Morbid obesity is identified in the following cases:
- A 5-foot, 3-inch-tall person who weighs 226 pounds ( about 16 stone)
- A 6-foot person who weighs 305 pounds ( about 21 stone)
What causes obesity?
Obesity is caused by two main issues, an unhealthy diet (too overloaded in sugar and fats) and not doing enough exercise to burn off the calories consumed. The majority of obese people are those who are too lazy to exercise, although some people suffer from health problems such as arthritis which can result in a person being unable to implement fat burning activities.
Obesity tends to run in families. Your obesity risk will be higher if one or both of your parents are obese. This is because your genes determine your body shape and size, and to some extent your weight. But just because you are a vulnerable victim to obesity doesn’t mean you will be obese, you can defy the onset of weight gain by controlling your diet and doing regular exercise.
Do the media have a negative effect on obesity?
In my opinion the way the media conveys fast food outlets increases the rate of obesity, mainly in younger children. Fast food advertisements are publicized on television, the internet, Magazines and newspapers, and even on billboards in busy cities. Fast food outlets spend millions of pounds on advertising each year. The main approach they use is to advertise on television, considering the majority of young children watch a lot of TV; they hope to attract vulnerable children to their particular fast food outlet by splashing images of the mouth watering food they offer which is aimed to attract the attention of young people. The government are now tackling this issue by banning fast food adverts in between children’s television programs.
How many people are actually obese in the UK?
These last few years the rise in obesity has become more and more of a predicament. The main reason for this is due to the residents of the UK becoming lazier and not watching what they eat. In May 2007 an estimated one in every 5 men and a quarter of women were obese and that a number as large as 30,000 people die too early due to obesity related conditions. In my opinion this number is horrendous. Obese people can prevent their possibility of dying too young by just becoming more active and cutting down on the unhealthy food they eat. Nobody can force people to do this, but if the consequences of what can happen to obese people were made more commercial then people might actually realise how serious the matter is.
Primary Research
What is the nutritional content of food from the fast food outlet McDonalds?’
“Big Mac”
The ‘Big Mac’ is a burger sold by the internationally recognized fast food chain McDonalds. The ‘Big Mac’ is the companies’ signature product.
The recommended daily intake of calories is 2000 for women and 2500 for men. A “Big Mac” burger from McDonalds is on its own 540 calories. A Big Mac alone is hardly a meal and after eating one you are very likely to get hungry again shortly after which would result in having to intake additional calories. On average 3 and a half ‘Big Macs’ alone equals the daily intake of calories for a woman a day. If a woman survived on this, it would result in obesity and increase the risk of heart disease.
% = % of daily allowance
A healthier alternative that McDonalds offer
Grilled chicken and bacon salad
The grilled chicken and bacon salad is a healthy alternative that McDonalds offer. This one meal counts as two portions of fruit and Vegetables and is 40% of the recommended daily amount for a healthy balanced diet. This option of fast food is much healthier and better for you than the ‘Big Mac’. One portion of grilled chicken and bacon salad with no dressing contains only 165 calories. Compared to the big Mac, this salad is very filling and will keep you going for longer.
% = % of daily allowance
Questionnaire Results
I asked 10 people questions about their diet and their views on fast food, these are the results…
Do you eat breakfast every morning?
Out of 10 people asked, 50% said they eat breakfast every morning. Eating breakfast every morning kick starts your metabolism and helps you concentrate and perform better.
Does fast food from fast food outlets such as KFC or McDonalds appeal to you?
100% of people asked said that fast food appeals to them.
Although eating fast food is not always a healthy option, along as you stay active and exercise regularly then eating the odd burger now and again isn’t too bad for you.
How often do you consume fast food?
60% of people said that they eat fast food once a week, 30% said that they eat it about once a month and a mere 10% said that they eat it daily. Eating fast food daily is very unhealthy as it doesn’t contain all of the required nutrients for our bodies to develop properly.
Does watching a fast food advert entice you to try fast food?
Only 10% of people who I asked said that by watching a fast food advert they are enticed to try fast food. The media’s objective is by making adverts and broadcasting them on television is that people will see them and want to try the food. The majority of people who I asked said that they do not desire to eat fast food because of this.
Would you rather eat fast food than a proper home cooked meal? If so why?
80% of the people who I asked said that they would rather eat fast food because its served fast, you can eat it with your fingers, and because it tastes very nice.
Do you walk to/from school everyday?
Only 40 % of people who I asked said that they walk to and from school everyday. 30% said they catch the bus and 30 % said that their parents drive them. It is important to exercise on a daily basis as it helps prevent diseases, improves stamina and the obvious one is that is helps to maintain a healthy weight.
Would you like to eat healthier?
90% of people who I asked said that they would like to eat healthier. Eating a healthy balanced diet is important for a growing person as you need all of the correct nutrients to grow properly.
Are you happy with your weight?
Only 50 % of people who I asked said that they were happy with their weight, these people were all male. All of the females I asked said that they were unhappy with their weight.
What do you usually eat for?
Breakfast: Toast or cereal and a cup of tea
Lunch: Hot bacon/sausage rolls OR bag of chips
Dinner: Chicken dinner served with potatoes and vegetables
This is an answer that I received from a 15 year old male that I asked. Eating chips on a daily basis is not good for your body. By letting pupils eat their lunch in town the majority of them go to the fish and chip shop or a Chinese takeaway, a way to prevent the rise in obesity would be to discontinue this and make all pupils eat lunch at the school canteen where a healthier more balanced meal is served.
