Spiritual Reading The Great Divorce - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 997 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/06/14 Category Psychology Essay Level High school Tags: Divorce Essay Did you like this example? What do you think of when youre imagining our inevitable end in heaven or hell? The Great Divorce, by C.S. Lewis, probably challenges some contemporary ideas of the subject. The book touches upon the ideas of what it might be like in the afterlife. Whilst wrapped up in the imagination of C.S. Lewis you experience the journey of traveling from hell to heaven, and you learn what it takes to become permanent in heaven. The book starts out describing the surroundings of the nameless character whos experiences you will follow for the remainder of the novel. Hes wandering these strange desolate streets with sparse signs of life; until he gets to the bus stop where there is a gleaming golden bus with people crowded around it causing a commotion. Then the story proceeds with the bus ride. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Spiritual Reading: The Great Divorce" essay for you Create order People board the bus, and then it takes off into flight. The character describes looking out the window into a endless dreary town with only a few lights from houses scattered in the expanse. The sky is dusk. He meets several people in the bus that explain some things about the odd place, and how most people stay there because theyre not hoping for the dawn. As the bus carries further into the sky they reach a void. There is nothing, but then all of a sudden things start to get brighter and brighter until off in the distance he sees a cliff. As they reach the cliff things are so bright, theyre almost blinding. The character describes looking out the window again and describes the grass and the clear swift-moving river and how the bus is approaching the treetops. The bus lands and the passengers let out. After getting out of the bus he describes the confusion he has because everyone appears ghostly. No one is able to alter this seemingly intangible environment. He tests his limitations by trying to pick a small daisy, but it is cemented to the earth. He succeeds in picking up a leaf but says it was the heaviest thing hed ever encountered. He soon realized that he too was a ghostly manifestation. Then he sees these glowing people approaching the group of ghosts. The footsteps of the people echoed as they drew closer, they were wearing robes or nothing at all. When they were met, some of the people had known the ghosts, and they were paired off. The people were guides to the ghosts and were meant to help them understand the meaning of loving God and becoming solid within heaven. The character doesnt find his teacher right away, and he wanders off as the ground weighs heavily on his feet as walks. He eventually meets a Scottish man who is his spiritual guide. The story continues with several encounters of the character observing the other ghosts interact with their people. He watches one man successfully become materialized into the world, overcoming his one blunder, the lust which appeared as a small red lizard on his shoulder whispering into his ear. Until he granted a person permission to kill the lizard, he was bound as a ghost. He also witnesses another man fade away as he confronts an old wife whom he couldnt agree with. The wife was this beautiful person with animals and other people around her, everything in life that she touched and loved and left an indelible mark on. There was a common theme of these encounters. All the ghosts had to overcome some sort of thing that was holding them hostage in their life, either forgiveness or realization would free them. The character never really had to make this decision. Then suddenly everything changes, he is looking upon this silver table where the people are like chessmen, puppets. The puppets actions represented the wills of their giant masters. And the table is time. The people standing by are the immortal souls. Frightened he asks the teacher if the truth was revealed to him, then the Scottish man tells him that this is just a dream. And to not tell anyone unless he explicitly says it was only a dream. Then he wakes up, and thats where the book ends. This was quite an intriguing book to read. There was a constant bombardment of imagery, and at times it was difficult to follow the plot. You start off thinking that the main character is dead, and the plot will follow some of his experiences in the afterlife, but all the imagery gave the novel such a hazy feeling. In my opinion, because the character remained nameless, it allows the reader to be able to immerse themselves into the dreamy context of the novel. This book forces you to contemplate where your unforeseeable future after death may be. Personally, I dont contemplate the afterlife as much as someone would if they were dedicated to a religion. I choose to believe that when we die, there is nothing waiting for us. Our consciousness just ceases to exist. Our bodily matter will decompose, and our energy will cycle back into the ecosystem. Im definitely not exempt from fearing the impending doom of death, I just try to accept it. If our consciousness was to transfer to another plane of existence, I feel like we definitely wouldnt have any recollection of our previous life or lives. Whos to say that our current state of consciousness hasnt been elevated from a previous form already? And from stating that question, I would have to say that reading The Great Divorce has not helped me spiritually at all. Although spiritually the book didnt offer me much insight, I would highly recommend the novel to anyone who I think could understand some of the abstract concepts that C.S. Lewis brings up. I enjoyed the book for what it was, and for what it represented. In the eyes of the beholder, this book could be a fantastic gateway to exploring the prompts for spiritual contemplation.

