Dear Congressman Rogers,
The issue of obesity is one of the most urgent problems in the US since it has affected all the states without exception. According to statistics, every second adult citizen of the country and every sixth child suffers from being overweight. It is necessary to emphasize that the priority of addressing this particular issue lies in its magnitude. The prevalence of this condition has reached the level of the epidemic (Bellisari, 2016). Moreover, healthcare experts stress that over the next five years, it is expected that the percentage of the population suffering from obesity will increase further.
At present, the government has developed a number of strategies to combat obesity under the guidance of leading healthcare organizations. The measures to resolve this problem include raising prices of potentially harmful products, special communication policies, the use of information labels placed on products, and engagement of mass media and social networks to increase public awareness of the current problem and the ways to resolve it (Trust for America’s Health, 2017).
However, these measures do not bring the necessary results. A severe form of obesity (in which the body mass index reaches 40 points and above) occurs in almost 11% of Americans (Trust for America’s Health, 2017). In this regard, the interest and involvement of the country and state leaders are essential for making a drastic change in the setting.
The purpose of this memo is to ask for your personal leadership on this urgent issue. Health legislation has already been initiated, and it requires supervision from the side of active leaders who are not indifferent to the well-being of the American people. Your leadership on this problem will help in raising the awareness of citizens about the dangers of obesity. Notably, Alabama is the third state with the highest obesity rates (“The state of obesity in Alabama,” n.d.).
Therefore, the supervision of leaders is a prerequisite for success in such a complex setting. Your participation in public events and occurrences that promote healthier practices will contribute greatly to raising the awareness of people regarding the issue (Bellisari, 2016). In addition, your social media accounts are quite popular; therefore, the use of social platforms can also help to attract the attention of the younger generations who are strongly affected by obesity as well.
In one of the debates, you have mentioned that health recommendations to combat obesity are not based on sufficient evidence (“Dietary guidelines,” 2015). Your statement is strongly supported by the statistics, which indicate that a particular diet is prescribed for the majority of Americans who are overweight. However, few people succeed in resolving the problem. According to experts, 3% of patients can lose weight using the common practices while the rest of the patients should undergo a gastrectomy (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2014).
In addition to the fact that the existing strategies do not bring positive results, the annual cost of medical care associated with obesity is reaching 150 billion USD, which greatly affects the federal budget (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). Your constructive critical approach to the current practices makes you, Mr. Rogers, the right person to advocate for the issue.
Thus, resolving the problem of obesity is the top priority of every state, and I ask for your leadership on this issue since you are a person with a critical approach to the current regulations and health recommendations.
References
Bellisari, A. (2016). The anthropology of obesity in the United States. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Adult obesity facts. Web.
Dietary guidelines. (2015). Web.
Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K., & Flegal, K. M. (2014). Prevalence of childhood and adult obesity in the United States, 2011-2012. JAMA, 311(8), 806-814.
The state of obesity in Alabama. (n.d.). Web.
Trust for America’s Health. (2017). The state of obesity: Better policies for a healthier America. Web.