Do you do any kind of exercise on a regular exercise?
60% of people who I asked said that they do exercise on a regular basis. For instance; Rugby, Football, Netball, Swimming. 40 % confessed that they don’t do any kind of exercise. Exercise is important as it helps control your weight.
A weekly healthy menu designed for the school canteen that would be appreciated by the schools pupils and staff.
In the menu I’ve designed I’ve made sure that I have included all the right nutrients and planned a balanced diet that is healthy but would still be appreciated by pupils and staff at a secondary school. Throughout the week I’ve made the menu as healthy and possible so that on Friday pupils could have fish fingers and chips as a delicacy. I needed to make sure that the menu contained a balance of nutrients; Carbohydrates, Protein, Vitamins and minerals, Water and fat.
Lunch time menu
Recipes for the lunch time menu
Cottage Pie
Ingredients
1 tbsp oil
1 large onion chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
560g/1¼ lb beef mince
400g/14oz can tomatoes
290ml/10fl oz beef stock
1 bay leaf
fresh thyme leaves from 1 sprig
2 tbsp tomato purée
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the topping:
parsnips, potato and horseradish mash
750g/1½ lb potatoes, peeled and chopped
225g/8oz parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 tsp creamed horseradish
75g/2½oz butter
55ml/2fl oz milk
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and carrot and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes until soft.
3. Add the minced beef and cook for 3 minutes to brown.
4. Add the tomatoes, purée, beef stock, bay leaf and thyme.
5. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Season.
6. Make the mash: boil the potatoes and parsnips in water until soft. Drain and mash with the butter and milk. Stir in the horseradish and season with salt and pepper.
7. Spoon the meat into an ovenproof dish. Top with the mash and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.
Leek and potato soup
Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced
225g/8oz potatoes, cubed
2 medium leeks, sliced
1.2 litres/2 pints vegetable stock
150ml/5fl oz double cream or crème Fraîhe
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onions, potatoes and leeks. Cook for 3-4 minutes until starting to soften.
2. Add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Season well and simmer until the vegetables are tender.
3. Whizz with a hand blender or in a blender until smooth. Reheat in a clean pan, stir in the cream or crème Fraîhe, heat through and serve.
Interview with a school dinner lady
I interviewed a dinner lady at out school canteen. I questioned her opinions obesity and the type of food they offer in the canteen. Here are my results;
Do the government give you any restrictions on the food you serve?
Yes. The government state that we can only serve chips once a week and that as from September 2009 no cakes or cookies will be allowed to be sold in the canteen. They are trying to promote healthy eating and to do this they insist on scrapping the sugary snacks.
Do you deep fat fry the majority of the food served?
No. The deep fat fryers only get switched on every Friday as Friday is the only day of the week we serve chips. All of the hot food we serve is cooked in the oven.
Do you personally think that the food the canteen offers is healthy and nutritional?
The food we serve is nutritionally balanced and contains all of the right nutrients that the body needs. For instance today the meal of the day is cottage pie; this contains carbohydrates, protein and a small amount of fat. All food contains fat but you just have to get the balance right.
Do you think obesity is an issue for our school?
I think that obesity is an issue for any school these days as children will eat what they like when they go home. We just try and offer the best meals that we can for the pupils.
Do you think that the canteen offers a good choice of food everyday?
Yes I do. The canteen offers a healthy and nutritional salad box at the salad bar, a hot and spicy option, a vegetable option and the main meal of the day. I think that we cater for everyone’s taste here at Builth Wells High School.
Conclusion
In conclusion I have found that obesity is a huge problem in the UK. The majority of obese people do not realise the serious consequences from the illness and I have come to the conclusion that if obesity was publicised more, then sufferers would comprehend the matter and do something about it. Also I have realised that the way fast food outlets target young vulnerable children does slightly affect the number of obese children. From the questionnaire that I produced I found out that the key problem was that people don’t do enough exercise to burn the calories consumed as the majority of people I asked ate a lot of fast food. To improve this matter, I designed a weekly menu for the school canteen that was seen as appetising to students. I believe that if this menu was used then students would eat more regularly at the school canteen and therefore would not consume so much fast food. Also, I interviewed a dinner lady here at Builth Wells High School, I asked her opinions on obesity and about what food they serve. Overall I think that by making obesity more known to the public then the number of obese people in the UK would gradually decrease.
Evaluation
Planning –
In order to achieve a successful and organised structure in my coursework I had to plan my project. I began by producing an action plan and divided certain sections of the project in to 9 weekly deadlines. By doing this I found it easy to construct my coursework project. I feel that this helped me a lot because I found that I was on time to complete all the tasks.
Methodology –
In order to research my chosen topic effectively I used resources like the internet and books. The majority of research I used was the internet as it is a fast reliable source. A large part of my primary research came from my questionnaire results as I found that asking real people about their opinions and lifestyle was a realistic way of finding information. I prepared some pie charts from my results to simply represent the information for quick reading. I interviewed a dinner lady at our school to find out her opinions on obesity and about the food they offer. I found this an advantage to me as I could see if the food we serve at Builth Wells High School was nutritional.
Results –
Overall I discovered that obesity in the UK is a larger problem that the majority of people realise and that it is something that is happening right now that could be prevented if a few things were established.
Review
Personally I think that my project was overall successful. I think that my work is constructed well and that the contents page is a good way to order my project. In my opinion I felt as though my background research pages were good and conveyed Obesity and its consequences in a detailed enough way. Although I was happy with my project if I were to do it again I would further my primary research and write in more depth.
Bibliography
