altogether.

Now, Gary R. List and his colleagues at the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Peoria, Ill., have modified the century-old, workhorse technique of hydrogenation to produce a product firm enough to be used in margarine and shortening but that creates fewer trans fats than the ordinary method does.

During conventional hydrogenation, oil is heated under pressure in the presence of a chemical catalyst. When hydrogen is added, these atoms join the carbon chain and displace some or all of the double bonds between carbon atoms in the oil molecules.

In a laboratory-scale experiment, the USDA research team hydrogenated soybean oil using an unusual solvent, known as supercritical carbon dioxide. They also applied higher pressures and lower temperatures than are commonly used in the industrial process.

In the February Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society , List and his colleagues reported that their method produced hydrogenated oils sufficiently solid for use in foods such as margarine but containing lower amounts of trans fats. The new hydrogenation products contain less than 10 percent trans fatty acids, compared with the 10 to 30 percent typically present in hydrogenated oil, says List.

If this technique works at making usable, solid hydrogenation products, the margarine association would be excited about it, says Cristol.

At the very least, the process adds a new twist to the still unfolding trans fat story.

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• Social Issues

Argumentative Essay On Fat Shaming

From receiving praise from hundreds on social media to backhanded compliments and harsh criticism, fat shaming and thin praising have become increasingly prevalent in this day and age. Well what is fat shaming? Fat shaming is defined as the action of humiliating someone judged to be fat or overweight by making mocking or critical comments about their size. Thin praising is defined as the opposite. Well-known names like Jonah Hill, Mo'Nique, and Lizzo have all been victims of the issue. This is because people view skinny as healthy and fat as unhealthy. The problem with this mindset is that health is not the true goal, achieving the ideal body type is. And this all stems from the beauty standards that are pushed onto people, specifically women. Instead of motivating them to lose weight, it is mostly doing the opposite. The main issue is the more we praise and reward people for maintaining their diet and having a thin body, the more we’re going to continue to denounce having a bigger body. While some think they are doing the right thing by praising thin people for their looks and trying shame fat people to lose weight, I believe that neither of the two should be used because they cause thinner people to be looked at as healthier than bigger people, they are not effective with helping lose weight, they cause increases depression, and they prioritize looks over health.

So where does this mindset come from? Some think that thin praising and fat shaming are essential in helping a person lose weight and maintain their skinny lifestyle. But why do people think like this? I think that the people who have these opinions are people who have never had to experience being that size. The people who grow up skinny their entire lives are taught that being skinny is a good thing. This mindset ties into weight discrimination and beauty standards. When a person is constantly complimented on their appearance because it fits the beauty norm, they start to look at people who are not as morally inferior. Insecurity also plays a big role. Someone who is not comfortable with their body finds someone who they perceive as overweight, so they can make themselves feel better by shaming them. Some do it as a form of bullying, and some don’t even think they are doing anything wrong. Thin praisers just think that they are just giving a normal compliment, but they are doing the same as fat shamers. I do not think that fat shamers and thin praisers all fall into one generalized category, but they all share the same idea.

Because skinny people are viewed as healthier than bigger people they are often discriminated against in healthcare. People are often pushed to be skinny rather than pushed to be healthy. Afshan addresses this issue in her article “Not a Fan of Fat Shaming? Stop Thin Praising.” She talks about how people associate thin as being healthy and fat as being unhealthy. This in turn leads to “medical professionals misdiagnosing fat people, whose medical problems are misattributed to their weight, and under-diagnosis of serious illnesses for thin people who are assumed to be healthy” (Jafar 41). I have experienced this type of discrimination during my doctor visits. I would go in for my asthma, which I have had since I was three months, but since my BMI is above 30, my doctor would look at my weight as the problem. Weight is looked at as the go-to problem, when some may have more serious underlying health. In her article “The Injustice in Fat Stigma” Rekha Nath claims “the vast majority of doctors and nurses report endorsing negative stereotypes about fat patients and looking down on them” (Nath 580). In extreme cases, people with more serious cases are misdiagnosed. In her article, “The Fat Misdiagnosis Epidemic,” Ragen Chastain describes a “64 year old woman named Ellen Maud

Bennett, who had cancer for several years. When she sought medical intervention, no one offered suggestions beyond weight-loss treatments. When her cancer was discovered, she had only days to live” (Chastain). This goes to show that even medical professionals fall victim to that same type of thinking. Is this thinking even effective?

