With the increased amount of obese people in the world, questions emerge as to who should be held responsible for this problem. Professionals in health, nutrition, and medicine search to understand the root causes of obesity. Fast food restaurants often face public pressure to change their business models and provide their customers with healthy food choices. An increased amount of our society has a tendency to blame advertising for the devastating effects it has on public health. Parents, children, farmers, food manufacturers, suppliers, governments and medical professionals also struggle to prove that they are not guilty in making our society overweight and obese. I believe everyone should take some of the blame for the obesity epidemic that plagues the world today, but individually we are the only ones that can take full responsibility for the daily choices we make. We as individuals choose to take the easy way out and allow our children to set in front of a television, computer, or video game instead of exercising. We as individuals choose to ignore the calories that we consume on a daily basis and look to convenience instead of health. We have become lazy, overweight, and out of shape. Calories in versus calories out equals, we are what we eat.
Without any doubts, obesity is a serious and multifaceted issue. Researchers present a diversity of opinions regarding the most probable causes of the disease epidemic. Alexander and Baur (2007) mention the role of underlying medical conditions and various external influences. Despite their focus on childhood obesity, the factors and influences mentioned by the experts can also be applied to adults. Alexander and Baur (2007) start with the analysis of energy expenditures in the human organism and how they can lead to obesity. They continue to analyze the genetic predisposition to being overweight, suggesting that most obesity cases have a genetic component. Still, these genetic triggers come into play only in the presence of favorable environmental conditions. Alexander and Baur (2007) believe that the present-day society is particularly conducive for obesity. Under the pressure of consumerism, health and wellness lose their importance. More people purchase convenience foods to save their time and money. Yet, these foods also bring additional harmful calories that eventually result in being overweight, leading to obesity (Alexander & Baur, 2007). The use of cars and other transportation means reduce energy expenditures, turning extra calories into a serious danger to individual and public health. Schools add to the severity of the obesity problem, as school cafeteria offer a variety of harmful foods to children (Alexander & Baur, 2007). Unfortunately, due to a multitude of factors, the obesity issue is particularly difficult to manage. This is probably why some experts are still trying to identify a single factor of negative influences on the health of children and adults.
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For example, Vikki Sloviter (2007), an expert in pediatrics, believes that schools make a significant contribution to the expansion of the obesity epidemic among children. Like Alexander and Baur (2007), Sloviter speaks of sedentary lifestyles and the growing popularity of fast food products as the primary factors of increased obesity prevalence in the U.S. Nevertheless, Sloviter (2007) focuses on schools and their role in expanding or reducing the obesity epidemic. These experts believe that, by redesigning their menus and improving diets, schools could give children several reasons for living healthier lives. She also recommends engaging children in physical activity to minimize the risks of being overweight (Sloviter, 2007).
Boseley (2013), health editor at The Guardian, writes that sugar is to take the real blame for the obesity epidemic in the U.S. and beyond. It is a popular or a major component of many popular foods, from drinks to cereals. Boseley (2013) cites Dr. Robert Lustig, who compares sugar to other addictive substances such as heroin. Consumers prefer purchasing food products that are rich in sugar, and the food industry uses it as a hook (Boseley, 2013). For Boseley (2013), eating breakfast cereals with sugar is similar to using another dose of morphine. Not surprisingly, many people become addicted to harmful foods, which increase their chances to become obese.
Still, individuals are primarily responsible for the food choices they make. In other words, individuals should assume personal responsibility for being obese or overweight. Ellison (2014), University of Illinois researcher, suggests that the public opinions about who is responsible for the obesity epidemic do not coincide with those of government policymakers. Still, the results of the survey conducted by Ellison (2014) suggest that most individuals tend to blame themselves for being overweight or obese. An equal and popular public opinion is the view that parents should take full responsibility for the health and wellbeing of their children. In other words, parents are guilty, if their children are obese (Lusk & Ellison, 2013). This opinion is further supported by Ayoob (2011), who confirms that parents are much more powerful than policymakers in managing the eating behaviors of their children. Simultaneously, Ayoob (2011) suggests that parents may feel powerless and weak in the presence of numerous influences, such as advertising and new food choices. As an expert in pediatrics, Ayoob (2011) claims that parents can be regarded as victims of the complex social environment that brings together advertisers, food manufacturers, schools, and other players that are willing to make children obese.
The common opinion that obesity is a matter of individual choices is becoming more popular. Weller (2014) stands on a position that, in a highly individualistic American culture, it comes as no surprise that 94 percent of people blame obese people for their health problems. Obesity remains one of the hot topics in the U.S. media. Thus, most citizens are aware of the policies and opportunities available to them, if they want to avoid or deal with excess weight (Weller, 2014). However, the truth is that they little motivation to enhance their health and improve their wellbeing. Obesity is just one of the many byproducts of one’s reluctance to live a healthy life (Weller, 2014). This is probably why Hennessy (2014) writes that the proposed policy choices to struggle against the obesity epidemic may not be as effective as expected. Here, Johnson (2012), President of the American Psychological Association, offers a different view on the situation. In her expert opinion, individuals should not be stigmatized for being obese (Johnson, 2012). Stigmatization is highly counterproductive, when it comes to health. Simply stated, the stigma of obesity will not motivate obese and overweight people to change their daily habits.
