Culture and disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Culture and disease - Essay Example 30 and above is considered obese. There are a variety of physiological conditions which can result from obesity. There is greater susceptibility to diabetes, cardiovascular and respiratory illness, as well as certain types of cancers. A psychiatric condition which has comorbidity with obesity is depression. This could be caused by the inability to deal with the stresses of life or with self-esteem issues due to the inability to achieve the healthy lifestyle demanded by society. As a result, there is a circular effect when dealing with obesity and depression. As a worldwide view on obesity, Americans seem to have the most. According to a survey done by the National Health and Nutrition Survey (2003-2004) showed that about 32.2% of adult Americans are obese (Ogden et al., 2006). With such a large portion, approximately one out of three people are obese, it is important to look at the sociological aspects of dealing with this condition. Obesity is not a disease that can be caught, howev er there are some genetic components which suggest that certain genes may regulate metabolite levels which can impact whether a person becomes obese or not. Stress and overworking due to lack of a stable economy leads to poor eating habits. As Americans, we live in a fast paced, progressive environment which often requires a quick and specific fix to problems.