Well, fat shaming and thin praising do not even serve one of their intended purposes. Although some may think they can shame someone into losing weight, it does the opposite. Research says that in some cases fat shaming may be as harmful as having a poor diet or being physically inactive. In his article “The Harmful Effects of Fat Shaming,” Kris Gunnars claims “people with obesity who experienced weight discrimination were 3.2 times more likely to remain having obesity” (Gunnars). This is because constant fat shaming leads to copious amounts of stress, which causes people to use food as a coping mechanism. Thin praise is just as bad because it pushes the mindset that “if thin bodies are the result of hard work and good choices, then fat bodies are the result of laziness and bad choices” (Jafar 41). Body shamers do not care about your health. They look at it as if you’re bigger, it was your fault and your responsibility to do something about it. It is even proven that people who are constantly fat shamed tend to have weaker mental health.

Victims of fat shaming are at an increased risk of depression and thoughts of suicide. Kris Gunnars takes aim at this in his article “The Harmful Effects of Fat Shaming.” His article talks about the effects that fat shaming has on a person’s mental health. He mentions a study in which “2,436 people, who were associated with severe obesity were 21-times of a greater risk of suicidal behavior and 12-times of a greater risk of attempted suicide” (Gunnars). This is the result of the constant criticism that is supposed to act as a form of motivation. It instead acts as a constant reminder of something that they probably can’t control or don’t want to change. They try to force the thinking of “Maybe if I lose weight, then I’ll be happy.” This can lead to a person to succumb to large amounts of stress. Amy Roeder talks about, in “The Scarlet F”, how “ongoing stress in daily life can lead to cellular wear and tear and increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and premature death” (Roeder). Research says fat shaming may be as harmful as having a poor diet and being physically inactive.

Beauty norms in society have become the new “normal.” If you are skinny and pretty, you are considered normal regardless of your health. When you fit into that mold, people start to admire you. Not because you have not been sick in almost two years or your cholesterol and blood sugar are normal, but because you have the ideal body. And people are more inclined to do this because “both punishment (shaming) and positive reinforcement (praising) reinforce beauty norms that value thin, flawless, usually white or light-skinned bodies” (Jafar 42). I relate to this quote because I have seen different women change their appearance to fit this “beauty norm.” My cousin went through different surgeries to “fix” her appearance because she did not like what other people thought about her body. Although she now has complications with her health, she still receives compliments on her weight loss now. Jane Schmid talks about her experience with this issue in “Why We Need to Stop Praising Thin.” After losing the weight she says that everyone thought she looked better than she did before she lost weight. Even though her “eyes looked dead and sunken in, and her skin was yellowing and losing hair. She was thinner, and that was all that mattered to people” (Schmid). This goes to show that people don’t care what health issues you have.  Michelle Konstantinovsky talks about this in her article “We Know The Dangers of Eating Disorders--So Why Are We Still Celebrating Weight Loss at Any Cost?.” She claims that as a society “we all make assumptions rooted in the premise that weight loss is the ultimate sign of success, and the logic is just flawed and ungrounded and keeps many of us sick, mentally and physically” (Konstantinovsky) This is because we are quick to dish out compliments as long as they have the ideal body type or they are no longer big.

I think people should value a person’s overall health and well-being, instead of worrying about the shape of their body. People should be praised for being healthy, not for what body shape they have. Losing weight should not be newsworthy or praiseworthy. Health should be the main priority. Not someone weighing 300 pounds or someone losing 120 pounds. People should not have to worry about facing depression or being discriminated against in doctor’s offices because they are “too big.” Thin praising and fat shaming are not useful. They bring more harm than they do good. As long as you are healthy and happy, beauty norms are irrelevant.

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Body Image and Fat Shaming

• Categories: Fat Shaming

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Published: Feb 13, 2024

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