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Andrea Hernandez

Mrs. Farrier

English 11th

18 April 2016

The difference a government could do in a grand concern: Obesity in Mexico

Obesity is one of the greatest and most well known current issues around the world. The

Medline Plus defines obesity as the state of a person who has an excessive amount of body fat

which goes past being overweight. This is a result of having consumed more calories than

required, eating immoderate amounts of fat foods, as well not doing physical activity, and it

could be found in the persons genetic makeup (U.S National Library of Medicine). Not only are

there different reasons why obesity happens but there are many consequences of it too, this is

why there has to be something done about it. At the top of a chart made by Ramon Martinez for

the World Health Organization the percentage of obese population in countries, Mexico is found

in the 18th place with a percentage of 69.3. It is right below the top countries which are small

island nations in the Pacific and above the U.S (The Washington Post). Obesity which is a major

problem in Mexico has a negative effect on people, and even though there are thing being done

about it, the government should help more.

People who are obese do not always know all the consequences from having so much

overweight. They can develop health conditions like heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, bone and

joint disease etc. (Kopelman 365). These diseases are life changing and could even get to be a

cause of death for obese people. Again sometimes they do not realize how bad things can get for

not taking care of their body like they should. Heart diseases and type 2 diabetes can happens

because of a bad alimentation, making the person have uncontrolled blood pressures either high
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or low or rates of sugar in the blood. Sugar is many times prohibited for people with these

sicknesses and to some it helps the person change their way of living but not for all of them.

Joint diseases affect obese people because of the body weight they have to be supporting all day.

Apart from having heath issues they also have the chance to develop psychological problems

like depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem (Puhl 27). Depression can come from judging

themselves for being the way they are or because other people do it. A study showed obesity in

women was associated with a 37 percent increase in major depression

(http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/obesity.aspx). The anxiety they have is a factor that can

contribute with depression for not being able to stop eating when they are full. Or not being able

to eat other than unhealthy foods in order to do whats right and help themselves. It makes sense

why having no control over themselves would make them frustrated but as well why it is a hard

task to fulfill. Lifestyles are something hard to change and food can certainly become an

obsession more than a needful thing to survive. These people just have to be taught and learn to

enjoy healthy foods. Low self-steem comes from obese people not liking the way they look and

it could be the way they look at themselves or they have comments said to them. It is tough for

many people to feel attractive when they are in this situation. This affects the way they socialize

because of how people act with them or having a hard time getting a date.

People can suffer from social problems like prejudice, discrimination, and being bullied or

treated badly (http://spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/content/16/4/245.full). Obese people are

prejudice for the reason that other people are prejudice to which is a common believes of all

certain type of people. There are many jokes out there people make about chubby people, it is

seen on TV shows or movies to. At times they are seeing as mean/bullies, they are suppose to be

funny, or some of them are seen as dumb and slow to think. The discrimination they receive
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could be joined to the prejudice. Some people could dislike their physical aspect without

believing anything about their personality. Here is when this goes to another extent and they are

not being excluded but mistreated. Weight is a common topic to pick on and the jokes being

made help in fulfilling this idea. At times obese are the outcasts because others make them or

they decide to be. When people dislike them, they make the obese separate from the other people

and they become an easy target to be hurt psychologically socially.

Obese people do not stop there just having an effect on them but they go on affecting other

people. For those who are parents they have the power to set an example to their children and are

capable of making a whole generation of unhealthy people. It could all possibly just start with

one person that teaches the rest that eating foods with lots of fat and not doing exercise, then

after there is a full generation of people with heart diseases and type 2 diabetes. They could

believe thats what is ereditary but someone has to go to them and explain where the problem is

starting. The government than has to use part of their health care money on trying to help them

stay alive with the sicknesses they have developed for being obese. Potentially a part is also used

to help obese people be in general health and even though that money is not going to waist.

There is a technically positive effect on obese people towards others but it doesnt lead to

something positive. This effect is on fast or fattening food companies and for them to sell more

and become even more popular is a nice sounding idea. It is a shame for this people to have the

power to evade all this bad things. If only someone would offer them help to solve their situation

and show them the consequences they have from being obese. The government has a lot of

power over the people and hopefully also a desire to help where it is obviously needed.
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A thought that comes to mind is why it is so popular in Mexico to be obese. It has been stated

how obesity happens when having a bad diet and lack of exercise. The lack of physical activity

could be coming from the way they have seen their families lived for years. Many of the

situations Mexicans are in like having a schedule with barely any time to eat at times this comes

with the bad diet too. Companies or many bosses dont care about the health situation of their

workers. They just care about the profit they port to making and for them to be working as much

as they can. In the diet area this means they could have a few time to just buy some fast food or

if they are given a cafeteria they do not think about what is going to be good for them but just

what is the cheapest to offer. Back to the diet if it is not a costume in the family then it is in the

whole country either way. Traditional food like tacos and tortas are popularly done with high

amounts of fat in them. They are found not only in every malls food court but in the streets, it is

the easiest thing to find a stand of this delicious yet collaborating in weight gaining foods.

Drinks are also involved with diets and lets just say Mexicans dont only drink water.

There is a study done that rated Mexicans as the nationality that drinks more Coca Cola, to be

almost exact 225 liters (60 gallons) per person per year. There are many places in street stations

or small stores of food where the only thing they have to offer is soft drinks. At times if they do

have water to offer then sometimes soft drinkers are cheaper than pure water so that is another

excuse for them to consume more calories than necessary. Alcoholic drinks are also really

popular and many times Mexicans are open about having them often. To drink one beer or even

more per day can be seen as something normal but greatly unhealthy. Commonly also tequila and

other alcoholic drinks where calories are high and unnecessary are popularly consumed at least

once a week in family reunions or festivals.

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Mexicos government has not completely ignored this situation and has been doing some

things to help obese people. A sugar tax was given to the people in order to promote them into

not buying fattening or sweeten foods. It was during 2014 when a 10 per tax was added on sugar

sweetened drinks. This cut the sales of the drinks by 12 per cent already through one year of

bringing it in the country and the average person purchased 4.2 fewer liters of sweet drinks

(British Medical Journal). It was smart for the government to help out people and take away

the excuse of having the unhealthy drink cheaper than the helpful pure water.

The government of Mexico is well informed about apart from needing a good diet to lose

weight there is the factor of physical activity. There where thirty exercise machines installed in

January of 2015 at different metro stations. The way it works is by giving a free ticket to

transport in exchange of doing ten squats. Normally they have five million users daily but not all

of them are obese even when they are there for the purpose of helping obese people

(http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-27/mexico-city-offers-free-metro-tickets-in-exchange-for-

squats/6048588). There is another physical activity promoter apart from this machines but it is

only found in Mexico City. It is a campaign named Muvete y Mtete en Cintura which is

brought by the governments health association. Their goal is to inform on healthy eating and

promote exercise to have a healthy lifestyle since 2008. The way they work is going to public

parks yet mainly staying one that is said to have and strategically location only on weekends.

There they offer the services of nutritionist and some specialized people who have the job to

measure the citizens corporal mass index in other words their height and weight balance. The

next step is to inform them on their health situation, what their weight is suppose to be, and what

nutritional plan can they fallow in order to reach their goal. This is offered to Mexicans of all

ages but it is brought only to the citizens in Mexico City, the capital.
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(http://www.noalaobesidad.df.gob.mx/index.php?

option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=55)