Ending Obesity
- Chase Eckert
- May 4
- 5 min read
Ending Obesity
Chase Eckert
English 1302
Professor Hammett
March 6, 2026
Ending Obesity
Obesity is arguably one of the worst and most overlooked social epidemics of today. According to The Urban Institute, “more than 4 in 10 adults in the US are affected by obesity” (Waidmaan, 2025, p.1 ). Obesity is not only limited to adults; while it may be harder to become obese, teenagers and children can still suffer from this epidemic. It is very likely that obese people feel that there is no way out of the struggle. That potential belief is far from the truth. Eating less calories than you burn in a day (caloric deficit) is one of the many ways to lose weight. Also, medicine is getting better and better for obese people by the year. Ozempic is a very popular medical treatment to lose weight. Another treatment option for obesity is the gastric bypass surgery; however, surgeries can potentially be more harmful than helpful. The proper ways to end obesity come from cutting and tracking calories, Ozempic, and staying away from surgical options.
Calories are the basic energy unit for humans. Two methods for cutting calories are time restrictive eating (TRE) and calorie restriction (CR). Annals of Internal Medicine found in a study that “[t]ime-restricted eating is more effective in producing weight loss when compared with control but not more effective than CR in a racially diverse population” (Lin, 2023). Time restrictive eating allows for more calories to be consumed in a day by a person losing weight. However, you can only eat for a certain amount of time per day. In the study mentioned above, the time limit was 12:00 pm to 8 pm each day for 12 months. Calorie restriction, on the other hand allows, for eating at any time during the day as long as you’re consuming fewer calories. Both are valid ways of losing weight. Calorie restriction seems to be more popular in the world today, most likely due to its simplicity. TRE forces your body into truly using all the calories you consumed during those 8 hours. Realistically, less people would probably choose this option when it comes to losing weight due to people often getting hungry during the day. Additionally, eating three meals a day has been the standard for a long time, and TRE pretty much limits you to about two full meals a day. Working out also allows for more calories to be burned a day. This is because physical activity causes your body to be more stressed; therefore, more calories are needed to complete the activity. If a caloric deficit fails to help you, Ozempic can be the solution you need.
Ozempic is a great option for those seeking a quicker way of losing weight. As the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) informs us in their article ‘Patient Perceptions of Ozempic (Semaglutide) for Weight Loss: Mixed Methods Analysis of Online Medication Reviews’, “Ozempic (semaglutide) has received widespread attention for its appetite-suppressing effects, leading to extensive off-label use for weight loss” (Armanious, 2026). Many people can get tempted to overeat while on a diet. Ozempic is an easy solution if this is one of your struggles. According to JMIR, Ozempic works because it “delays gastric emptying and influences appetite-regulating neural pathways, increasing satiety and reducing food intake in some individuals” (P.2). What they mean when they say ‘delays gastric emptying’ is that the food you eat stays in your stomach longer, thus making you feel full for longer. This can easily lead to you not feeling hungry between meals while still allowing you to still get all of your three meals per day.
How much weight can you expect to lose on Ozempic? Laura Schmidt's work ‘The Ozempic Era Could Shift Blame for Obesity From Individuals to Commercial Food Systems’ answers this question when talking about all semaglutide medicines by claiming that “[t]rials suggest patients taking these medicines lose around 10–20% of their body weight, though numbers vary considerably across trials and individuals.” (Schmidt 2025). To put that number into perspective, a person weighing 300 pounds on Ozempic can expect to lose on the low side 30 pounds and upwards of 60 pounds on the high side. This could be life changing for many obese individuals. Ozempic allows for an easier way to lose a substantial amount of weight. This is great for very obese people that are struggling to get started on their weight loss journey.
A common argument against for the best way to lose weight may be to have bariatric surgery. All that means is a surgery to help lose weight. The study, ‘Self-worth and developmental outcomes in young adults after pediatric bariatric surgery’ stated that “[b]ariatric surgery has emerged as a safe/effective treatment for adolescents with severe obesity” (Reiter-Purtill, 2025). This could easily be a common misconception. The surgery does work when it comes to losing weight, but the stomach being cut in half can potentially lead to serious mental side effects. In this study they found that self-worth spikes after surgery and then tapers off as time goes by, as demonstrated by the graph labeled ‘Aims 1 and 2: Change in Global Self-Worth and Group Comparisons of Young Adult Outcomes’. This was especially true in the very obese people with their self worth falling off the most. Mental health is important and can easily be overlooked. It is best to stay away from surgeries in order to preserve your mental health.
Obesity is a worldwide problem with many solutions advertised to you all over the internet, so it is important to know which ones work and which ones don’t. The simplest way to lose weight is calorie reduction and increasing exercise. Ozempic can help you keep these goals by reducing your food craving. However, when it comes to surgeries it is best to stay clear of those to not alter your mental health. Reducing your calorie intake will always be best when it comes to weight loss. Ozempic allows you to not eat as much and may increase your ability to lose weight quickly and keep it off. Surgeries are best avoided due to their ability to alter your mental health.
References
Armanious, A. J., Rachel-Mae Hunter, Griffiths, K. R., Bowrey, H. E., Brown, R. M., & James,
M. H. (2026). Patient perceptions of ozempic (semaglutide) for weight loss: Mixed
methods analysis of online medication reviews. Journal of Medical Internet Research,
28, 16. doi:https://doi.org/10.2196/78391
Lin, S. (2023, June 27). Time-restricted eating without calorie counting for weight loss in a
racially diverse population: A randomized controlled trial: Annals of internal medicine:
Vol 176, no 7. Annals of Internal Medicine .
Reiter-Purtill, J., Decker, K. M., Jenkins, T. M., & Zeller, M. H. (2023). Self-worth and
developmental outcomes in young adults after pediatric bariatric surgery. Health
Psychology, 42(2), 92-102. doi:https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0001257
Schmidt, L. A., & Hagenaars, L. L. (2025). The Ozempic Era Could Shift Blame for Obesity
From Individuals to Commercial Food Systems. Issues in Science & Technology, 41(3),
Waidmann, T. A., Tabb, L. P., Waxman, E., Pancini, V., & Gupta, P. (2022). Obesity across
America. In Obesity across America: Geographic Variation in Disease Prevalence and
Treatment Options (pp. 1–34). The Urban Institute.
Revisions
Properly formatted the paper to meet all APA requirements.
Added commas in paragraph 2.
Fixed citation in paragraph 3.
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