About The Obesity Epidemic In America

The obesity epidemic in America is rising at an alarming rate. According to theresearchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the years between 2007 to2016, the rates of obesity rose significantly among adults and children (Simon, 2018). Obesity ismedically defined as an individual that have a body mass index (abbreviated BMI) of more than30. Currently, it is estimated that 2 out of 5 people are considered obese (Simon, 2018). Thisepidemic have become one of the top health crisis in America. The four leading health problemsare: heart disease, brain strokes, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. Hispanics and African Americanare at the highest age-adjusted prevalence of obesity, followed by Caucasians and Asians.Obesity is a multifaceted health issue that involves biological, behavioral, andenvironmental sources. Sedentary jobs, busy schedules, overuse of screen-based entertainment,lack of desire to cook, the convenience of drive-through fast foods, lack of energy to workout,and so forth are just some of the many reasons why Americans are getting fatter every decade.

The purpose of this research paper is to analyze and provide three solutions for the obesityepidemic in America which are: 1) Proposing a higher tax on “fatty foods,” and subsidizing theright healthy foods. 2) Treatment for obese individuals with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. 3)Bariatric surgery for weight loss. In order to make a huge impact on this obesity epidemic, thebest solution is that each obese individual should have an opportunity to be treated withCognitive Behavioral Therapy.​Implementation of a “Fat Tax”One idea that have been brought forth to address the complex issue of obesity is theimplementation of a “fat tax.” A “fat tax” (Pettinger, 2017) is a specific higher percentage of tax to any foods and drinks that are considered to be unhealthy and contribute towards obesity. ​Thetax could be placed on foods high in sugar/fat, such as candy, chocolate, and fast food burgers toname a few. The goal of a “fat tax” is to allow the consumers to think twice about buying a moreexpensive highly saturated fatty foods and sugary drinks. ​According to ABC News, a 20% taxplaced on sugar-sweetened drinks could lower obesity rates by as much as 3.5% (Salahi &Meaney, 2018). That could help to prevent up to 2,700 cardiovascular-related deaths fromobesity that occur every year in America.

Another benefit to slow the rise in obesity is using therevenues from ‘fat tax’ to subsidize healthy foods that could help Americans to access and affordwhat they need for a healthier lifestyle.One of the possible drawbacks, low-income obese individuals would have a difficult timepurchasing costly healthy, fresh foods such as fruits, vegetables, and lean protein meats . Thosewho are poor may be unable to purchase them. So, they rely on foods that could be included in afat tax. Pettinger (2017) explained that since households that are poor typically spend up to 30%of their total income on food, they would be hit in two ways by this process. They’d still beunable to afford the healthier foods and they’d be forced to pay more for the foods they canafford.Another drawback, there is no guarantee that eating patterns will shift. ​A fat tax(Pettinger, 2017) can shift a consumer’s food choices away from specific foods because they costmore, but that doesn’t guarantee a good result. Consumers could just shift to unhealthy foodchoices that fall outside the taxation brackets. They may choose to eat unhealthy portions of“acceptable” foods instead, or choose not to get enough physical activity every day. Food is onlyone part of the complex puzzle that leads to a person becoming overweight or obese.

According to the American Journal of Public Health, the study of food taxation is areview of every scientific paper published on U.S. and international food taxes from May of lastyear. The researchers concluded that ​a​n excise tax on junk food manufacturers would be legallyviable and relatively easy to administer ​(Salahi & Meaney, 2018). ​While there is widespreaddisagreement about what the role of government should be in the fight against obesity, virtuallyeveryone agrees obesity is a serious problem. Local governments are trying to curb rising ratesof obesity. In some states “fat tax” had shown some progress. Berkeley, California, for example,imposes taxes on soda distributors. Similar laws were passed in 2016 in San Francisco, Oakland,and Albany, California, as well as in Boulder, Colorado.

Cognitive Behavioral TherapyAccording to research studies from The American Psychiatric Association, ​CognitiveBehavioral Therapy (CBT) is traditionally recognized as the best established treatment for bingeeating disorder and the most preferred intervention for obesity (Devlin, 2012). It could also beconsidered as the first-line treatment among psychological approaches, especially in a long-termperspective. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy teaches how to learn to think clearly and morerationally about making better decisions when it comes to food.Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (Beck, 2015) have important benefits that are essentialand crucial to an obese patient in order to gain a lifelong healthy, balanced life. These benefitsare as follow: 1) Control the way you think by learning strategies to stop unwanted thoughts. 2)You become more rational, instead of allowing automatic negative thoughts and feeling controlyour brain. 3) Your beliefs about yourself changes and you develop confidence. 4) You learnhow to be calm and relax in every situation. 5) You expect better outcomes because now, as your thoughts and beliefs change, you become more in line with logic and common sense.

