1. Obesity The Growing Norm By Blaine Senior Salt Lake Community College PSY- 1010 General Psychology / PSY- 1100 Human Growth & Development Spring 2013

2. Obesity The Growing Norm ● A third of American adults are overweight. ● Another third are obese. ● Combined, 68.8 percent of U. S. adults are either overweight or obese” (Chou, 2012). www.theepochtimes.com

3. The American Occupational Therapist Association ● The AOTA Journal strongly suggests that families in low-income areas are very likely to have obese children. ● Studies show that some reasons may be a lack of accessibility to safe parks, and financially affordable team sport activities. ● The journal also stresses the importance of nutritional foods, and proper healthy diet practices.

4. Daily Psychological Humiliation ● People with obesity face continual struggles in every facet of life. ● The humiliation of not fitting into airplane or public transport seats and spilling out and into someone else’s space. ● Diabetes and heart disease are quite common, as well as hypertension. www.talkabouthealthy.com

5. The American Psychological Association ● The APA tells us that obesity is frequently accompanied by depression. ● Studies show women are slightly vulnerable to the obesity-depression cycle then men. “ ● In one study, obesity in women was associated with a 37% increase in major depression. ● There is also a strong relationship between women with a high BMI and more frequent thoughts of suicide. todayhealth.today.com www.geekforum.org

6. Body Mass Index ● BMI stands for body mass index. ● The way we tend to define obesity is an assessment of using a system called BMI. ● BMI is looked at as the weight in kilograms, then that number is divided by a square of height in meters.

8. The Prognosis and New Discoveries ● In 1994 a Rockefeller University researcher discovered a hormone called leptin ● The study found that a deficiency in leptin causes obesity. ● It was found that leptin was produced by fat cells which is essential in producing metabolic hormones. ● obesity in general starts with unhealthy diet and living practices. ● This involves the number of calories taken in, and how much exercise a person gets. ● The disease itself strongly affects a person’s metabolism as well as one’s immune system.

9. Conclusion We ask ourselves if there will ever be a cure for obesity. Until scientists and doctors advance in their research and they discover a better way to control the chemical imbalances in the body, diet and exercise remain to be the best medicine. manbir-online.com

10. Works Cited Mind/Body Health: Obesity. (n.d.). American Psychological Association (APA). Retrieved April 21, 2013, from http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/obesity.aspx http://www.aota.org/Practitioners-Section/Children-and-Youth/New/Obesity.aspx?FT=.pdf Chou, J. (2012, May 08). Pbs. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/05/obesity-in-america-by-the-numbers-1.html Dillon, E. (2006). Obesity. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press. Flegal, K. M., & Ogden, C. L. (2012). Food research and action center. Retrieved from http://frac.org/initiatives/hunger-and-obesity/obesity-in-the-us Nakaya, A. C. (2006). Obesity, opposing viewpoints. farmingtonhills: Greenhaven Pr. Pearsall, J. (2012). Music. Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://oxforddictionaries.com obamapacman.com