Becoming A Sound Technici The Highs And Lows - 949 Words

Becoming a Sound Technician: The Highs and Lows â€Å"The worst part about being a sound technician is that, unlike anyone else on that show, everyone in the audience will notice when you mess up.† Ed had told me. His words reverberated through me like a sledgehammer to a church bell. I sprinted up the curving, narrow staircase of the balcony more effectively than a lot of my peers could have. My legs had memorized that climb over the past two years. I was familiar with the darkness, the tiny yellow lights marking the aisles. What I haven’t memorized is exactly what I had done to trigger the terrible noise that was blasting through every speaker in the auditorium. The screeching was worse than any feedback I had heard before. My mind was moving faster than my legs were. I had a few ideas as to what could be going wrong, but I had made sure that everything on my list had been done before sound check an hour ago. It was not the first time I had no idea what I was doing. It was, however, the first time that I had no idea what I was doing while the house was full of people and show was about to open on my professional debut. I fumbled to pick up my headset, flustered and angry. In my left ear I could hear the frustration in Ed’s voice. With my right hand I frantically checked and rechecked every input, output, connection I could think of that could have gone awry. I had forgotten to switch the system over from automatic to manual. The problem that could have been fixed by the

The Gross Domestic Product

Questions: (1). Table : GDP Data for Countries A and B Country A $billions Country B $billions Household Consumption 150 150 Government Purchases 250 250 Transfer payments 50 60 Total Gross Fixed Capital Expenditures 50 150 Change in Inventories 50 -50 Exports 40 40 Imports 20 20 Consider the data in table 1 for two countries: A and B. a. a. Calculate the GDP for both countries. b. Discuss the usefulness of these data in deciding which, if any, of these two countries is likely to be experiencing an economic recession. 2. Obtain Australia's real GDP and CPI data from 1980 to 2015. Calculate the annual growth rates of real GDP and inflation and graph both series together. Is/are there some interesting or salient relationship(s) between those two series? Provide and discuss plausible economic explanation(s), including change in economic events and change in government policy, for the relationship(s) you identified. 3. Obtain Australia's real GDP and unemployment data from 1980 to 2015. Calculate the growth rates of real GDP and unemployment and graph both series together. Is/are there some interesting or salient relationship(s) between those two series? Provide and discuss plausible economic explanation(s), including change in economic events and change in government policy, for the relationship(s) you identified. Answers: (1). Table 1: Data for country A and B Country A ( Billion $) Country B ( Billion $) Household Consumption 150 150 Government Purchases 250 250 Transfer Payments 50 60 Total Gross Fixed Capital Expenditures 50 150 Change in Inventories 50 -50 Exports 40 40 Imports 20 20 a. The Gross Domestic Product is the primary indicator that measure well being or strength of the economy in terms of total production. It is a measure of aggregate final goods and services produced in a country for final consumption. Investment; Government expenditure; consumption and trade balance are the components of Gross Domestic product. Among the above components, transfer payment will not be considered while calculating the Gross Domestic Product. The one-way transfers of money that involves no exchange of goods and services; do not create any value to the nations production. The gross fixed capital expenditure is the component of investment. However, the inventory is the difference between production and actual sales. When the gap is positive, it implies investment has been made for inventory. Hence, changes in inventories are considered as an element of the investment. GDP = Government Expenditure (G) + Investment (I) + Consumption (C) + [Export (X) Import (M)]. GDP for Country A = Government Purchases + Inventories + Total Gross Fixed Capital Expenditure + Household Consumption + (Export Import) GDPA= 250 + 50 + 50 + 150 + (40-20)] Billion Dollars GDPA= 520 Billion Dollars GDP for Country B = Government Purchases + Inventories + Total Gross Fixed Capital Expenditure + Household Consumption + (Export Import) GDPB= 250 - 50 + 150 + 150 + (40-20)] Billion Dollars GDPB= 