Thesefive top benefits are lessons that will change an obese patient’s way of thinking and controllingin whole different level. The brain is a neutral object. It will respond in the way it is taught torespond. Cognitive therapy trains it to be rational.The report in American Journal of Public Health, explained that the most basic tool thathelps obese patients learn the cognitive skills they need to adhere to their diets is the use of indexcards on which they write messages they’ll need to read when they’re tempted to overeat (Devlin,2012). They develop the practice of reading ‘response cards’ containing these helpful messagesevery morning and at least one more time, at their most vulnerable part of the day. Here are afew examples of response-card messages: 1) “I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want, or Ican be thinner. I can’t have it both ways.” 2) “Hunger and craving always pass. I can make themgo away faster by focusing my attention on something else.” 3) “My body doesn’t know it’s aholiday. It’ll process food in exactly the same way as on other days.” Reading these cards daily, even when motivation is high, allows dieters to immersethemselves in crucially important ideas that prepare them for the inevitable difficult times,especially the thoughts that lead to negative, motivation-sapping emotions: “This is just toohard,” leads to discouragement. “It is not fair,” leads to anger and a sense of deprivation. “Ireally want to eat this right now,” leads to depression. Dieters can’t prevent these sabotagingthoughts from entering their minds, but if they’ve been practicing helpful responses throughCognitive Behavioral Therapy, they’ll be able to deal with them and modify their habitual eatingbehavior better.

Beck (2015) mentioned that one of the drawbacks of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, itdoes not necessarily always produce a successful weight loss. Dieters must be motivated andfocused enough in order to have great results. Another major drawback, employers are notrequired​ to offer mental health coverage.​ Low-income obese patients would not be able to affordthis type of therapy. Therefore, some turn to low-cost, quick fad diet plans that tend to fail in thelong term.The government and healthcare professionals need to take control and implement thisimportant solution of figuring out ways for every citizen to have the opportunity to be treatedwith Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. ​According to The American Psychiatric Association,Cognitive Behavioral Therapy​ is an effective solution to help decrease the obesity epidemic inAmerica ​(Devlin, 2012). ​

It’s good news that a clear, systematic, easily teachable clinicalapproach for weight loss and maintenance is beginning to emerge and a scientific foundation forthis approach is being established.Bariatric SurgeryAccording to ​Dr. Bruce Wolfe, a researcher at Oregon Health and Science University​, ​thefundamental basis for bariatric surgery for the purpose of accomplishing weight loss is thedetermination that obesity is a disease associated with multiple adverse effects on health whichcan be reversed or improved by successful weight loss in patients who have been unable tosustain weight loss by non-surgical means (Rapaport, 2018). ​One of the benefits is that withintwo to three years after the operation, bariatric surgery usually results in a weight-loss of 10 to 35percent of total body weight, depending on the chosen procedure. In addition, comorbidities,such as diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and others are often reduced or may go into remission.

Most will find they require fewer medicines throughout time and many willdiscontinue their medicines completely.Researchers in a study from The World Health Organization mentioned, s​ome of the risksinvolve few patients who undergo bariatric surgery may have unsatisfac​tory weight-loss orre-gain much of the weight that they lost (Surg, 2013). Some behaviors such as frequentsnacking on high-calorie foods or lack of exercise can contrib​ute to inadequate weight-loss.Another risk, the technical problems that may occur after the operation, like separated stitches,may also contribute to inadequate weight-loss.The U.S. Government, healthcare professionals, and medical doctors are the ones thathave to implement this type of surgery to obese candidates. This treatment option is a tool thatpatients use to lose weight. Dr. Wolfe explained that lifestyle adjustments encompassingbehavioral, diet, physical activity, and psychological changes are required for each patient tomaintain a healthy quality of life ​(Rapaport, 2018)​. Continued positive weight-loss relies upon anindividual’s desire and dedication to change his/her lifestyle with a proactive approach.One of the biggest concerns with bariatric surgery is that not everyone are able to haveaccess or afford this type of surgery.

According to Blue Cross-Blue Shield, an insurancecompany in Arkansas, it is required that only a BMI of 60 or higher is considered for bariatricsurgery (Alvarez, 2016). ​That 60 BMI is the equivalent of a 5’11” 45 year old male weighingabout 430 pounds, which is about 200 pounds over the accepted limit for the age and height. ​Alarge majority of obese people in America are minorities with low-incomes. Reports fromMedicaid insurance, a U.S. Government program for low income families, claims that the optionto cover bariatric surgery procedures is left up to each State (Alvarez,2016). The chances are slim to none for any type of insurance coverage for any weight loss surgery. Therefore, bariatricsurgery only applies to most middle to upper class obese clients. ​The U.S. Government,healthcare professionals, and medical doctors need to strongly work together to come up with afew healthcare insurance coverages for bariatric surgery to all American citizens who suffer fromobesity.ConclusionsThis research had extensively discussed the three solutions of obesity in America. Allhave very effective ways to help fight against this epidemic.

Each solution presented in thispaper are just as important and unique as the next. After careful analyzation and comparison, thebest solution that would make the biggest impact to help improve and decrease obesity in America is the treatment for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.When working with obesity patients, the CBT therapists puts special emphasis onmaladaptive thoughts and behaviors that lead to unhealthy lifestyle habits. CBT tends to focuson the “here and now.” Although the therapy looks into the patient’s past history and understandthe way it has shaped his/her life, CBT mainly focuses on ways to improve the patient’s currentsituation and future. The therapy would help break the vicious cycle of unhealthy lifestyle habitsby changing the way obese patients think and changing their behaviors of doing thingsdifferently. It is imperative that all local, state, and federal governments must find ways to helpfund Cognitive Behavioral Therapy programs for obesity in order to provide for all low-incomeAmerican citizens who are unable to afford this intervention. Cognitive Behavioral Therapyattacks the root of the problem when it comes to obesity.