BYU NewsNet - Obesity difficult to solve in U.S. and abroad

This story appeared in The Daily Universe on Wednesday, August 17.

Dr. Steven Tersigni elucidated the growing problem of obesity by detailing the damaging impact this pandemic is having in the lives of both children and adults across America.

“It is a chronic, medical illness that has long reaching physical and emotional consequences,” Tersigni said. “This is a difficult problem to solve in America and around the world.”

Over the last 20 years, the percentage of obese people has more than doubled throughout the United States. Studies show that three out of every five Americans are considered obese, comprising approximately 61 percent of the population.

These dramatic numbers have made obesity the second leading preventative death in the country, resulting in an estimated 300,000 deaths a year.

Even more alarming than this are the facts Tersigni presented on the rising number over children whose lives are being weighed down because of the negative social and physical impacts this disease creates.

“Childhood obesity has such strong social implications that it can ruin their lives,” Tersigni said. “I plead with you don’t let you children get overweight.”

Studies indicate that 16 percent of America children ages six to 19 are obese, a figure which has tripled within the last 20 years. One statistic Tersigni cited as contributing heavily to child obesity is that today typical adolescents get 10 to 15 percent of their calories from soft drinks.

“Now you know why there is such a strong movement to get soft drinks out of the public schools,” Tersigni said. “Todays kids are expected to be the first generation in history whose life expectancy is projected to be less than that of their parents.”

A reduced life expectancy is just one the myriad of negative effects that experts have shown to result from obesity. The long list of additional drawbacks can include diabetes, infertility and cancer, just to name a few.

“Cancer is very prevalent obese patients,” Tersigni said. “Studies have shown that if you weigh 20 pounds more than when you were 20 years old, your risk of getting cancer increases two-fold.”

Another serious, physical detriment that results from obesity is how the body gradually changes to compensate for the increased weight gain. As a result the body of an obese individual will do things like take more breaths per minute and increase blood pressure in response to the pressure applied from extra weight. Tersigni said the danger of these types of compensations is that they generally happen under the radar and the individually has not idea it’s happening until their body reaches its compensatory limit.

Experts have determined that issues such as depression, minimal physical activity and overeating can contribut to obesity. However, Tersigni said that such factors are related to each other in causing this problem, instead of one reason independently acting as a source. But Tersigni did emphasize that a diet of fast food and soft drinks to be the quickest way to putting on weight.

“We have an abundant supply of food and it tastes great,” Tersigni said. “Americans tend to put taste and convenience ahead of nutrition.”

Apart from the physical consequences, Tersigni said that another major problem facing obese people is social discrimination. Things like low self-esteem, depression and social isolation frequently accompany the life of an obese individual.

“In a study among college students,” Tersigni said. “They indicated that they would rather marry a drug addict than marry an obese person.”

But despite the rapid increase in the number of obese patients over the years and all the problems associated with obesity, Tersigni said that he is optimistic in gaining ground on the whole issue.

“The medical community is finally recognizing this as a chronic health problem,” Tersigni said. “The more we look at it this way the sooner we’ll solve this problem.”