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Essay about Obesity in America

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Obesity is defined as a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduce life expectancy and/or increased health problems. “The problem of obesity is increasing in the United States. Understanding the impact of social inequalities on health has become a public health priority in the new millennium. Social, political, and economic factors now are acknowledged to be "fundamental" causes of disease that affect behavior, beliefs, and biology.” (Goodman, 2003) In the United States today, obesity has become an enormous problem. In the last 3 decades, the number of people overweight has increased dramatically. Obesity has not always been seen as a medical …show more content…

The same interviewer conducted all the interviews and he adopted a consistent approach in attitude and to questions. The guide served as the researcher's checklist, meaning that he looked through it when interviewing to make sure the topics in the guide was covered in the interview. The participants did not receive the exact same questions but all were asked about the same topics, e.g., if the participant was freely talking, only a few questions within the topics were necessary, while more questions were asked if the interviewee needed more guidance on a given subject. Questions were always asked openly, and adjusted to the specific interview. Transcripts and field notes from observations were used equally in the analysis and both types of information are referred to as “data”. Although field observations compared to interviews could be interpreted as of lesser importance in the analyses, such data is of great value as it in many ways serve as the basis for the questions asked in the interview. For example, based on the field observations, the researcher could ask about a given observed behavior or relate a participant's answer to an observed behavior. All applicable institutional and governmental regulations concerning the ethical use of human volunteers were followed during this research. All participants were informed orally and in writing about the study, including the purpose of the study, the methods used (i.e., interviews, observations with field

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