IndexIntroductionBiological effects of obesity on the bodyBad cholesterol vs. good cholesterolIntroductionIn my opinion one of the most important, but somewhat overlooked, health crises facing society is facing today is that of obesity. I find that the problem of obesity has a profound impact worldwide and I am convinced that if abrupt measures are not implemented as soon as possible, the epidemic will undoubtedly spiral out of control on a global scale. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Of course, dissecting and finding a solution to such a challenging dilemma, such as that of obesity, is certainly not a simple task yet in my opinion It is absolutely possible to implement further actions to help put an end to this scourge. Just to underline the extent to which this dilemma has become a rapidly growing ultimatum, the World Health Organization (WHO) states: “in 1995, there were approximately 200 million obese adults worldwide and an additional 18 million children under five years old classified as overweight. In 2000, the number of obese adults increased to more than 300 million.” More extensive research suggests that “between 1975 and 2014, the number of people classified as obese increased from 105 million to 641 million,” and recent reports predict that by 2025 one-fifth of the world's population will be obese. Surprisingly, this indicates that even in the space of just 5 years, obesity rates have increased dramatically and continue to do so, suggesting that no substantial intervention has been taken to end this pandemic proliferation. Obesity constitutes a key risk for a number of life-threatening diseases, ranging from: “diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, and some forms of cancer. “Here is a list of the most obese countries showing that the United States also made the top 20: I seek to explore this issue as a worldwide study, using biology to analyze the health harms caused by obesity and the consumption of fatty foods , while also implementing economics to evaluate the effectiveness of a “fat tax” in addressing this problem, to narrow the scope of this assignment, I will specifically examine how Denmark initially attempted to impose a policy “fat tax” as a means to prevent obesity and reduce the negative externalities associated with the consumption of fatty foods. I will also examine what led Denmark to subsequently abandon this policy and why it ultimately failed distinct sources of secondary data such as online articles, reports, and even textbooks, and overall, I hope to potentially justify why government programs alone are potentially not enough to defeat this growing epidemic. Biological Effects of Obesity on the BodyObesity is caused by a combination of factors but is usually the result of consuming large amounts of fats and sugars on a daily basis. Lack of exercise and physical activity also play a role. The NHS recommends, on average, 2,500 calories a day for men and 2,000 calories for women to maintain a healthy weight. The NHS states that “eating a large takeaway burger, chips and a milkshake can total 1,500 calories”, making it frankly quite easy to exceed these dietary parameters. This explains why Danish government officials found it necessary to target fatty foods in particular with a tax, in order to quell high levels of obesity. How do we know fats are so badfor our health? There is various evidence to suggest that a high-fat diet promotes the development of obesity, as well as direct correlations between the amount of dietary fat and the degree of obesity. Beyond that, the importance of this relationship has been demonstrated through extensive research detailing how prepubescent black females supposedly consume more calories in the form of fat than white females. Further research has revealed that, interestingly enough, black adult females are heavier and have higher cardiovascular disease mortality rates than white females, while a culmination of animal studies has outlined how diets rich in Fats stimulate greater food intake and weight gain. compared to high-carbohydrate diets The role of dietary fat in obesity. Contrary to popular belief, not all fat is bad for you. In fact, the body needs a little fat for several reasons. First of all, it is a vital source of energy and also contributes to the absorption of vitamins/minerals. Beyond that, fat is needed to build and assemble the cell membranes and sheaths that surround the nerves. They are also important for blood clotting, muscle movement and inflammation. On one end there are the good fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats) while on the other end of the spectrum there are the bad ones (industrial-produced trans fats). Saturated fats are said to be somewhere in the middle. Furthermore, all fats have identical chemical structures with similar characteristics: a chain of carbon atoms bonded to hydrogen atoms. What distinguishes different fats is the length and shape of the carbon chain, as well as the ratio of hydrogens to carbons. These succinct contrasts in composition result in fats with different shapes and functions. It is universally accepted that the most dangerous fat is trans fat generated by the