Muhialdeen 1

Samier Muhialdeen

Mrs. Tyrrell / LA 1-2

14 April 2011

Research Paper

Obesity: At Its Finest

“Obesity has become the norm, with the number of obese adults doubling, and the

number of adolescents tripling between 1980 and 2002” (Bailey 3). The overwhelming

occurrence of obesity is greater than ever and it looks like only a modicum of the population

seems to care. In addition to dealing with obesity, health hazards such as heart disease and

diabetes have an increasing population as well. Obesity has a tremendous effect on people in the

way of health risks and psychological effects such as depression; this dangerous trend needs to

end in order to save lives.

Sleeping is a huge factor with becoming obese, if lacking it’s considered to be a key in

gaining weight. Sleeping is way more important than some assume it to be. “Researchers found

that sleeping less than 6 hours per night and remaining awake past midnight increased the

likelihood of obesity” (Peters). So by staying up late and getting little sleep, weight gain is

almost inevitable. Also, when younger children sleep poorly they may acquire an immutable

impact on the section of the brain called the hypothalamus that regulates both appetite and

energy expenditure (Peters). This impact can lead to overeating, lack of energy, and in some

cases death. Sleep deprivation doesn’t only make you stressed or tired, it can also destroy your

body. Restricting sleep to four hours per night has led to impaired glucose tolerance and changes

in hormones related to weight gain and hypertension (Peters). Think of it like this, by not
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sleeping properly you gain weight improperly. Basically, by disrupting the body’s natural clock

through sleep deprivation you affect your metabolic hormones that regulate appetite (Peters).

This is another reason why weight gains are prevalent when depriving sleep. Sleeping is essential

to ending any unhealthy weight gains and a component to terminating this scary progression.

Depression is also a significant cause of weight gain and obesity. Depression not only

damages your mental health, in most cases it also destroys your physical health as well. “Even

though depression is a mental illness, it can have physical manifestation in the body just like

many of the physical illnesses that exist” (“Surviving Depression” 1). Insomnia, digestive

malfunction (diarrhea or constipation), and any change in eating habits are some of the physical

illnesses that can potentially lead to weight gain (“Surviving Depression” 1). Most physical

illnesses can point to possible weight gain along with its main effects as well. ” Long-term

sociological impacts show that as adults, obese children are less likely to complete college and

more likely to live in poverty” (Bailey 4). Basically, being obese while depressed can shatter

someone’s future. Your future family, education, career or car is now out of sight because of this

deadly combo. So not only your career has the capability of being harmed but your life is at stake

when suffering from depression while obese. In most cases, the majority of people who are

obese, depressed, living in poverty and really have nowhere to turn to think the next step is

suicide. Depression is serious, but combined with obesity; the outcome is bound to be atrocious.

One of the best ways to end this consistent trend is to simply prevent it. Sleeping is

unbelievably necessary to prevent becoming obese or gaining weight in general. Sleep

deprivation is the easiest health risk to prevent but for some reason it seems to be the hardest.
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Most people say they don’t have time to sleep, but they actually do, people just don’t realize that

sleeping is more than watching that extra few minutes of TV. Obesity is a matter of personal

responsibility, so be accountable of your own actions and put forth that effort to sleep for at least

8-10 hours, it will make a difference (“At Issue: Obesity”). Sleep apnea is another health issue

associated with obesity but with sleep apnea the only way to prevent it is to not be overweight at

all (unless your born with it) (Bailey 4). Weight reduction is the most common recommended

treatment for sleep apnea because it technically is the only one. Depression can be prevented, but

not always by you alone. There is no valid way to prevent depression. However, taking steps to

control stress, to increase your resilience, and to boost self-esteem may help (“Mayo Clinic”). In

some cases, seeing a psychiatrist or talking to a good friend is a great step to take when trying to

prevent depression. Make sure you look out for symptoms such as feelings of sadness and

especially changes in appetite in others as well as yourself. These symptoms may look

unimportant, but they’re how most depressives start and sometimes end. Prevention for sleep

deprivation, depression and anything that helps increase this population of obese people is a key

point to ending this horrid progression.

Preventing health risks or psychological effects is necessary to stop this trend from

progressing. According to the National Center of Health Statistics, more than one third of

Americans are now obese yet obesity is the second leading cause of preventable health risks. The

greatest concern is, why is something easily preventable getting larger every day. The answer is

simple; being lazy is easier and unfortunately easier is better to some. So Americans should ask

themselves this, is living indulgently worth the life-threatening consequences.