Obesity and Eating Habits Challenge

What is Obesity...?

Source: (Pietrangelo, 2022)

Obesity has now become one of the most challenging global health problems of recent decades. Although obesity rates continue to climb, and there is increasing awareness and many health campaigns, many people are still struggling to lose weight (Bishen, 2024). The core of this problem is the interaction between genetics, lifestyle, society and, most significantly, our dietary habits. Obesity is more than just excess weight; it contributes to many other serious health problems including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, cancer and joint disorders. Indeed, it can have equally serious psychological impact on mental health, self-esteem and life quality (Heianza and Qi, 2018). 

Approximately one-eighth of the world's population was overweight in 2022. In 2022, there were 2.5 billion adults who were overweight, with over 890 million adults dealing with obesity (WHO, 2024). There was a rise from 25% in 1990 to 43% in 2015 among persons aged 18 and up, with 43% of men and 44% of women having the overweight condition. Healthy diet is the primary key to weight control. Nevertheless, contemporary eating habits are shaped by the culture of accelerated way of living that does not allow people to pay attention to the process of consumption (Robinson and Segal, 2018). 

Source: (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 2018)

Challenges of Eating Habits

• Today’s diets comprise lots of fast foods that contain a lot of sugar, unhealthy fats, and artificial preservatives. These are foods that have been through some processes to make them easy to consume, but they are dangerous as they make people consume more while denying their bodies the nutrients they require. Various research findings have established that the intake of highly processed foods accounts for about 58% of the total calorie take in the American diet and these are linked with increased calorie take and weight gain (Kelly et al., 2022).

• A large number of people have no idea of the nutritional content of the foods, hence making undesirable food choices. A study conducted by the International Food Information Council established that 63% of the American population is actually unclear about the guidelines, and 40% of people noted that the lack of clear guidelines was enough to make them doubt food choices (IFIC, 2024)

• This leads to increased craving and eventually binge eating, which in turns lead to weight cycling, a very bad pattern (Hall and Kahan, 2018). Research has found that 80% of people who reduce their weight through dieting regain it within five years, and a large number of these individuals have more cases of binge eating when the diets are not sustainable

Obesity is a highly complex issue that requires multifaceted intervention. We can cultivate awareness of our eating patterns and the psychological triggers that influence them, implementing incremental and sustainable changes progressively (Dabas et al., 2024). Establishing healthy eating habits involves moderation more than only distinguishing between nutritious and unhealthy foods. Rather than inflexible diets, appropriate quantities of nourishing whole foods may provide the remedy.