The Relationship Between Globalization And Obesity

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The Relationship Between Globalization and Obesity Nowadays, globalization influences our lives in different ways. Globalization is fairly unstoppable. The way people live their everyday lives has been completely changed. The changes attributed to globalization seem to have made our lives easier and more convenient. Although there are numerous advantages of globalization, it has influenced people’s life negatively in some aspects. Obesity is one of these aspects. Puska, Nishida, & Porter stated that obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than 1 billion adults overweight, of which at least 300 million of them are clinically obese and major contributors to the global burden of chronic disease and disability (1). However, obesity is a complex condition, with serious social and psychological dimensions, affecting virtually all ages and socioeconomic groups. In fact, obesity is a problem not only for developed countries but for developing countries, too. The globalization of obesity is attested to by the World Health Organization, which has gone so far as to declare obesity a global epidemic (Ike 1). This research paper attempts to correlate the relationship between globalization and obesity by highlighting the multiple causes of obesity and how these causes are linked to globalization. Causes of Obesity Based on a review of research, there are multiple causes of obesity. Clearly, there is no one specific cause of obesity but a collection of causes and factors behind this problem. Some of these causes and factors are linked to globalization and others are not. According to Okawara there are several factors seen as contributing to the obesity phenomenon. Rising standards of living and urbanization, the spread of automobiles, computers, television, fast food, and the twenty-first-century work environment, are some of the contributing factors.

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