Table of contentsIntroductionBiological effects of obesity on the bodyBad cholesterol vs. good cholesterolIntroductionIn my opinion, one of the most significant health crises, but somewhat neglected, that society faces today has to be that of obesity. I find that the problem of obesity has a profound impact on a global scale and I am convinced that if abrupt measures are not implemented as soon as possible, this 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 should not be banned”? Get an original essay Of course, dissecting and finding a solution to such a demanding dilemma, like that of obesity, is certainly not yet a simple task in my opinion. additional steps can absolutely be taken to help put an end to this scourge. Just to highlight how 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 18 million children under the age of five classified as overweight. Since 2000, the number of obese adults has increased to more than 300 million. Further 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, a fifth of the world's population will be obese . Surprisingly, this indicates that even within five years, obesity rates have increased significantly and continue to do so, suggesting that no real, substantial interventions have been adopted to end this pandemic proliferating. Obesity poses a major risk for a range of life-threatening diseases, ranging from diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, as well as some forms of cancer. "Here is a list of the most obese countries, showing that even the United States made it into the top 20: I am working to explore this question in global studies, using biology to analyze the damage to health caused by obesity and the consumption of fatty foods while implementing economics to evaluate the effectiveness of a "fat tax" in solving this problem. To refine the scope of this mission, I. I will specifically examine how Denmark initially attempted to implement a "fat tax" policy as a means of preventing obesity and reducing the negative externalities associated with the consumption of fatty foods. who led Denmark to abandon this policy and why it ultimately failed I will incorporate the use of various separate sources of secondary data such as online articles, reports and even textbooks and overall. I hope to potentially justify why government programs alone are not enough to defeat this growing epidemic. Biological effects of obesity on the body is caused by a combination of factors but generally results from consuming large amounts of fats and sugars daily. Lack of exercise and physical activity also play a role. The NHS recommends an average of 2,500 calories per day for men and 2,000 calories for women to maintain a healthy weight. The NHS says that "eating a large takeaway burger, fries and a milkshake can total 1,500 calories", which frankly makes it quite easy to exceed these dietary parameters. This explains why those responsible forDanish government found it necessary to target fatty foods in particular with a tax, in order to reduce their high levels of obesity. How do we know that fats are so bad for our health? There is various evidence suggesting that a high-fat diet promotes the development of obesity as well as a direct correlation between the amount of dietary fat and the degree of obesity. Additionally, the importance of this relationship has been demonstrated through extensive research detailing how prepubescent black women reportedly consume more calories in the form of fat than white women. Further research revealed that, interestingly, black adult females are heavier and have higher cardiovascular disease mortality rates than white females, while the culmination of animal studies highlighted the how high-fat diets lead to greater food consumption and weight gain. than compared to high-carbohydrate diets. The role of dietary fat in obesity. Contrary to popular belief, not all fats are bad for your health. In fact, the body needs fat for different reasons. Firstly, it is a vital source of energy and also aids in the absorption of vitamins/minerals. Additionally, fat is necessary for the construction and assembly of cell membranes and sheaths surrounding nerves. They are also important for blood clotting, muscle movement and inflammation. On one side, there are the good fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats) while on the other side, there are the bad ones (industrially manufactured trans fats). Saturated fats are said to fall somewhere in the middle. Furthermore, all fats have identical chemical structures with similar characteristics: a chain of carbon atoms linked to hydrogen atoms. What distinguishes different fats is the length and shape of the carbon chain as well as the hydrogen/carbon ratio. These brief contrasts in composition establish fats with different shapes and functions. It is universally recognized that the most dangerous fats are trans fats which are generated by the hydrogenation process. The process essentially makes healthy vegetable oils more like “less healthy” saturated fats. Trans fats were often found primarily in solid margarines and vegetable shortenings. However, in today's modern society, these harmful substances appear in almost all food products "from commercial cookies and pastries to fast food fries." “The problem is that foods high in trans fats have been shown to increase levels of harmful LDL cholesterol and decrease amounts of beneficial HDL cholesterol in the body. Trans fats have also been shown to cause inflammation, particularly linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and more. They are also a contributing factor to insulin resistance associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Studies claim that "even small amounts of trans fats can harm your health: for every 2% of calories from trans fats 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 consumption level presents the dangers associated with high levels of certain cholesterols. As I briefly mentioned above, the risks of an individual suffering from variousCardiovascular disease can be significantly increased due to excessive levels of certain cholesterols, leading to life-threatening illnesses such as heart disease and stroke. The reason is that this type of cholesterol is known to lead to the formation of fatty deposits called plaques that build up inside the walls of your blood vessels. Prolonged trauma resulting from this event will inevitably result in alarming constriction of the arteries, preventing the flow of blood to vital organs, namely the heart. Bad Cholesterol and Good Cholesterol Different types of cholesterol have a distinct composition of fats and proteins by which they are transported. within your body. These amalgams of fats and proteins are commonly called lipoproteins. The cholesterol commonly responsible for the disabilities associated with obesity (often called "bad" cholesterol) is called low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The role of this particular arrangement of lipoproteins is to carry cholesterol from your liver to each of the cells in the body where the cholesterol is needed. However, if LDL levels in your blood exceed the necessary amount, it can lead to the emergence of fatty deposits in your arteries. On the other end of the spectrum, we have high-density lipoproteins (HDL) which help cleanse the body of excess cholesterol levels, achieved by transporting cholesterol from your body tissues to your liver. The cholesterol is then broken down by the liver and expelled out of the body. Since HDL has this handy ability to prevent cholesterol from dangerously building up in your blood vessels to lethal amounts, your risks of heart disease and stroke are somewhat mitigated. . This is why we call HDL “good” cholesterol. This suggests to me that, obviously, not all fats are harmful to health and so perhaps not all fatty foods should be targeted for a tax. Economic Impact: A large part of my intentions with this essay was to examine how this growing problem of obesity could be addressed by implementing economic strategies. The economic approach to which I am referring in particular is the introduction of a tax on fatty foods (fat tax). To demonstrate the potential effectiveness of such a policy, I will limit this proposal to one particular country: Denmark. The Danish national health and medicines authorities have claimed that "47 percent of Danes are overweight and 13 percent are obese." More recent polls have revealed how far the situation has regressed with contemporary figures indicating that "more than half of the Danish population is now overweight." "Sundhedsstyrelsen (the Danish Health and Medicines Authority) says that at the end of 2017, around "51 percent of Danes were slightly to seriously overweight." Denmark has been working to make a giant step to remedy this predicament after appearing to be the first country to launch a fat tax in October 2011. The tax was administered on targeted products such as: "butter, milk, cheese, pizza, meat, oil and processed foods if the item contains more than 2.3% saturated fat “Danish administrators and officials aspired that this system would help restrict public consumption of food. fat Nevertheless, the Danish Tax Ministry revealed in November 2012 that it would repeal the fat tax, attesting to the fact that it has proven to be deficient and ineffective in changing the way people pay...