Does Television Effect Obesity

8 Pages 1935 Words

Technology can be linked to the increase rate of individuals becoming overweight. Things become readily available through technology, which means people have to do less work. A prime example of technology that is attibuted to making people overweight is the television. Some people believe that several hours of television viewing everyday can be a cause of obesity, which I find that belief to be credible. Television viewing is a factor in increasing obesity among the people of today. In my opinion, watching many hours of television can lead to obesity. If my belief of whether or not television is a factor in obesity is true, it is imperative to find out what can be done to solve the issue.
Did you know that over half of all Americans (about 97 million) are overweight or obese? The term obesity is defined as “an abnormal accumulation of body fat frequently resulting in an impairment of health” (“Obesity”). The National Institute of Health defines obesity as being more than 20% above the ideal body weight (approximately 20% males and 30% for females). Not many people are aware of obesity, and that is why approximately 34% of the adult population is overweight. Obesity can affect anyone from young children to older adults. There are many causes for obesity such as over-eating, genetics, hormones, the environment, and an insufficient amount of physical activity. Obesity has several causes like health issues, depression, eating disorders, and unfortunately even death. The late rapper Big Punisher and actor John Candy were unfortunate victims of obesity and sadly they are now deceased because of obesity. Obesity tends to run in families, which shows that obesity can be genetic. Some diseases linked to obesity are diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and cancer. The search for an obesity gene is complicated because families also tend to share eating habits and lifestyles. In one study, howeve...