Pick a theory of obesity

Theories of Obesity
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Institutional Affiliation
Theories of Obesity
Abstract
Society needs to acknowledge the increasing occurrence of obesity as a health crisis. Obesity is associated with severe medical conditions such as low heart rate which can later cause death. Moreover, obesity is linked to low-quality life and reduced, particularly in children. Despite the increased dangers of obesity, the incidence rates have been increasing over the years causing the public health officials to consider it as a health crisis. Current studies have strived to explore the various theories that explain the cause and solution of obesity. People have laid different theories about the causes of obesity. Some individuals associate obesity with the psychological and social factors. Others believe that people are responsible for maintaining a healthy weight. An investigation on the lay theories of obesity would help the policymakers to gain a better understanding of the causes of overweight and the probable measures to address the issue. The discussion explores the aspects of causal theories in explaining the causes and solutions for obesity.
Keywords: Obesity, Lay theories, causal theories, Overweight
People depend on the narrative structures like analogies and extended metaphors to comprehend the complex issues such as obesity. In our case, obesity is linked with seven narratives that capture the diverse casual beliefs about overweight (McFerran & Mukhopadhyay, 2013). First, obesity results from sinful behaviors from the Bible which requires one to maintain a healthy weight by making wise decisions about their diet.

Therefore, overweight is explained by the poor choices to consume foods such as ice cream, candies, and sweets (Sikorski et al., 2012). Also, overweight individuals do not make efforts to reduce their weight. Secondly, the addiction narrative explains that people get hooked to certain foods that they cannot quit easily. When individuals get hooked to certain foods such as fatty or sugary things, they tend to eat more of them (Niederdeppe et al., 2014). Thirdly, the society has laid the wrong message on what it takes for one to become attractive. As a result, people consume junkier foods to become attractive. Forth, overweight individuals are poorly treated by society because of their condition even if it came from their parents.
Fifth, people are surrounded by foods which are cheap and unhealthy. Therefore, people tend to eat more of the affordable foods while neglecting the healthy diet. Sixth, industrial manipulation has led to increased rates of obesity (Pearl & Lebowitz, 2014). Often, industries advertise junky foods making people forget about healthy foods. Lastly, people have put more focus on work rather than their health well-being. The above narratives indicate that an individual’s diet decision influences the occurrence of obesity. Furthermore, the industries have contributed significantly to the increased rates of overweight (Latner et al., 2014). Thus, people should make wise choices about the kind of foods that they consume. Besides, industries should only be allowed to advertise healthy foods to help reduce obesity.
It is evident that obesity is a health problem that needs to be solved to prevent severe effects and deaths. Causal theories can explain the causes and solutions of obesity. Therefore, people should adopt measures that help curb the causes of overweight instead of blaming themselves. These measures include making wise choices about the food they consume.
References
Latner, J. D., Puhl, R. M., Murakami, J. M., & O’Brien, K. S. (2014). Food addiction as a causal model of obesity. Effects on stigma, blame, and perceived psychopathology. Appetite, 77, 79-84.
McFerran, B., & Mukhopadhyay, A. (2013). Lay theories of obesity predict actual body mass. Psychological Science, 24(8), 1428-1436.
Niederdeppe, J., Shapiro, M. A., Kim, H. K., Bartolo, D., & Porticella, N. (2014). Narrative persuasion, causality, complex integration, and support for obesity policy. Health Communication, 29(5), 431-444.
Pearl, R. L., & Lebowitz, M. S. (2014). Beyond personal responsibility: effects of causal attributions for overweight and obesity on weight-related beliefs, stigma, and policy support. Psychology & health, 29(10), 1176-1191.
Sikorski, C., Luppa, M., Brähler, E., König, H. H., & Riedel-Heller, S. G. (2012). Obese children, adults and senior citizens in the eyes of the general public: results of a representative study on stigma and causation of obesity. PloS one, 7(10), e46924.