hydrogenation process. The process essentially makes healthy vegetable oils more similar to “not so healthy” saturated fats. Trans fats are often found primarily in solid margarines and vegetable fats, however, in today's modern society, these harmful substances appear in almost all food products, from commercial cookies and pastries to fast food french fries. The problem at hand arises from the fact that foods high in trans fats have been shown to increase levels of harmful LDL cholesterol and decrease the amount of beneficial HDL cholesterol within the body. Trans fats have also been shown to cause inflammation, which is particularly linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, etc. They are also a contributing factor to insulin resistance associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Studies state that “even small amounts of trans fats can harm your health: for every 2% of calories from fat trans consumed daily, the risk of heart disease increases by 23%. ”The worst part of this whole conundrum is that trans fats appear to have no known benefits to an individual's health and no safe levels of consumption. Danger of high levels of certain cholesterol levels. As I briefly mentioned above, the chances of an individual suffering from a number of various cardiovascular diseases can be drastically elevated due to excessive levels of certain cholesterol levels, leading to deadly diseases such as heart disease and stroke. The reason for this is because this type of cholesterol is known to lead to the formation of fatty deposits called plaques that build up inside the walls of blood vessels. Prolonged traumaresulting from this event will inevitably culminate in an alarming narrowing of the arteries, preventing the circulation of blood to the vital organs, namely the heart. Bad Cholesterol vs. Good Cholesterol Different types of cholesterol have a distinct composition of fats and proteins by which they are transported within your body. These fusions of fat and protein are commonly called lipoproteins. The cholesterol often responsible for diseases associated with obesity (often called “bad” cholesterol) is called low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The role of this particular arrangement of lipoproteins is to ship cholesterol from the liver to each of the cells within the body where the cholesterol is needed. However, if LDL levels in the blood exceed the required amount, this can lead to the appearance of fatty deposits in the arteries. At the opposite end of the spectrum we have high-density lipoproteins (HDL) which help cleanse the body of excess cholesterol levels, obtained by transporting cholesterol from body tissues to the liver. Cholesterol is then broken down by the liver and excreted from the body. Thanks to the fact that HDL has this practical ability to prevent cholesterol from building up dangerously inside blood vessels to lethal amounts, the risks of heart disease and stroke are somewhat alleviated. . This is why we call HDL “good” cholesterol. This suggests to me that evidently not all fats are harmful to health and therefore perhaps not all fatty foods should be subject to a tax. Economic Impact: Much of my intention with this essay was to examine how the worsening obesity problem could be addressed by implementing economic strategies. The economic approach I am referring to in particular is the introduction of a tax on fatty foods (fat tax). To demonstrate the potential effectiveness of such a policy, I will narrow the focus of this proposal to one particular nation: Denmark. The Danish national health and medicines authorities said that “47% of Danes are overweight and 13% are obese”. More recent surveys have revealed how the situation has significantly regressed with contemporary data indicating that “more than half of the Danish population is now overweight. Sundhedsstyrelsen (the Danish Health and Medicines Authority) claims that at the end of 2017 around “51% of Danes were slightly or severely overweight”. Denmark attempted to make a quantum leap in correcting this situation after appearing to be the first nation to initiate a fat tax in October 2011. The tax was applied to targeted goods such as: “butter, milk, cheese, pizza, meat, oil and processed foods if the item contains more than 2.3% saturated fat. "Danish administrators and representative officials hoped that this system would help limit public consumption of fatty foods. However, the Danish Ministry of Finance revealed in November 2012 that it would repeal the fat tax, attesting to the fact that it has been found wanting and ineffective in changing the consumption patterns of the Danish population. It apparently resulted in undesirable outcomes of cross-border trade, as well as creating instability regarding employment, putting several Danish jobs in serious jeopardy. Ultimately, the implementation of this move has been described as “a bureaucratic nightmare for producers and outlets. of the economy, this crisis is simply an exposition of market failure. Market failure is a concept that refers to the inability of the market economy to deliver successfully allocative efficiency, resulting in overallocation or underallocation.