Obesity
Obesity has increasingly become a global health Barking concern in the modern era. Health organizations worldwide are concerned about the increasing number of overweight and obese adults in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has facts that worldwide obesity rates have tripled since 1975, with more than 1.9 billion adults being overweight in 2016, of which 650 million of these were obese (“Obesity and overweight,” 2021). In the United States, the prevalence of obesity increased to 42.4% in 2017-2018 from 30.5% in 1999-2000. Obesity-related diseases include stroke, heart attack, type 2 diabetes, among other conditions (CDC, 2021). the above data shows that obesity is a significant health concern in the community, and there is an increasing need to sensitize the community on its effects.
With the rising number of obese people in the population, the need to create a health promotion program that helps sensitize the community on the effects of obesity and how to prevent the health threat increases every day. With a health promotion program for obesity in place, the prevalence of obesity in vulnerable communities would lower, and people would establish healthier ways of living to avoid obesity. This program will address the rising number of obesity-related ailments and deaths in the affected communities. For this program to be successful, much in-depth and personal research needs to be done before health practitioners get to work on the ground.
When well carried out, the research will give the practitioners accurate information on the obesity situation in a selected community or area. Without this research, the health officials would be working on guesswork which could prove futile since not all areas have the same obesity prevalence data. After analysis, the strategy created will depend on the data collected. In high obesity-prevalence areas, the groundwork will be on reducing the number of obese occupants through processes such as counseling, guidance, and promotion of a healthy lifestyle. The groundwork in low-prevalence areas would mainly be on maintaining these low numbers while also advocating for a healthier lifestyle and preventing obesity.
Several populations are more at risk of getting obese than others. These groups include; children, low-income individuals, individuals above 65 years old, and rural populations. Most of these groups are vulnerable to getting obesity over several pre-disposed factors. These factors may be cultural, behavioral, socio-demographic, or biological (Stevens et al., 2017, p. xx). Some risk factors for obesity can be changed while others cannot. With those risk factors that cannot be changed, getting obesity can be reduced by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Some of these risk factors include; lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating behaviors, lack of enough sleep, too much stress, age, unhealthy environments, and family history (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d.). Most of these risk factors span the various vulnerable groups mentioned above, but some are more group-specific than others.
With the above data search done on a general scope, there is no doubt that a more thorough targeted research could reveal more community-specific values that would assist in the formulation of effective strategies to combat the prevalence of obesity. Health practitioners could use search research as the base for their work on patients of obesity so that they can make more targeted treatments on the population. For example, an old obese person over 65 years of age will be prioritized in treatment since they could fall more vulnerable in a specific population setting. This would show that different population settings have different prevalence rates of obesity [ and the need to do in-depth personal research in a community before commencing on any health problem would be of utmost importance.
Obesity is ranked as the fifth cause of death globally. This would place it among the top preventable causes of death worldwide. There exist several evidence-based strategies to combat the problem of obesity. A review of the process of obesity screening shows that most doctors do not follow the process of screening for obesity during check-ups. This review supported obesity screening combined with referral to quality intervention services for all healthcare patients and showed that most health practitioners do not follow this due process. The review supported that health service providers incorporate obesity screening in their medical check-ups (Pearce et al., 2019, p. xx).
The journal of the association of American nurse practitioners concludes that the modest weight loss of even 5% -10% of body weight could help reduce the prevalence of obesity. The journal uses current figures and statistics to conclude the reduction of body weight as a strategy to reduce the prevalence of obesity in the population. It also outlines ways nursing practitioners may help individuals achieve weight loss (Fruh, 2017, p. xx).
The evidence-based strategies outlined in the above journals will be helpful in the health program. The document’s research and conclusions clearly show that obesity is a preventable disease if healthcare professionals test for it during regular medical check-ups. Both reviews show an in-depth look at the problem of obesity and how it could be prevented and treated. However, to fully incorporate the research into the health program model, several changes must be made to impact a community effectively. Both pieces of research have to have their numbers adjusted to fit the community we are working in. this could cause the research not to hold water in certain areas as both were carried out on a generalized global scope.
This health program will incorporate field research before embarking on the job, which will tackle the problem of obesity in the community. The research will be based on age, ethnicity, race, genetic disorders, and family history. In addition to screening for obesity, a weight loss program and exercise program will be incorporated into the general health promotion program. This helps more people reduce obesity and those not overweight to maintain their body mass index. Using electronic media, public gatherings, sports activities, and one-on-one obesity campaigns will also help sensitize the community on the dangers of obesity.
References
CDC. (2021, June 7). Obesity is a common, serious, and costly disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
Fruh, S. M. (2017). Obesity. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 29(S1), S3-S14. https://doi.org/10.1002/2327-6924.12510
Obesity and overweight. (2021, June 9). WHO | World Health Organization. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight
Pearce, C., Rychetnik, L., Wutzke, S., & Wilson, A. (2019). Obesity prevention and the role of hospital and community-based health services: A scoping review. BMC Health Services Research, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-4262-3
Stevens, J., Pratt, C., Boyington, J., Nelson, C., Truesdale, K. P., Ward, D. S., Lytle, L., Sherwood, N. E., Robinson, T. N., Moore, S., Barkin, S., Cheung, Y. K., & Murray, D. M. (2017). Multilevel interventions targeting obesity: Research recommendations for vulnerable populations. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 52(1), 115-124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2016.09.011
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (n.d.). Overweight and obesity. Advancing Heart, Lung, Blood, and Sleep Research & Innovation | NHLBI, NIH. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/overweight-and-obesity
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