If we look back in history, obesity was not a problem among our ancestors. In fact, they barely had enough food to survive. It should therefore come as no surprise that hundreds of years later, and with an abundance of food, the average weight of people is increasing. Along with weight gain, the number of diseases that patients can become infected with, such as diabetes, is increasing. Obesity and diabetes affect many people in the United States, but could obesity cause diabetes? Obesity is more common than you think. A question that may arise is: what is obesity? Well, “obesity, defined as a BMI of 30 or more, is responsible for nearly 300,000 deaths in the United States each year” (“Harmful” n.pg.). This statistic is frightening. 300,000 people could still be alive if they watched what they ate. Because our society has unlimited amounts of food, everyone feels the need to overeat. By eating too much, the public creates even more problems for themselves. According to the article Obesity Risks, “increased body weight itself causes problems that lead to injury and disease, including osteoarthritis and sleep apnea” (n.pg.). Sleep apnea is where your tongue has excess fat. When obese patients sleep, their tongue hangs out, blocking air from entering their lungs, making it difficult for them to breathe while they sleep. There is a cure for obesity: weight loss. Most doctors recommend that their obese patients lose weight, otherwise their health risks will continue to increase. Obesity can affect a wide range of people, from young people to middle-aged and elderly people. A person's age does not matter. What matters is a person's eating habits. When a person eats too much, their fat cells begin to grow. According to the article Risk of Obesity... middle of paper ...... their life and maintaining a healthy weight, one should not have a problem with obesity or diabetes even with an abundance of food in our society. Works Cited “Diabetes”. University of Maryland Medical Center. Np, and Web. October 24, 2013. “Risks of obesity.” Obesity Society. Np, and Web. . Internet. October 24, 2013Pi-Sunyer, FX “Weight loss in type 2 diabetic patients”. Diabetes Care 28.6 (2005): 1526-527. American Diabetes Association. Internet. October 24, 2013. Pollock, Christine A. and Jacqueline O. Favret. “Obesity and diabetes”. Obesity and diabetes. LSU Health Sciences Center, nd Web. October 23, 2013. .Tayek, JA “Is weight loss a cure for type 2 diabetes? » Diabetes Care 25.2 (2002): 397-98. American Diabetes Association. Internet. October 24. 2013.