Alpha Bayoh
YI01298
SOCY 351
Research Paper
Is obesity an American Culture?
Obesity is a real problem in the United States. Research shows that more than a third of
American adults are either obese or overweight. Among children, 1 in every 6 are obese or
overweight. In 2019, 39.6% of adults and 18.5% of children between (2 and 19 years) were
obese (Grossman et al., 2017). Obesity and overweight cases do not impact all races equally but
differ across races and ethnic groups. According to a CDC report published in 2017, Hispanic
adults lead with 47.0% followed by non-Hispanic black adults at 46.8%. Non-Hispanic white
adults and non-Hispanic Asian adults followed by 37.9% and 12.7% (Hales et al., 2017).
According to data published by the National Institutes of Health, Obesity and overweight are
ranked second among the leading causes of preventable deaths in the United States, with at least
300, 000 people dying every year because of the obesity epidemic (Grossman et al., 2017).
Obesity in American is contributed largely by the dietary choices and very low physical activity
levels of Americans. The excessive consumption of processed packaged food, fast foods, and
excessive intake of sugars is cited as the leading cause of obesity in America today (Waters &
Graf, 2018). Also, an insufficient amount of physical exercise among children and adults has
been cited widely as a trigger of obesity. In this paper, I will explore obesity in the US. What are
the specific factors fueling the culture of obesity in the US.
The History of Obesity in America
The health of Americans started worsening beginning 1960s and 1970s (Hales et al., 2018;
Waters & Graf, 2018). It is during this period that America started becoming an obese nation and
the trend has continued to this date. Since the 1970s, research shows that obesity among the adult
population has increased among women, men, ethnic groups, ages, and across socio-economic
levels. Research shows that obesity increased sharply from 13.4% in the 1980s to about 34.3% in
2008 among those aged 19 and above and from 5% to 17% among children (Hales et al., 2018).
In the 1990s, the adult population described as obese was less than 15% in the US (Elflein,
2021). A study by American CDC shows that obesity among those aged between 2 and 19 years
has increased from 5.2% in the early 1970s to 19.3% in 2017-2018. By 2010, more than half of
the US states (36) had obesity rates of 25% or higher and that number increased to include all
states except three by 2019 (Elflein, 2021). With lifestyle-changing completely in the United
States, it is projected that America will continue to rate highly as far as obesity is concerned.
Impacts of Obesity in the country
Obesity and overweight are major problems in the American health industry and the
general economy. The economic burden of obesity and related diseases is getting worse every
other day and has reached a record high. According to a report published in America’s Obesity
Crisis: The Health and Economic Impact of Excess Weight in 2016, the impact of obesity and
overweight in the United States is $1.7 trillion. This figure is equivalent to 9.3% of the country’s
GDP (Waters & Graf, 2018). The chronic diseases driven by obesity and overweight were
responsible for $480.7 billion in direct healthcare expenditures and a further $1.24 trillion in
indirect costs lost in economic productivity (Waters & Graf, 2018). On an individual level, the
study revealed that Americans incurred at least $7,019 in treatment costs and $12,633 in lost
productivity costs. The weight loss and industry is also quite huge, estimated to be at least $66
billion (Engel, 2018). The total impact of obesity goes beyond the financial impacts. As
aforementioned, obesity and overweight are a gateway to many other diseases and health
problems including diabetes, kidney diseases, osteoarthritis, and heart diseases.
Socio-demographic factors and Obesity
Research shows that obesity in the United States varies greatly across socio-demographic
groups. A majority of people who are overweight and/or obese are those flow low-income
neighborhoods, those with low education attainment, blacks, Hispanic (non-whites). According
to a CDC report published in 2017, Hispanic adults lead with 47.0% followed by non-Hispanic
black adults at 46.8%. Non-Hispanic white adults and non-Hispanic Asian adults followed by
37.9% and 12.7% (Hales et al., 2017). Obesity affects those in middle age (between 40 and 59
years) because the prevalence is high at 39.5% while among those aged 20 and 39 years it is
30.3%. Among those aged above 60 years, prevalence stands at 35.4% (Hales et al., 2017). A
study by the National Health and Nutrition examination in 2015-16, the prevalence of obesity
among those between 20 and 39 years was 35.7% and 42.8% among adults aged between 40 and
59 years and 41% for those above the age of 60 (Sung & Etemadifar, 2019). Although the reports
from the two sources are slightly different, they do show there is a disparity in obesity
distribution in the US in terms of age. In terms of sex, more women are obsess compared to men.
Hispanics and non-Hispanic black women are widely affected because more than 30.7% and
41.9% respectively are obese (Hales et al., 2017).
How Geographical locations influence Obesity prevalence
In the United States, the prevalence of obesity varies geographically and the Southern
states are the most obese and overweight (Sung & Etemadifar, 2019). These states include
Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Delaware, District of Columbia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Texas,
Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, and Maryland.
The obesity rate in these states is above 35% (Elflien, 2021). An important question to ask is
why are these states so obese? The answer lies in poverty distribution among the races in the
region. In most southern states, if not all, the population of African Americans and Hispanics is
quite high compared to other states. In Mississippi, the most obese state in the country, the
population of African Americans is 38.9% and the obesity in the state is 40.8%. In Georgia,
where the population of African Americans is 33.5%, obesity is 33.1%. In South Carolina, the
population of Blacks is 28% and the obese population is 35.4%. In Alabama and Delaware, the
Black population is 27.8% and 24.4% respectively while the obese population is 36.1% and
34.4% respectively. From these statistics, it appears that there is a significant correlation and
relationship between the geographical location of races and/or ethnic groups and obesity.
