Nowadays, the rate of overweight people is increasing at an unprecedented speed. The main cause can be seen in a more sedentary lifestyle, and this issue can result in significant damage to the mental health of these individuals.
Firstly, a more sedentary lifestyle can be considered the primary reason for an increase in the number of obese persons. People are using less physical power to earn money in comparison to the past. As a consequence, they are becoming less physically active, which is leading to a rising amount of fat in their bodies. This change in lifestyle is happening due to recent advancements in technology and automation. In particular, the proportion of people who do not even need to go out of their homes to earn money is growing daily. Another reason can be seen in the automation of some routine tasks in humans’ everyday lives. Things such as paying bills, shopping, and buying food can be done in minutes using computers or even smartphones. As a result, the need for bodily action is reducing more and more, which blocks fat burning in the human organism. To show an example, a recent study by Harvard University can be observed. The study revealed that a considerable amount of the population became less physically active by almost four times in comparison to 10 years before.
On the other hand, this problem can badly affect people’s mental health. People with excess weight tend to be more concerned about their appearance, which often results in anxiety or even depression. It also impacts the overall level of life satisfaction of these individuals. Society can be damaged if there are a lot of depressed or unsatisfied people. In particular, persons with a low level of self-satisfaction are more likely to be angry or in a bad mood, which may lead to unwanted situations between members of society, such as an argument or even a fight. For instance, research conducted in 2020 in the UK by a health organization shows that overweight individuals tend to be more aggressive and harmful to society than those with better physical conditions.
In conclusion, the recent rise in the number of people with excess weight is happening due to an inactive lifestyle and has a bad effect on overweight people’s mental well-being.