520 Billion Dollars b. From the given data in Table 1, it has been found that the GDP of these two countries are same. By observing the data, it can be said that the values of each components, except investment variables, are same. Since the GDP value is same for both countries, it is not possible to distinguish the future growth of the country. It cannot be said which countrys condition is better and whose not. However, the components of investment are different in both the countries. Hence, by comparing these two, the scenario of each country can be analyzed. Gross Fixed Capital Expenditure includes the changes in net physical assets. It excludes exchange of lands but takes into account, the improved land whose value has been augmented. When the fixed capital expenditure increases, it implies that the country is investing more in fixed capital expenditure as it is sufficient to do so. In the given case, the gross fixed capital expenditure is more in country B than A. Hence, economic condition is bette r in B. Again when the inventory is increasing, it implies that produced goods are not sold. This also indicates lack of demand and supplier will reduce its production. As the production falls due to lack of demand, it signifies possibility of recession in that nation. In the given case, the inventory is accumulating country A and clearing in B. therefore, it can be said that country B is in better position. Combining the scenario, it can be said that country A is expected to face recessionary phase in the near future. (2). Australias Real GDP at constant 2005 US Dollar has been collected for the period of 1980 to 2015. From this data, real GDP can be calculated in the following way. Growth Rate of Real GDP = 100 The Real GDP and calculated real GDP Growth Rate of Australia are given in the following table. Table 2: Real GDP and Growth Rate Year Real GDP (Constant 2005 $US) Real GDP Growth Rate 1980 305,649,174,623 - 1981 315,913,311,664 3.36 1982 326,405,727,600 3.32 1983 319,124,920,882 -2.23 1984 333,891,256,176 4.63 1985 351,418,812,598 5.25 1986 365,832,353,236 4.10 1987 375,250,680,515 2.57 1988 396,899,035,562 5.77 1989 412,293,558,478 3.88 1990 426,843,954,277 3.53 1991 425,222,444,977 -0.38 1992 426,919,112,438 0.40 1993 444,252,603,756 4.06 1994 462,191,286,542 4.04 1995 480,119,873,455 3.88 1996 499,080,482,890 3.95 1997 518,780,895,427 3.95 1998 541,805,654,425 4.44 1999 568,934,385,594 5.01 2000 590,944,509,406 3.87 2001 602,346,114,749 1.93 2002 625,576,717,369 3.86 2003 644,786,919,208 3.07 2004 671,541,542,213 4.15 2005 693,075,477,372 3.21 2006 713,749,019,841 2.98 2007 740,569,266,017 3.76 2008 768,019,943,343 3.71 2009 781,995,435,291 1.82 2010 797,777,527,534 2.02 2011 816,761,133,123 2.38 2012 846,431,780,635 3.63 2013 867,085,131,359 2.44 2014 888,760,969,615 2.50 The growth rate of this country changed over the period. In 1983 and 1991, there was a fall in the value of real GDP and hence growth rate has negative value. In spite of having positive rate of growth, the rate was considerably lower in the period of 1992; 2001 and 2009. The slow rate of growth takes place because of the recessionary phase of the country. Australias Consumer Price Index has been collected for the period of 1980 to 2015. From this data, the inflation rate of the country can be calculated in the following way. Rate of Inflation= 100 The Consumer Price Index and calculated inflation rate of Australia are given in the following table. Table 3: CPI and Inflation Year CPI (Base Year: 2012) Inflation Rate 1980 25.4 - 1981 27.8 9.45 1982 30.8 10.79 1983 34.3 11.36 1984 36.3 5.83 1985 37.9 4.41 1986 41.4 9.23 1987 45.3 9.42 1988 48.4 6.84 1989 51.7 6.82 1990 56.2 8.70 1991 58.9 4.80 1992 59.9 1.70 1993 60.6 1.17 1994 61.5 1.49 1995 63.8 3.74 1996 66.2 3.76 1997 67.1 1.36 1998 67 -0.15 1999 67.8 1.19 2000 69.7 2.80 2001 73.9 6.03 2002 76.1 2.98 2003 78.6 3.29 2004 80.2 2.04 2005 82.1 2.37 2006 84.5 2.92 2007 86.6 2.49 2008 90.3 4.27 2009 92.5 2.44 2010 95.2 2.92 2011 98.3 3.26 2012 99.9 1.63 2013 102.4 2.50 2014 105.4 2.93 The rate of inflation in Australia was terrifically higher during the early 1980s, which was amounted to more than 10%. However, in the following year the inflation rate has been jumped down to below 6% and even below 5% in 1984- 85. In early 1980s, this country was deregulated and liberalized. However, the rate showed a decline, mounted up in 1986- 87 and 1990. The rate has again dropped in the 1991 and from 1992 to 1994, the inflation remained below 2%. During 1997 to 1999, this country again experienced