Briefly define the claim and its counter-argument.
Obesity rates in the US have reached epidemic proportions. Obesity may refer to the situation in which a person becomes extremely overweight. This condition is a problem everywhere in the country, but some regions are more adversely affected as compared to other areas. Most of the people blame the availability of fast foods at remarkably lower prices. Despite obesity becoming a significant health issue in the country, some people do not consider it as such a big deal. This group of people think that obesity is only associated with hereditary problems, hence affects some people only, and people who do not engage in physical exercise.
Who are some of the people and sources making a claim?
This claim is shared among the less educated people and those who have not had experienced obesity first-hand. Besides, high-income earners are also linked with this claim since obesity cases are fewer among them. In most cases, the wealthy are privileged to access the best medical services and physical exercise facilities. As a result, obesity issues are not common among them.
What are the interested parties for this claim?
The interested parties in this claim are healthcare providers, the government, general public, obesity victims, and researchers, among others.
What types of information has been transmitted about this claim? Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
According to the CDC, dubbed as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is widespread in America. It reported that more than a third of US adults are obese. CDC used the NHANES, dubbed as the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey, database from the 2011/12 report (McCarthy, 2013). As of the following year, 2013, all the states had an obesity prevalence of more than 20 per cent. The lowest rates were in Colorado, California, Montana, Washington DC, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Vermont, and Utah. However, the prevalence rates ranged from 20 to 25 per cent. West Virginia and Mississippi had the highest prevalence. The West had a prevalence rate of 24.9 per cent, the lowest, while the South had 30.2 per cent, the highest, based on a regional basis.
Those who are at the highest risk are non-Hispanic black women and Hispanics- 41.9 and 30.7 per cent, respectively. Besides, obesity is more common among middle-aged adults- those aged between forty and fifty-nine years with a 39.5 per cent prevalence rate. The rate is slightly lower for those aged between 20 to 39 years in which there is a 30.3 per cent prevalence rate (Li & Wang, 2015, p. 538). The report also indicated that women with lower incomes are at higher risk as compared with those earning higher profits. Besides, those without college degrees were at higher risk than those with it.
Does the claim conflict with your personal observations and background information?
This claim does not conflict with my observation since I have noted that many people are overweight wherever I go.
What rhetoric and fallacies are used with respect to this claim?
There is much-overblown rhetoric regarding this claim. There are some bureaucrats and activists that have gone to the extent of proposing radical “solutions” such as the introduction of warning levels and extra taxes on specific foods. Others have also suggested zoning restrictions on some stores and restaurants. There are many fallacies about obesity, like:
some people link soda to childhood obesity
some even claim one cannot be obese and healthy at the same time
another misconception is that overeating is the primary cause of obesity
among many other fallacies.
Are there any scientific findings about this claim?
Obesity has adverse impacts on most systems of the body. It is associated with the most medical problems and the most prevalent medical issues in our country. Some of these common medical problems are:
- Cognitive dysfunction
- Type 2 diabetes
- Coronary artery disease
- Many cancer forms
The development of type 2 diabetes is associated with abdominal fat distribution< BMI, as well as weight gain. According to research, 90% of people who have type 2 diabetes are obese (McCarthy, 2013). Sleep apnea is also closely linked with obesity since most of them suffer from the interruption of nighttime sleep. As a result, they are affected by daytime sleepiness, systemic hypertension, and morning headache, among others.
What are the best ways to assess the probabilities of this claim?
Surveying obesity prevalence is the best way to assess the probabilities of this claim. The government or any other body can collect relevant information to ascertain the approximate number of people affected by this issue. Consequently, they will compare the results with this claim and come up with the correct conclusion.
What are your conclusions about your claim?
Besides financial-related issues, obesity is estimated to cause other adverse problems. One of them is about mortality rates, whereby it will lead to early mortality. Obese persons will become more vulnerable to many other diseases. Consequently, society will be coupled with many healthcare-related challenges because the increase in obesity-related diseases will make it hard to control. There would be incalculable impacts on families, and the quality of life will be adversely affected. Generally, living standards will be unbearable as a result of too many expenses that exceed society’s ability to control them.