Causes Of Obesity In The United States

TOPIC: EVIDENCE BASE PRACTICE PROPOSAL Your Name Course No. Professor UNIVERSITY 14th MAY 2018 Research Topic Causes of obesity in the United States Background of the Problem The United States tops the list of developed nations in the obesity prevalence rates. According to the CDC 2016 obesity statistics, the prevalence rates have more than doubled since the 1970s as the current prevalence levels of 36.5%are higher compared to14% that was reported in the 1970s. Still, the CDC report indicated that obesity constitutes up to 10% of the total annual mortality in the United States (Johnson et al., 2014). Furthermore, it takes up 105 of the total U.S healthcare expenditure. Obesity reached epidemic levels in the United States by 2006 when a CDC report suggested that over 72 million Americans were obese, comprising 34.9% and 17% adults and youth respectively (Ogden et al., 2016). Since the 1970s, the United States has witnessed a double digit growth in obesity statistics. In the late 1990s, CDC reported that Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri had average obesity rates ranged between 20-24% (Johnson et al., 2014). According to the 2005 CDC statistics, 14 U.S states had already crossed the 25% mark whereas three states had already surpassed 30% in prevalence levels. Shockingly, all U.S states reported prevalence levels that exceeded 19% by the year 2010 (NCHS, 2016). The second reason why studying causes of obesity is important is that based on the WHO 2013 statistics, the global prevalence rates of obesity and overweight had doubled ever since 1980s. By 2013, at least 500 million men and women were either obese or overweight. Studies have also shown that obesity and overweight account for an estimated 2.8 million deaths every year (Johnson et al., 2014). The two combined are ranked as the fifth leading mortality risks globally. By 2012, overweight and obesity combined had overtaken malnutrition in terms of annual mortality rates. In the United States, overweight and obesity related health complications takes up to 10% of the total annual health expenditure of $147 Billion in 2008 (NCHS, 2016). A separated study conducted by the Duke Global Health estimated the lifetime treatment costs for 10 year old obese patients at $14 Billion (Ogden et al., 2016). Another study established that 1 out of 10 deaths in the United States can be linked to obesity or overweight (Johnson et al., 2014). Furthermore, the study ranked obesity as the third leading cause of mortality among American men and women behind high blood pressure and cigarette smoking. Stakeholders/Agents The key stakeholders and agents for change in the fight against obesity are institutions such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S department of Health and human Services, Center for Disease Control (CDC), and World Health Organization (WHO) which conduct research and release pertinent statistics including the leading obesity risk factors as well as global, national and state prevalence rates (Leeman et al., 2014). However, there are numerous non-profit organisations that are directly engaged in anti-obesity campaigns. These organisations that will be interested in the study findings include Obesity Action coalition (OAC), Campaign to end Obesity, National child obesity, Choices:...