rate of inflation below 2%. During 1998, the country faced negative rate of inflation, which termed as deflation. However, it overcame this scenario and this rate went above 6% in 2001. However, it must be noted that the inflation rate has repeatedly fallen in the following periods and only become higher than 4% in the period of global financial crisis, but never went back to the higher level of the initial period, since then. In the recent period, the country has been experiencing moderate rate of inflation. By looking into the changes in the growth rate of Australia and changes in the rate of inflation over the years, relationship between these two can be identified. The movement of these two indicators has been represented in the following Figure 1. Figure 1: Trends in Growth Rate and Trends in Inflation Rate The trend in growth rate is downward sloping and inflation rate trend is also upward sloping Therefore, the movement of these indicators is in the same direction. As the inflation rate of the country has fallen, the growth rate of the economy has also decreased. However, the fall in the growth rate is not so significant as it is almost horizontal in nature. The economic intuition behind this is that, the countrys GDP is falling de to low price level. As the producers are not getting much value for their goods and services, they are less likely to produce more. As a result of this, the aggregate production of the country has been falling over the years. However, slope of the trend cannot determine the relationship between these two indicators of the economy. For that, correlation analysis is necessary. Table 4: Correlation Analysis Real GDP Growth Rate Inflation Real GDP Growth Rate 1 Inflation -0.237306 1 From the above Table 4, it can be seen that the relationship between rate of inflation and rate of growth is negatively correlated. This indicates that as inflation rate falls the growth rate of the country tends to increase and vice-versa. Therefore, inflation hampers the growth of the economy. However, the magnitude is not so significant, which indicates that the relationship is not so significant. The inflation rate of Australia has been kept lower by the Reserve Bank of Australia. RBAs targeted inflation rate is 2 to 3 percent. Since, the statistical data indicates inverse relationship of between these two variables; the government tries to keep inflation at a lower rate in order to improve the growth rate of the country. The government of this country adopts supply side policy like, reducing the minimum wage, reduction in the import tariff etc. These measures will reduce the cost of production and supplier will be able to charge fewer prices for the products. This will reduce the price level and thus increasing the aggregate demand of the economy. Demand side policies like tax cut; increase in government spending can lead to fall in the rate of inflation and increased in the aggregate demand, which will in turn, will increase the growth rate of the production, i.e., growth rate of the GDP. In addition to this the RBAs rise in the interest rate has kept the rate of inflation lower as the availability of cash is less now and less demand is to be generated, which in turn reduces the price level of the economy. (3). Australias unemployment rate has been collected for the period of 1980 to 2015. This rate is calculated in the following manner: Unemployment Rate = 100 The unemployment rate and the Real GDP Growth Rate of Australia has been represented in the following table. Table 5: Unemployment Rate and Growth Rate Year Unemployment Rate Real GDP Growth Rate 1980 6.21 - 1981 6.04 3.36 1982 6.66 3.32 1983 10.42 -2.23 1984 9.72 4.63 1985 9.18 5.25 1986 8.45 4.10 1987 8.97 2.57 1988 8.02 5.77 1989 6.67 3.88 1990 6.51 3.53 1991 9.59 -0.38 1992 10.90 0.40 1993 11.28 4.06 1994 10.78 4.04 1995 9.01 3.88 1996 8.80 3.95 1997 8.98 3.95 1998 8.22 4.44 1999 7.35 5.01 2000 6.88 3.87 2001 6.77 1.93 2002 6.74 3.86 2003 6.43 3.07 2004 5.71 4.15 2005 5.44 3.21 2006 5.12 2.98 2007 4.71 3.76 2008 4.30 3.71 2009 6.04 1.82 2010 5.75 2.02 2011 5.23 2.38 2012 5.50 3.63 2013 5.96 2.44 2014 6.23 2.50 2015 6.47 - It can be noticed that unemployment rate of this country was significantly higher in the period of 1983 to 1987. In 1988, this rate was more than 8%, however, since then the rate of unemployment has fallen till 1990. The unemployment rate of this country became severe once more during the periods of 1991 to 1998. In this phase, the rates were sometimes more than 10% and sometimes more than 8 to 9%. The unemployment