Source Selections Week 8

Shirley Courson
Research in the 21st Century
Sources Selections


Reference:

"Obesity." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 5 Feb. 2008

This article does not name the author so I do not know of his or her authority or background. This article if very useful because it defines obesity by explaining the difference between overweight and obese. Another aspect of this article is the information about all the different causes of obesity. The article mentions everything from thyroid problems to simply eating more calories then you burn. The article talks about the diseases and health effects of obesity such as diabetes and heart disease. The article also discusses some of the treatments for obesity such as, “removal of the causative factors…” and “…removal of surplus fat by reducing food intake.” This article is missing something however. It is not engaging and does not input any emotion into the wording. It would be useful for research on the topic just not as interesting to read as it could be.


Allison, David, et al. “Annual deaths attributed to obesity in the United States.” The Journal of the American Medical Association 282.16 (1999) 1530-1538 American Medical Association. 26 Feb. 2008.



This article is authored by several doctors. It seems to me that doctors would have the ultimate authority on the subject of the adverse health effects of obesity. This article is actually the details of a study. There are many credible affiliates listed in this article such as, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. There are many numbers and statistics in this article that clearly give evidence that obesity will most likely lead to an early death.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Rd
Atlanta GA 30333
(800) 311-3435

The Obesity Society
8630 Fenton St.
Suite 918
Silver Spring MD 20910
(301) 563 6526

Statistical Source

“Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Adults.” National Center for Health Statistics. 30 Jan. 2007. Center for Disease Control. 25 Feb. 2008


Books

Kaufman, Francine R. Diabesity: The Obesity –Diabetes Epidemic That Threatens America-And What We Must Do to Stop It. New York: Bantam Dell, 2005.

The author of the book is a doctor and was once the president of the American Diabetes Association. She is a professor of pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. She is the head of the Center for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. It appears to me that Dr. Kaufman is an authority on this subject and should be taken seriously. The book includes stories from people who suffer from diabetes including children and the author’s grandma. The book discusses the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and how obesity relates to Type 2. It talks about living with and fighting against diabetes. The struggles and side effects of the disease are fully described. She also talks about how we got to this point in this country. She points out how Diabetes has nearly doubled in the United States in the past 10 years. I think this book will be a useful resource in my research of this topic.

Critser, Greg. Fat Land. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.

The author of the book, Greg Critser, is a regular contributor to USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, and Harpers Magazine. He goes into great detail and does extensive research into the causes and effects of obesity. In this book Critser points out that 60% of Americans are overweight and the Americans are the second fattest people in the world, next to South Sea Islanders. He discusses new research being done to discover how the ingredients we are eating are causing most of this damage. Most of the processed foods in America contain the worst fats we could eat, hydrogenated, because they are cheap to use. Worse then refined white sugar is high fructose corn syrup, also being used because it is cheap. It takes far less high fructose corn syrup to get the same sweetness as sugar. Critser investigates popular diets like Atkins Diets to help the reader understand why they do not work. This book will be useful for my project because the information and statistics are written in such a way that is understandable

Periodicals:

Nora D Volkow, Charles P O’Brien. “Issues for DSM-V: Should Obesity Be Included as a Brain Disorder?”
The American Journal of Psychiatry 164.5 (2007): 708-10. Research Library Core. ProQuest Information and Learning Company. Seattle Central Community College Lib., 13 Feb. 2008


The publisher of this article is the American Journal of Psychiatry. I would consider this a credible source on my subject. This article gives information for both sides of including obesity as a brain disorder. First the article discusses how obesity has greatly increased, to 32.2% of Americans, over the past 30 years. According to this article the DSM-V considers anorexia and bulimia brain disorders but not obesity. Obesity can be just as devastating and psychologically damaging as any other brain disorder. The addiction to food consumption is comparable in some to drug addiction.

Chuter, Robyn. “An Avoidable ‘Epidemic’ Diabetes Type-2” National Health & Vegetarian Life. (2007) 26-29. Alt HealthWatch., EBSCO Host Research Databases. Walla Walla Community College Lib., 14 Feb. 2008 http://ezproxy.wwcc.edu:2063/ehost/pdf?vid=6&hid=9&sid=408c8828-bcd2-4505-897b-bfe546efae6a%40sessionmgr3


This article states that diabetes has more than doubled since 1981. The effects of diabetes, blindness, kidney disease, amputation of limbs, impotence, gangrene, stroke and heart attack, are discussed in detail. The most important information discussed it the main cause of Type-2 Diabetes and the reasons it is a preventable epidemic. Obesity is the #1 cause of Type-2 Diabetes. Where you carry your fat, around the waist is the worst, also has an effect on whether you will get Type-2 Diabetes.


“Obesity Doubles Risk of Colon Cancer in Women.” Environmental Nutrition. 30.12 (2007): 1. Alt HealthWatch., EBSCO Host Research Databases. Walla Walla Community College Lib., 14 Feb. 2008 http://ezproxy.wwcc.edu:2063/ehost/pdf?vid=4&hid=107&sid=408c8828-bcd2-4505-897b-bfe546efae6a%40sessionmgr3

According to this article women twice as likely to develop colon cancer if they are obese then if they are of a healthy weight. Obesity gives women a greater risk of colon cancer then age, smoking, and family history. The study was done at the Stony Brook University Medical Center in New York.


Web Sites

“Do You Know the Health Risks of Being Overweight?” Weight Control Information Network Dec. 2004. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 17 Feb. 2008

The website for Weight Control Information Network is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as well as the National Institutes of Health. The information provided is all about the definition, cause, health effects, and cures for obesity. The way the information is formatted is very easy to for an average person to understand. You do not have to be in the medical field to benefit from the information this site provides but it also does not imply the reader is an idiot. The site also includes a site that helps you calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI), which is used to determine if you are obese or just overweight.



Wallace, James; Schulte, William; Nakeeb, Attila; Andris, Deborah. “Health Problems Related to Severe Obesity” HealthLink Medical College of Wisconsin 12 March 2001. Medical College of Wisconsin. 17 Feb. 2008
< http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/984434798.html>


The website for the Medical College of Wisconsin contains a large amount of medical information. This site will contribute to my pathfinder because it is accredited and trustworthy. I would not hesitate in recommending it to others reading my project. The site is created and authored by doctors and students that show authority and knowledge of the information they provide. This site also has links to find a doctor and request an appointment.

Alternative Source

Seinfeld, Keith “Nutrition Labels on Restaurant Menus.” KPLU NewsRoom 02 May 2007. KPLU. 25 Feb. 2008


This is a news radio station. The purpose of this particular installment is to inform the public of the law possibly going into effect in Pierce County that will require restaurants to include nutrition information on their menus. Keith Seinfeld is a health and science reporter for KPLU. This gives him the authority to report on this subject. The installment includes both sides of the issue. Seinfeld reports on this subject in an unbiased manner. A public health manager speaks on the reasons the information on a menu would be good. Seinfeld points out that sometimes the high calorie dishes are not the ones you would expect. Some restaurants in King County have tried putting all this information on the menu and it only led to customer confusion. The solution for them has been to have separate menus. The menu with the nutrition information would be available upon request. The reason this information would be helpful to my project is because it provides one of the weapons we can use to fight obesity.