A factor that can help understand obesity distribution in Southern states more is the
question of poverty. The Southern States remains the poorest as compared to the rest of the states
in the country and Mississippi has the highest concentration of poor people in the country. For
example, the poverty rate in Mississippi was 19.6% in 2019, the highest in the nation.
Interestingly, Mississippi is one of the states with the highest population of African Americans.
In South Carolina, the poverty rate was 13.8% in 2019, an improvement from 15.4% in 2017. In
this state, the population of African Americans is 28%. According to a study done in 2017,
24.3% of African Americans in South Carolina were poor. In the state of Louisiana, the poverty
was 19.7 in 2017 across the state. Race-wise, the poverty rate among African Americans, who
represent 33.4% of the population according to the 2019 population estimates, is 33.1%, meaning
only less than 3% are not poor in this racial category. Since poverty is concentrated among nonwhites (Blacks and Hispanics), it there explains why obesity is so high in states where their
population is comparably high. As mentioned earlier, poverty is high among the low-income
earners in the US and the above statistics demonstrate that claim.
Lifestyles factors (diet, exercise) influence obesity
While there is a genetic relationship with obesity, research shows that obesity and
overweight are widely caused by dietary choices and leading a sedentary lifestyle.
Overconsumption of poor diet (fast food and sugary drinks) and physical inactivity are linked to
growing cases of obesity (Waters & Graf, 2018). In the United States, these factors are the
driving causes of obesity and overweight. Fast food, which is highly linked to obesity, is part of
the American diet despite being linked to high caloric value and quality issues. Research shows
that between 2013 and 2016, more than 36% of US adults consumed fast food on a given day
(Fryar et al., 2018). Americans have moved from that tendency of eating from their home and
eating traditional diets. The choice for first foods is linked to resources, financial resources,
price, and intense marketing of fast food by the producers. Fast food is associated with a higher
body mass index, dramatic weight gain, and weight management problems thus leading to
obesity (Anderson et al., 2011). The consumption of fast food shows some similarity with the
racial distribution of obesity in the country. For example, according to the study, the rate of
consumption was found to be 42.4%, 37.6%, and 35.5% among non-Hispanic blacks, nonHispanic whites, and Hispanics (Fryar et al., 2018). Beyond the consumption of fast foods, the
American diet is highly characterized by Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SBBs) or rather sugary
drinks. Research shows that frequently drinking sugar-sweetened products is associated with
weight gain and obesity and other health problems. In a study conducted between 2011 and
2014, 63% of the American youths and 49% of American adults were found to drink SBB on a
given day (Rosinger et al., 2017 and Rosinger et al., 2017b). The intake of calories from SBBs is
143 calories among the US youths and 145 calories among the US adults on a given day
(Rosinger et al., 2017 and Rosinger et al., 2017b). The intake is high and contributes to among
other things development of obesity. The higher intake of SBB and fast foods is largely
influenced by the producers through their aggressive marketing campaigns.
Physical inactivity is another highly cited factor behind high growing cases of obesity in
the United States. physical inactivity refers to the act of engaging in no physical activity during
the past month. Inactivity is rising highly among children and the adult population in recent years
because of technological changes (CDC, 2020). Children of today rarely engage in physical
activities because of the advertent rise and penetration of video game technology and computer
technology in general. Research shows that most students spend the most time on social media,
playing video games and watching movies and other online programs than playing. Without
physical activities combined with a high intake of calories, children will automatically increase
the chances of being obese. Combining data from 2015 to 2018, CDC (2020) found that
inactivity in the US stood at 15% among adults. Hispanic adults are the most inactive in the US
with research showing that more than 31% of Hispanic adults are inactive. Non-Hispanic blacks’
inactivity rate is 30.3% and non-Hispanic white adults are 23.4% (CDC, 2020). In 23 states and
the District of Columbia, the inactivity rate was found to be 30% or higher among non-Hispanic
black adults. The study also found that 24 states had an inactivity rate of between 20 and 25%
among adults. The US south is the most affected as far as inactivity is concerned with the
prevalence of physical inactivity among the adults estimated at 28%, followed by Northeast at
25.6%, Midwest at 25%, and Western US at 20.5% (CDC, 2020). The higher level of physical
inactivity among the adult population helps explain the higher obesity rates among adults.
Considering that a higher population of Americans do not work in jobs that demand intensive
physical activities, the lack of physical exercise programs threatens their health severely.
Conclusion
Obesity is a chronic problem in the United States that has risen over the years because of
behavioral changes among Americans. As captured in the essay, at least 1 in 3 adults and 1 in 6
children are described as being obese. This trend, which started in the 1970s, has been
accelerated by heavy intake of fast foods, sweetened beverage drinks, technology, and physical
inactivity. It is common among women, low-income earners and quite prevalent in the American
South. The impact of obesity and overweight is huge in the country, estimated to be about
1.7trillion annually in terms of direct costs in the treatment of obesity and related health
problems and lost productivity. Going forward, America needs to develop new programs and
strategies to defeat obesity and overweight.
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