Free Essay On Obesity: An Issue Facing America

The study by Joseph A. Skelton aims to reestablish and validate the prevalence and trends of severe obesity in American population. The study was conducted to gauge the severity of Obesity in US with respect to the latest standards. It claimed the ‘determination of the extent to which the 2007 definitions of severe and morbid obesity affects different groups of American Children and Adolescents’ to be its primary objective (Skelton, 2007). It analyzed data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys conducted over 1976-1980 (NHAES ||), 1988-1194 (NHAES |||) and 1999-2004 (NHAES) as the primary tools to come up with its own results.
The study came up with some very important results with respect to the problem of Obesity in US. The study supported and backed the findings of NHAES that higher prevalence of morbid and severe obesity was observed in Black and Mexican-American youth and among youth of lower income group when it concluded that, ‘The mismatch of need and services and services is greatest among poor and among children in minority groups, who have both the highest severe obesity rates and the greatest difficulty accessing healthcare (Skelton, 2007).’The study put the figure of American children with a very high BMI at a staggering 2.7 Million highlighting the gravity of the issue. To make the matters worse, it claimed that over 400,000 adolescents might meet the criteria for bariatric surgery. The author also believes that the situation is worsened by unavailability of specialized care required for the problem and he warranted this by claiming that, ‘Specialized clinical and behavioral services appropriate for severely obese may be unavailable or may not be covered by medical insurance (Skelton, 2007).’ Overall the author painted a dark picture and demanded some strict policies and plans to fight the menace affecting the youth of America.

Works Cited

Skelton, Joseph A., M.D., et al. "Prevalence and Trends of Severe Obesity among US Children
and Adolescents." Academic Pediatrics 9.5 (2009): 322-9. ProQuest Research
Library. Web. 5 April 2013.