The Sociological Imagination – Obesity in United States

Obesity has become a large and dark reality in United States. For someone who does not have sociological imagination being overweight is the result of bad personal choices or genetic predisposition. Being overweight might have been the result of past individual struggles that were caused by wrong individual decision-making or behavior. For those who get the interplay of the heart of sociological imagination this is a complex social issue that is the result of patterns of modern economic and social life. Obesity’s effect in society can be seeing in the number of life-long and potentially life-threatening diseases and conditions, like high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. People who get sociological imagination would most likely blame how the increase in these diseases put pressure on the health care system in the United States; thus, causing the taxation of already overcrowded hospitals and overworked health care professionals. They might also think that the impact on obesity is linked to diseases that contribute to early death and create an economic burden. A sociological imagination might blame these to the public policies that contribute to the problem are restaurant industries that serve inexpensive and easy-access foods with high calories and low nutrition. A demographer is someone who statistically studies the human population. According to Dr. Crosnoe, in order to compare different populations, we need national or international data. As a demographer, I want to find out the rate of obesity in each state, what ethnicity and race has the highest obesity rate, and the lifespan in United States. I would survey the human population in the United Sates to find the characteristics of the population in obesity. According to CDC report, non-Hispanic black is at 36. 8% and Hispanics is at 30. 7%. Thus, a demographer might hypothesizes that family influence is the causes of obesity. Too often Americans eat out; consume large meals and high-fat foods, and put taste and convenience ahead of nutrition. I can use this survey to rank racial groups in the United States. I can look at the trend of lifestyle behaviors such as what a person eats and his or her level of physical activity. Obesity continues to be a major health problem in the United States, leading to high rates of mortality. A historical sociologist is someone who studies trends across time using historical data. As a historical sociologist I want to know the factors that causes obesity, change in lifestyle. As a historical sociologist might hypothesizes that technology changes affect the obesity rate to go up since the 80s. I can look at how technology has made our lives easier and at the same time, made people lazy. For example, today, more people drive long distances to work instead of walking, live in neighborhoods without sidewalks, tend to eat out or get take out instead of cooking, or have vending machines with high-calorie, high-fat snacks at their workplace. Health-care providers must pay closer attention to obesity, and importantly, do their part to prevent obesity by focusing on children and adolescents who are only slightly or moderately overweight.