Cynthia Harlan lives her life being morbidly obese. "Fatty, lard butt, butterball," were all names she heard once before. Weighing nearly four hundred pounds certainly takes a toll on her body. She is in constant pain from the arthritis in both her knees and back at just the age of thirty-four. She needs to sit on the floor just to clean her house, take medication everyday for high blood pressure and diabetes. She also experiences daily interrupted sleep due to trouble with breathing. Can you imagine finding yourself gasping for air every time you wake up with your heart pounding away in your chest? Being related to obesity causes her to suffer from low self-esteem, depression, and compulsion. Cynthia is ashamed on how much food she eats a day. Often she eats when she is not even hungry. She eats when upset, depressed, bored, happy, or just because she wants to have this or that. It sometimes gets to the point where she vomits. Overeating is something she does not enjoy and hates herself when she does happen to do it. Every night she prays for the next day to be different. Obesity strikes 64 million adults over the age of twenty in the United States. Cynthia is unfortunately one of those and if she does not fight her daily struggle of being obese she will soon be a part of the 112,000 people who pass away due to obesity (Harlan 1). Obesity rates in the United States are among the highest in the world, and they show no signs of slowing down. Between 1980 and 2000 obesity rates doubled among adults. This issue today is one of the most serious public health concerns facing our existence (Ogden 1). Maintaining a healthy weight is an imperative part of overall health because it can prevent future diseases and complications. Obesity not only strikes health care costs causing decrease in productivity, but young children as well. .
When your phone battery is already at 100% you stop charging it correct? So, why is it that some parents tell their children to finish everything on their plate when they are already full? Childhood obesity has become a huge problem here in the United States over the past couple of years.
