In the article, “General Concepts of a Disease” it states that, “A disease is often associated with well-defined, characteristics structure changes, called lesions that are present in various organs and tissues”(1). Obesity from my understanding causes no structural changes in your body because most of the changes are seen from the outside which is fat. Also when you hear the word lesions you think of an abnormality in your skin which may be damage to your tissues. A disease like alcoholism is most likely to be categorized because it is a chronic one which may cause you to get a heart attack, stroke, cancer, or even a high-blood pressure. So if you think about alcoholism is like a disease which may trigger an even stronger disease like cancer.
A disease is defined as the condition of the body, or some part or organ of the body, in which its functions are disturbed or deranged. So when defining obesity as a disease you must understand that it must diseases criteria. In Heshka’s “Is Obesity a Disease,” he states that “it would be a mistake to attempt to label it a disease in the traditional sense in order to emphasize its importance if it does not meet reasonable criteria for such diseases.” I think that he’s trying to imply that scientists and anyone who has researched about obesity would know that it cannot be a disease because it has no implications to of ever becoming one. People are obese because they have brought it to themselves. A disease is something people cannot withstand because they have no control over it. If we choose to stay obese a person then so be it, but in the case of a disease that’s a whole different story. Getting any disease obviously has to be fatal because a disease causes some part of an organ to be disturbed which life is threatening.
In Orbach’s essay she feels that women are the big concern for obesity but I feel that obesity isn’t just a concern for women but it is for men and children as well. There’s an estimate that two-thirds of adults and nearly one in three children in the U.S. are overweight (Murphy 4). When I read that quote I understood well that men and women are obese and from that same statistic that I read about, 35.5% of men were obese as to women were 35.8%. Also 16.9% of children were obese as well, so if women are so called part of this disease men account for half of that and children are a portion of this as well. So in all I think that women are just a portion of how what people are going through in this epidemic. Children are becoming very risky for becoming obese because they have no way of trying to stop it. Obese children and adolescents are more likely to become obese as adults. One study found that approximately 80% of children who were overweight at age 10-15 years were obese as adults at age 25 years (Disease Control 51). The author is implying that children are overweight and even when they reach their adulthood it’s almost impossible for them to lose the weight they have gained as children.
The author discourages women who are obese into thinking that they have to present themselves in a sexual and appealing manner, yet millions of women who are fat/obese are married and have children, and do all the duties that are required of them. Yet we talk about this as a disease because we don’t accept it, we don’t accept people’s differences and are forcing people to comply with these changes. She states that women are sex objects, possessions to be held and kept. Not only does she disrespect the value of women in our society but disrespects herself. With attitudes like Susie, it’s no wonder why some women and teenagers become anorexic and become too thin to look like the skinny models we insist are beautiful, which is also viewed am issue disease. So either way you look at it, we’re aiming the bar at perfection and causing people to revolt against the media. We need to accept each other and show the world that we can be accepting of people’s differences and that is no clear or definite way to look beautiful. If that were the case than the millions of fat/obese women would not be loved for their character, but surely solemnly their appearance.
Obesity among children in the last three decades had tripled between the ages of 6 and 12. Also between 1986 and 1998 there was data showed that obesity in children ages 4 to 12 had increased by more than 120% among African Americans and Hispanics and by more than 50% among Whites. The relative weight of obese children had also in increased by 144% (Spruijt-Metz 130). Children have become the new cases of obesity because of a generation of parents who didn’t take care of themselves. Most children who are obese usually get it from their parents so I wouldn’t imagine how these statistics could not have grown. These are children who are just learning how to write and communicate with each other. I think of this as a tragedy because they’re suffering and they can do nothing about it unless their parents start to put some initiative to their children’s health. If parents don’t want to help themselves the least they could do it help their children. I think that is the only way you will see less children becoming obese, if it all starts with the parents. I sympathize for these kids because I’ve seen it happen to my own friends little brothers or sisters. I look at these kids and I wonder what if my parents were obese, would I have been in their situation as well or would I be as slim as I am now? But all you can do is wonder because in the end it all starts with how your parents have chosen to live which is always a beauty.
Many reasons why this is such a big issue is because of one study in Spruijt-Metz scholarly journal. In his journal it states, “It is projected 46.4% of youths in the Americas would be overweight or obese by 2010, 41.7% in Eastern Mediterranean countries, 38.2% is Europe, 22% in Southeast Asia, and 27.2% in the Western Pacific nations”(Spruijt-Metz 131). These numbers are obviously staggering if it has to be mentioned. This is something that can’t be hidden from the public and should be great concern to many health companies. I think it’s more than just being a couple pounds overweight because if it weren’t so many young kids wouldn’t be affected by this epidemic. I’ve come to understand that obesity among children is almost impossible to stop because of how many are being under these circumstances. Forget about personal responsibility because that’s obviously out of the question. People can’t control their craving for food and don’t even care about exercising or watch what their eating.
My last reason for why I disagree with Orbach is because women don’t have to be thin in today’s society. In many countries a woman being fat is how men prefer their opposite mates. If you think that being fat is something that is not being accepted all over the world you’re wrong because it’s definitely not. In one article, “Women and Curves” by Christie Harris, she talks about how women in today’s society, sending a message that whatever shape you are comfortable with as long as you are healthy is okay (Harris 1). I think what she’s saying is, that women can be whatever they want whether it’s thin or obese. Women these days have different attitudes towards their bodies. I know women that like being on the bigger side because they feel having that extra meat can come along way as to a woman who basically has none. Obese women are something that men tend to go for because it makes them feel as if they have a challenge and when women see that a man is dating a fat woman they think that the man can make any women feel good about themselves. If men preferred to have a thin woman then we wouldn’t even be talking about this topic. In one article titled, “Some Men Prefer Fat Women” by Sally Law, she states that, “The men were most attracted to the photo of a woman with a body mass index of 29.24.” In my understanding a woman with that body mass index is overweight. So right there I know that women who overweight are catching the eyes of many men. Being stereo-typical about this isn’t right because obviously it’s something that most men don’t mind. It’s society that is not allowing this and I find that to be very unfair and immoral. These women are being treated like they don’t belong to the world but in truth they’re the ones who are being relished by many men.
In conclusion, I believe that in In Susie Orbach’s, “Fat as a Feminist Issue” she argues that women who are fat are a disease. I totally disagree with her in saying that a woman being fat is not a world disease, obesity isn’t just a concern for women but it is for men and children as well and there are millions of people who get married and women don’t have to be thin in today’s society. Women must be able to live their lives the way they want too without having to meet some criteria that was created by our imagination. Men clearly don’t mind having a woman that is a bit overweight. It’s definitely not a disease because if it were then scientists would be trying to find a cure for it. Also a woman being obese does not only affect her it affects men and children as well. We have to pay attention to both men and children as well, especially children because they’re the future of our kind. If we can’t help them then we have no future and we will end up as a world where obesity will be part of our lives. If we don’t want this to be taking over who we are and what we are as people we obviously must do something about it. We can’t just go around putting women down for being obese. They’re the ones who are creating life and they’re the ones who ultimately will decide whether we change ourselves into becoming healthier people.