rate was below 7% since 2000 and fallen below 5% only in the period of 2007 and 2008. However, the unemployment rate has augmented and the rate was never lower than 5% or 6% since then. Figure 2 From trend of growth rate of GDP is downward sloping and the unemployment trend of this country is downward sloping. This indicates a positive relationship between these two indicators. Since the trend of growth rate is flatter, this indicates that there is no significant change in the growth rate of the country. As GDP growth rate falls, the unemployment rate tends to fall. Hence, it is fascinating that as economy is growing less, the unemployment rate is also falling. This happens mostly when the labor market is flexible and the wage rate is flexible. Moreover, when the production declines, the companies do not lay off their number of workers engaged. In fact, they cut their cost by reducing the number of working hours of the labors (Shimer 2012). Due to labor market flexibility, the wages of labors are also flexible in nature. Therefore, the firm shrinks the wage instead of the numbers of workers already involved in the production process. Hence, the unemployment rate is not incre ased. An additional reason that causes decline of growth rate without rise in the unemployment rate is that, low productivity of the labors. Therefore, due to the low productivity of the labor, growth rate has decreased in Australia. The law of diminishing marginal returns can also explain the fall in productivity. As more labors are employed in the production process, the additional gain in output initially increases but eventually it tends to fall (Levine 2012). As in Australia, the growth rate has attained its level of saturation; thus, additional engagement of labors does not contribute much to the output. Therefore, there was a decline the level of production. As, more workers are associated in the production process; the employment of Australia has not gone down. The over-engagement of the workers caused decrease in the productivity of Australia, which in turn led to decrease in the growth rate of Australia, keeping employment unaffected. However, slope of the trend cannot det ermine the relationship between these two indicators of the economy. For that, correlation analysis is necessary. Table 6: Correlation Analysis Real GDP Growth Rate Unemployment Rate Real GDP Growth Rate 1 Unemployment Rate -0.13471 1 From the above Table 5, it can be seen that the relationship between rate of unemployment and rate of growth is negatively correlated, indicated by the negative value of the coefficient. This indicates that as unemployment rate falls the growth rate of the country tends to increase and vice-versa. Therefore, rise in growth rate reduces the unemployment of the economy. This supports the general economic theory that states that, as real growth rate of the economy increases, the unemployment rate tends to fall. This is because, as economy grows, demand is generated. In order to fulfill the demand the firm employs more labors to increase the production. The statistical finding is contradicting the trend analysis. However, the magnitude of the correlation coefficient is not so significant, which indicates that the relationship is not so significant. The government of Australia undertakes fiscal policies to diminish the unemployment rate. Measures like increase in government expenditure and tax cut can be used to elevate the aggregate demand. Hence, the labor demand has also increased. Hence, by expanding demand, the government improves the employment scenario of the country. Supply side instruments like creating opportunity in public sector; developing infrastructure and reducing minimum wage has been used to decline unemployment rate. In Australia, current high unemployment rate is structural in nature. The skill gap of labors has led to this kind of labor shortage, even if there is sufficient supply of labors in the economy (Janiak 2013). Therefore, the Australian government focused on providing proper education and training in order to bridge the gap between skill requirement and skill availability in the country. References Abs.gov.au.(2016).6401.0ConsumerPriceIndex,Australia,Mar2016. Databank.worldbank.org. (2016).World Development Indicators| World DataBank. Shimer, R., 2012. Reassessing the ins and outs of unemployment.Review of Economic Dynamics,15(2), pp.127-148. Janiak, A., 2013. Structural unemployment and the costs of firm entry and exit.Labour Economics,23, pp.1-19. Levine, L., 2012. Economic growth and the unemployment rate.

