Free Essays, Term Papers, Research Papers at Anti Essays

OBESITY AND TYPE 2 DIABETES: HOW ARE THEY LINKED

Diabetes is quickly becoming a major threat to the American population. In 2002 there were over 224,000 deaths related to diabetes. The United States has over 23.6 million people who suffer from diabetes. From 2005-2007 the prevalence of the disease has increased 13.5 percent. Direct and indirect cost in the United States for the year of 2007 was estimated to be 174 billion dollars ("Diabetes statistics"). The purpose of this paper is to determine the link between type 2 diabetes and obesity.
With the increasing conveniences of modern American life, our overall health has dropped dramatically. Weight related chronic diseases are a main concern with health care providers today (Bell, Sears, 2003). Americans have gone from an active culture to one that is reliant on technology. The shopping centers are filled with electric wheel chairs and people ride on their lawn mowers. These activities coupled with a very poor diet lead to a whole myriad of weight related chronic diseases, one being diabetes. Most problems stem from laziness. Highly processed foods are easy and quick to eat, mainly because they do not have to be chewed. One big bite, a slurp of soda and down it goes. Compare that to a bowl of kale or a fresh carrot. Food items comparable to these take time and effort to eat and don’t taste nearly as good.
Increased intakes of highly processed foods are the gateway to massive weight gain and overall health degeneration (Douglas, 2008). Highly processed foods would be defined as white bread, fast food, T.V. dinners, most any food that cannot be harvested from the land. Diet and nutrition play a major role in the health of a person. Type 2 diabetes is directly related to an individual’s diet. Americans have access to most any food in the world, but eat limited types of food. Most diets consist of white breads, sugar, processed foods and alcohol. Eating like this not only will...