11/5/19
One topic that I have been very curious about is the rate of obesity in America and how it compares to other developing countries. As Americans, we are constantly hearing about how the obesity rate of our nation is increasing due to the growing fast food industry. I also thought it would be interesting to compare the obesity rates of a developing country to that of the United States.
There are multiple factors that contribute to the obesity of the citizens of the United States. In a study conducted by Charles Menifield and colleagues called “Obesity in America” (2008), Fletcher explains that “Americans are gaining weight at an alarming rate” (p. 83). This is due to multiple reasons. The article explains that the most common factors contributing to obesity in America are income rates, race, and per capita health care spending (p. 85). First we will discuss income rates. The more money a person or family as a whole makes, the more likely they are to be obese. This makes sense seeing that, if people has more money, they can spend more on food whenever they want. The next factor that affects obesity rates in America is race. The article states that “obesity rates declined as the while population in a state decreased” (p. 85). Although there could be multiple reasons that this is the case, one specific one is that different races could have different genes which break down nutrients differently, thus causing a difference in how each race gains weight. One final factor that contributes to the obesity rates in America is the per capita health care spending of each individual state. Fletcher’s study found that as a state spent more money on healthcare, the obesity rate of that state went down (p. 85). This fact also makes sense logically. If a state spends more money on healthcare and promoting it, then the state will be healthier as a whole; dietitians can be provided, and healthcare workers know how to inform their patients on how to live a healthier life.
Now we will look at the obesity rates in Indonesia, a developing country. C. N. Rachmi states in the article “Overweight and obesity in Indonesia: prevalence and risk factors—a literature review” (2017) that “The prevalence of overweight/obesity has escalated in many developing countries which face the ‘nutrition transition’” (p. 21). This nutrition transition can be described as the transition from diets consisting of traditional foods to diets consisting of fats, sugars, and animal-source food. The article also states that “Indonesia currently has the highest prevalence rate of overweight/obesity in under five children” (p. 21). This certainly can be due to the fact that the diets of the Indonesian people are changing. Our bodies get used to the foods that we do and do not eat, so adding in new, fatty foods certainly can have an effect on weight gain and obesity rates. Rachmi explains that there is also a clear difference between gender-related obesity in Indonesia: “The prevalence of overweight/obesity in Indonesian children is higher in boys compared with girls” (p. 27). This can be explained by realizing that the Asian tradition of favoring boys over girls may still be in play (p. 27). Boys are the head of the household and do more manual labor, so they should be fed more. Similar to the United States, geographic region and economic status also play a role in obesity in Indonesia (p. 27). The more money a family has, the more obese the family members are.
Contrary to what I originally believed, the Unites States and Indonesia have very similar factors that affect obesity rates in each respective country. Not only is obesity a current problem in these countries and many more, the problem is not getting any better, either. Each country continues to have an increasing obesity rate year after year. Healthcare providers and dietitians need to be utilized more to fix these growing rates, otherwise the health of these countries and many more will continue to diminish before our eyes.
References:
Dutta, T. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.storytrender.com/13685/indonesian-obese-boy-weighed-192-kilos-undergoes-surgery-lose-weight/.
Gann, C. (2012). Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/05/07/fat-forecast-42-of-americans-obese-by-2030.
Menifield, C. E., Doty, N., & Fletcher, A. (2008). “Obesity in America.” The ABNF Journal, 19(3), 83-88. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Charles_Menifield/publication /23184337 _Obesity_in_America/links/5b71eddd92851ca65057e079/Obesity-in-America.pdf.
Rachmi, C. N., & Baur, L. A. (2017). “Overweight and obesity in Indonesia: prevalence and risk factors—a literature review.” Public Health, 147, 20-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe. 2017.02.002.
William, F. (2010), Retrieved from https://www.elitereaders.com/indonesian-boy-cigarettes/.
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