Obesity has become an epidemic in our overindulgent North American society. In addition to body image issues, obesity causes significant health problems. Society often considers obesity a disease when in reality it is a sign of a disorder, genetic or environmental. The percentage of our population that is overweight is increasing every year and can become a very serious problem if it is not addressed urgently. As a result, issues related to self-confidence, self-consciousness and isolation may occur. A persistent problem in today's society, especially with children, has to do with sociability. Public appearance is very important to us and when we don't look good or have low self-esteem, this can lead to further problems, sometimes fatal. Those labeled “obese” face social problems every day. The fact that they don't seem "normal" makes them not fit in with the "normal crowd" and can lead to isolation problems. Being isolated from the majority of the population can lead to problems such as depression and, later, suicide. Another major influence on obesity-related social problems is the media. Every day, at a certain time, somewhere, we watch TV, read the newspaper or search the web. The media tends to give labels and meaning to the words we are influenced by. The idea that the media portrays us is that if you are a certain weight, you are obese and vice versa. Another problem with the media is the amount of time our society devotes to it. Time consumed on unnecessary media takes away from time spent doing productive activities like exercise. However, the corruption of obesity-related social models is not the only problem. Another important factor is the medical side....... the focus of the document... it suits both individuals and society and is worth the effort. Works Cited Abedin, Shareen “The Social Side of Obesity: You Are Who You Eat With." September 03, 2009. Ahima, Rexford S. "Digging Deeper into Obesity." June 2011Brownell, Kelly D. "The Chronicle of Obesity : growing awareness of its social, economic and political contexts". October 2005Chen, Hubert “Encyclopedia of Health – Diseases and Conditions”. 8 July 2014. Hauch, Valerie "Let's play ball then, say the parents of the ban on ball at school. " November 15, 2011 http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1087597 “Obesity.” Greenhaven Press. Detroit MI. c2011Picard, Andre “Obesity costs up to $7 billion a year.” The Globe and the post. June 20, 2013