Natural and Applied Sciences:

According to (Ofei, 2005), Obesity is a medical condition which is underestimated around the

world and if ignored can have serious consequences. (Nhlbi.nih.gov, 2020) states the

scientific equation due to which obesity occurs in human beings. Firstly, the scientific

equation which results in energy imbalance in the human body results in obesity. This means

that when the energy consumed through food and drinks is greater than the energy output in

terms of consumption of calories through a number of things such as maintaining body

temperature, digestion, and physical activity. Secondly, (Nhlbi.nih.gov, 2020) also mentions

a number of medicines that cause obesity in addition to energy imbalance. These drugs

include “antipsychotics, antidepressants, antiepileptics, and antihyperglycemics”

(Nhlbi.nih.gov, 2020). Thirdly, (Sicat, 2018) describes obesity being the result of genetically

inherited genes that are strongly associated with obesity and that they account for 40-70% of

total obesity in the world.

According to (Kelishadi, 2014), numerous illnesses are associated with obesity, such as a

number of cancers “(breast, endometrial, ovarian, colorectal, esophageal, kidney, pancreatic,

prostate), diabetes, hypertension, stroke, Coronary Artery Disease, Congestive Heart Failure,

asthma, chronic back pain, osteoarthritis, pulmonary embolism, gallbladder disease, and also

an increased risk of disability.” (Kelishadi, 2014). These diseases impact government

spending on healthcare and lifestyles all across the globe so actions need to be taken to

prevent consequences of obesity and reduce its impact on healthcare and individuals globally.

(Verduin et al., 2005) provides some solutions that are necessary to prevent the obesity

epidemic, it states the consumer to play the pivotal role in opting for healthier lifestyle

choices. (Verduin et al., 2005) identifies four different factors that influence consumer

choices when selecting food options, these include, “taste, quality, convenience and price”. If

the consumers can comprehend the nutritional facts associated with their food choices in
addition to good taste, affordability and availability they would choose to eat healthier.

(Verduin et al., 2005) also describes the role of the food industry in incorporating the

consumer psychology into the food options they make available such as easy to understand

nutritional information, limiting the amount of calories in food items whilst not making huge

compromises on taste. Moreover, lifestyles that increase physically activity need to be

promoted, for example, Moscow subway accepts squats as payment for subway ride

("Moscow Subway Station Lets Passengers Pay Fare In Squats", 2020). Initiatives such as the

Moscow subway payment method increase awareness and actively reduce impact of obesity

in small but effective proportions.

References:

Kelishadi, R. (2014). Health impacts of Obesity. Pakistan Journal Of Medical

Sciences, 31(1). https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.311.7033

Moscow Subway Station Lets Passengers Pay Fare In Squats. Forbes.com. (2020). Retrieved

5 February 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewbender/2013/11/14/moscow-

subway-station-lets-passengers-pay-fare-in-squats/#7a7f67e8b0d8.

Nhlbi.nih.gov. (2020). Overweight and Obesity | National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

(NHLBI). [online] Available at: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/overweight-and-

obesity [Accessed 17 Jan. 2020].

Ofei, F. (2005). Obesity - A Preventable Disease. PubMed Central (PMC). Retrieved 15

February 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1790820/.

Sicat, J. (2018). Obesity and Genetics - Obesity Medicine Association. [online] Obesity

Medicine Association. Available at: https://obesitymedicine.org/obesity-and-genetics/

[Accessed 14 Jan. 2020].

Verduin, P., Agarwal, S., & Waltman, S. (2005). Solutions to obesity: perspectives from the

food industry. The American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition, 82(1), 259S-261S.

https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/82.1.259s
Social Sciences:

A very important research was carried out by (Gortmaker et al., 1993) regarding the impact

of obesity in young age in contrast with other chronic conditions (musculoskeletal

abnormalities, asthma, etc) on social factors such as self-esteem, social and economic

characteristics and physical health of individuals. Considering the results, (Gortmaker et al.,

1993) claims that obesity during a young age has more social and economic consequences

than any other chronic physical condition and suggests that discrimination against obese

individuals might account for such findings.

(Schwartz and Brownell, 2004) describes how similarities between the social networks of

obese individuals exist, such as socio-economic status, culture, racial background, education,

and profession. (Kuntz & Lampert, 2010) also draws a connection between obesity, race and

socioeconomic factors such as education, family income, and profession. (Kuntz & Lampert,

2010) suggests that this might be due to poor nutritional education, lack of funds to buy high

nutrition/organic products, lack of child supervision due to lack of free time in some

professions or low income households.

(Pachucki & Goodman, 2015) conducted a social network analysis regarding obesity and

discovered that social media can be used to trigger behavioural changes in individuals.

Healthy lifestyles can be promoted by targeting areas with high obesity rates to bring about

changes in the psychology of the obese individuals. These findings are also in line with

(Serrano Fuentes et al., 2019) who further confirms the possibility of harnessing the forces of

social networks and connected individuals to promote healthy living preventing the

consequences of obesity. This can be done by targeting areas with high obesity levels using

social media campaigns and raising awareness about the health risks of being obese and
offering lifestyle changes that will assist health-policy makers and reduce healthcare cost,

unemployment benefits among other sources of welfare for governments.

References:

Gortmaker, S., Must, A., Perrin, J., Sobol, A., & Dietz, W. (1993). Social and Economic

Consequences of Overweight in Adolescence and Young Adulthood. New England Journal

Of Medicine, 329(14), 1008-1012. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejm199309303291406

Kuntz, B., & Lampert, T. (2010). Socioeconomic Factors and Obesity. Deutsches Aerzteblatt

Online. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2010.0517

Pachucki, M., & Goodman, E. (2015). Social Relationships and Obesity: Benefits of

Incorporating a Lifecourse Perspective. Current Obesity Reports, 4(2), 217-223.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-015-0145-z

Schwartz, M. and Brownell, K. (2004). Obesity and body image. Body Image, 1(1), pp.43-56.

Serrano Fuentes, N., Rogers, A., & Portillo, M. (2019). Social network influences and the

adoption of obesity-related behaviours in adults: a critical interpretative synthesis

review. BMC Public Health, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7467-9