Yet, promoting the stigma of obesity is not the same as making individuals assume complete responsibility for their health. Johnson (2012) seems to be confusing these notions. It is high time for the society to realize that, individually, we are the only ones to be blamed for being obese. Most general practitioners rest on a position that obesity is a problem of patients and not their environment (Ogden et al., 2001). Their opinion is rooted in years of professional medical experience and rich interactions with obese and overweight individuals. To find a solution to the obesity problem, the society must become realistic about its causes. In almost all cases, obesity can be attributed to individual controllable factors (Ogden et al., 2001). Therefore, individuals have the power and skills to become healthier. They only need motivation to overcome barriers to healthy living.
After close and careful review, none of these opinions is entirely correct. The principal strength of most views presented here is that they are made on the basis of overwhelming evidence. For example, Boseley (2013) makes a reference to Dr. Robert Lustig and his empirical findings. Ellison (2014) also refers to the results of her survey. However, the problem with many experts is that they try to justify obesity as an inevitable component of the present-day social reality. Johnson (2012) uses the term “obesogenic” environment to describe the multitude of influences that trigger and aggravate the obesity epidemic. Many experts suggest that, in such environment, it is difficult not to consume harmful foods or not to be overweight. In reality, adults can make conscious choices, as well as guide their children in their dietary decisions. This is why most experts are not persuasive to the extent that could solve the problem of obesity once and forever.
Certainly, obesity is a problem that has many different sides. However, it is wrong to blame food distributors, schools, or advertisers for changing the patterns of nutrition that cause obesity and weight gain. We should be taking into consideration any and all of the information available to us today. We then should use this information to develop a holistic approach in dealing with the obesity epidemic. An emerging agreement is that individuals, rather than the environment, are responsible for the quality of their health choices (Ellison, 2014; Weller, 2014).
Again, I would like to reiterate that individuals are to assume primary responsibility for the obesity epidemic. Certainly, advertisers have become too powerful in their striving to produce a large shift in individual and collective eating behaviors. Due to the lack of parental guidance caused by busy work schedules, parents find it difficult to control the quality of the food choices made by their children today. Schools, due to their strict budget cuts, do not encourage children to eat healthy products like they should. Food manufacturers do not provide consumers with complete and readily available information about their products. Recently fast food restaurants have begun to make an effort to offer more healthy choices with their menus but still overwhelmingly they continue to offer high calorie fattening foods. In this challenging environment, most individuals are either too weak to withstand obesity pressures or are simply unwilling to make an extra step towards wellness. Even the most powerful nutritional influences in the world can be tackled, if individuals possess enough will power and motivation to preserve their health and well-being. At the end of the day, we choose. Unfortunately, more often than not, we choose wrong.
To conclude, obesity raises many questions. Dozens of experts provide their answers. Nevertheless, the problem of obesity continues to persist. None of the current opinions are fully correct or sufficiently persuasive. Moreover, many experts avoid blaming individuals for being obese or overweight. In reality, we are the ones to make food choices that eventually affect our health. We are the only ones to assume complete responsibility for obesity and poor health. Failure to recognize individuals as the major contributors to the current obesity epidemic is the road to nowhere. As a result, years will pass before a single comprehensive strategy is developed to stop the obesity epidemic.
- Alexander, S. & Baur, L.A. (2007). Childhood obesity: Who’s to blame and who should pay? Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics Outcomes Research, 7(2), 95-98.
- Ayoob, K.T. (2011). Solving childhood obesity: Parents may be more powerful than policies. Childhood Obesity, 7(4), 271-273.
- Boseley, S. (2013). Sugar, not fat, exposed as deadly villain in obesity epidemic. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/20/sugar-deadly-obesity- epidemic.
- Ellison, B. (2014). Who’s to blame for obesity? Policy makers, the food industry, or individuals? Retrieved from http://news.aces.illinois.edu/news/who%E2%80%99s- blame-obesity-policy-makers-food-industry-or-individuals.
- Hennessy, M. (2014). What’s wrong with personal responsibility when it comes to obesity? Retrieved from http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/R-D/What-s-wrong-with-personal- responsibility-when-it-comes-to-obesity.
- Johnson, S.B. (2012). Addressing the obesity epidemic: Don’t blame the victim. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/10/pc.aspx.
- Lusk, J.L. & Ellison, B. (2013). Who is to blame for the rise in obesity? Appetite, 68(1), 14- 20.
- Ogden, J., Bandara, I., Cohen, H., Farmer, D., Hardie, J., Minas, H. […] Whitehead, M.A. (2001). General practitioners’ and patients’ models of obesity: Whose problem is it? Patient Education and Counseling, 44(3), 227-233.
- Sloviter, V. (2007). Childhood obesity: Who is to blame? Pediatrics for Parents, 24(5), 2-3.
- Weller, C. (2014). Obesity in America: 94% of Americans blame fat people for being obese, so why is it still a problem? Retrieved from http://www.medicaldaily.com/obesity- america-94-americans-blame-fat-people-being-obese-so-why-it-still-problem-267684.