Sample Assignment with Perfect Harvard Referencing

Introduction Obesity has emerged as the most pressing nutritional problem facing the developed world. This trend has occurred over a relatively short period of time; in the United States, it appears to have begun in the last quarter of the 20th century. The epidemic in children followed shortly thereafter. The most recent data (19992000) from national surveys in the United States suggest that almost two thirds of the adult population is overweight, and almost one third is obese (Flegal et.al, 2002, pp. 1724). In children, current estimates (19992000) put the prevalence of overweight at 15%, a threefold increase over the past 30 years (Ogden et.al, 2002, pp. 1729). Although this epidemic has spared no subgroup of the population and has been documented in individuals of all ages and racial/ethnic and socioeconomic subgroups, the problem is greatest in minority populations and among persons living in poverty. Obesity is a global public health problem, affecting virtually every region of the world wi th the exception of sub-Saharan Africa. Discussion Identification The World Health Organization (2000) defines obesity as a condition of abnormal or excess accumulation of adipose tissue (body fat) to an extent that an individual's health may be impaired. Because the precise measurement of adipose tissue requires invasive laboratory measures, in the population context, a simpler measure on which to base an obesity definition is required. Although imperfect, the Body Mass Index (BMI), defined as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared, has been adopted by consensus in the United States by the National Institutes of Health (1998) and the Centers; for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and internationally by WHO (2000). Consensus definitions of overweight and obesity have been set at 25 (overweight) and 30 (obesity), with severity classes of obesity defined as follows: overweight, 25.0 to 29.9; Class I obesity, 30.0 to 34.9; Class II obesity, 35.0 to 39.9; and Class III obesity, 40.0+. The WHO (2000) terminology differs slightly, but the cutoff points are the same. In growing children, in whom weight and height are both changing (and at different rates), the definition of obesity is inherently more complicated. Although no universally agreed on standard exists for assessing overweight and obesity in children and adolescents, there is a growing consensus that BMI should be adopted as an indirect measure of adiposity for children and adolescents, as well (Barlow Dietz, 1998, pp. 223). Because BMI varies substantially by age and gender during childhood and adolescence, the specific BMI cutoffs used to classify obesity must be gender- and age-specific and must be referenced against a standard. In the United States, the standard used is the CDC Revised Growth Reference (Barlow Dietz, 1998, pp. 228). Internationally, several standards (Cole et.al, 1995, pp. 27; Ogden et al., 2002, pp. 1728), including one based on a pooled international sample (Cole et.al, 2000, pp. 1241), are also in use. Several periods in development have been proposed as critical periods in the development of persistent obesity and its comorbid consequences. These include the prenatal period (when intrauterine exposures may influence adiposity), early childhood, and adolescence. Some evidence suggests that breast-feeding may protect against later obesity. Likelihood of persistence in adulthood of obesity from childhood is related both to age at onset and severity. Sequelae Childhood obesity has a number of immediate, intermediate, and long-term health consequences (Must Strauss, 1999, pp. S3). These include classic cardiovascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure, abnormal blood lipid levels, and impaired glucose tolerance. Respiratory conditions include sleep-disordered breathing. In addition, early menarche and menstrual abnormalities are linked to overweight. Of particular concern is the emergence of type 2 diabetes, once considered an adult-onset disease, as a disease of childhood. The psychological impact may represent one of the most damaging effects of obesity given that stigmatization and social isolation may result in lower self-esteem and depression. In a recently replicated classic study, children were asked to rank order a series of drawings of children with various handicaps (crutches, wheelchair, missing a hand, facial disfigurement, obesity) based on which child they would like best (Latnerm Stunkard, 2003, pp. 456). The obese child was ranked last irrespective of the ranking child's sex, race, socioeconomic status, living environment, and own disability. According to Schwimmer et.al, (2003), ratings of quality of life for children with obesity were similar to those of children undergoing chemotherapy for cancer (pp. 1814). Although obesity in adulthood that has been present from childhood may carry an additional burden due to increased severity, much adult obesity arises through adult weight gain. The health consequences of obesity present in adulthood are enormous, both in magnitude and impact on quality of life. In developing its clinical guidelines, the NIH report identified an extensive list of health conditions for which obesity increased risk. These include hypertension, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and respiratory problems, many cancers, and depression. The number of deaths per year in the United States attributable to obesity has been estimated at about 300,000. Risk Factors In all persons, child or adult, obesity arises due to energy imbalance: When energy intake exceeds energy expenditure, most of the excess calories are stored as adipose tissue. To give rise to obesity, energy imbalance must occur over a long period of time and likely reflects a combination of factors. Individual behaviors, environmental factors, and heredity, singly and in combination, contribute to the development of obesity. The rapidity with which the obesity epidemic emerged rules out simple genetic explanations. The current environment in the United States has been characterized as obesogenic, meaning that it promotes high energy intakes and low energy expendituresthe energy imbalance that gives rise to weight gain. Modern industrialized societies provide abundant, relatively inexpensive food; modern life is organized to reduce energy expenditure at work and at home, through technology and urbanization. For a species that evolved to store fat in times of plenty in order to survi ve in leaner times, many individuals are genetically susceptible to gain weight in the current environment. Excessive energy intake is a primary risk factor for the development of childhood and adult obesity, although the specific aspects of intake responsible are controversial. Dietary factors, such as diet composition, energy density, fat intake, fruit and vegetable consumption, snacks, sugar-rich foods, and soft drinks, have all been identified in association with obesity. Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables can help reduce the intake of dietary fat and calories because they are naturally low in fat and energy density compared with other foods. Despite current recommendations that individuals over the age of 2 years consume 2 to 4 servings of fruits and 3 to 5 servings of vegetables daily, children and adolescents eat an average of only 3.6 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, and fried potatoes account for a large proportion of those servings. A number of other dietary variables, including soft drinks, snacking, portion sizes, and infant feeding have also been linked t o childhood obesity. Studies suggest that the increased consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks, snack foods (which are often high in fat or/and sugar), and large-sized portions of foods have contributed to the increase in energy intakes. Reduced physical activity may be the most important factor in explaining the increase of obesity over the past two decades. Physical activity among U.S. youth is in decline, with nearly half of young people aged 12 to 21 reporting that they do not engage in vigorous physical activity regularly and one fourth reporting no vigorous physical activity. Whereas leisure time physical activity has increased in men and remained constant in women over the past four decades in the United States, activity associated with work and home life has declined over the same period. Sedentary behavior and inactivity, such as watching television and playing video/computer games, also are contributory factors. Gortmaker et al. (1996) reported an adjusted-odds ratio (OR) for obesity of 8.3 for adolescents who watched TV more than 5 hours per day compared with those who watched 0 to 2 hours. Compelling evidence comes from intervention studies, which show that reducing TV viewing time can help prevent childh ood obesity. Adults in a trial of maintenance following weight loss sustained their losses best when physical activity was high and television viewing was low (van Baak et.al, 2003, pp. 210). TV watching may promote obesity by reducing physical activity, lowering metabolic rate, and increasing energy intake. The latter may occur due to the fact that TV viewing may be associated with snacking and may moderate eating habits generally through greater exposure to advertising of foods high in added sugars and fat or by conveying mixed messages about lifestyle and health in the content of advertisements. TV viewing is a major source of inactivity among Americans. Screen time, a summary measure of time spent viewing television and videos and engaged in computer-based activity, represents the largest proportion of nonsleep, nonschool time for youth. Conclusions Obesity has emerged as the major nutritional problem facing the pediatric and adult populations worldwide. The etiology of obesity is multifactorial and includes individual risk factors, genetic influences, and environmental effectors. The severity of the problem, in terms of immediate and long-term health consequences to physical and psychological health, suggests it is a problem that will dominate the public health agenda in the 21st century.