The Increase in Obesity in Australia - Essay Example

Introduction The increase in obesity in Australia is reaching new heights and has been labelled as an epidemic in some circles. Investigation by certain circles has revealed that obesity has more than doubled in Australia within the two decades that precede 2003. Some 60% of Australian adults were found to be overweight and the numbers of children in the overweight category were seen increasing by leaps and bounds (Dunn, 2003). In a similar manner a report by the WHO (World Health Organisation) in 2007 found that 67.4% of Australian adults were overweight making Australia the third largest country facing this problem out of the Anglosphere behind the United States and New Zealand (Streib, 2007). The National Health Survey of 2005 corroborated these findings with 53.6% of Australians reported overweight (BMI greater than 25) while 18% came under the obese category (BMI greater than 30) (AIHW, 2006). When compared to records from the past, it becomes clear that the recent numbers are roughly twice those from 1995. In 1995 around 30% of the adult population in Australia was overweight while only 11% were obese (Deaprtment of Health and Aging, 2011). These figures clearly indicate that Australia is in the middle of an obesity “epidemic” that is only set to increase unless the health system does not provide effective interventions. As far as the issue of interventions in obesity is concerned, a number of approaches are possible including self monitoring, medication, community support and the like. However effective evaluation of these techniques needs to be carried out in order to gauge the most effective method(s) so that a comprehensive implementation program can be conceived and applied. A number of studies relating to obesity and intervention techniques were carried out in order to see how effective self monitoring was for obesity control. 2. Research Question The population of interest for this research includes people from Australia as well as other developed nations who face similar circumstances and life choices. The intervention of interest for this research is self monitoring whereby the individual monitors his weight and dietary habits in order to reduce weight. The success of the intervention will be considered when the subject individuals managed to reduce weight by significant amount that offers them a chance to lower their BMI enough that they fall below the obese category. This will ensure that this intervention technique has the potential for full scale implementation to combat obesity. Overall the research question being posed by this study is: How effective is self monitoring to control obesity and can this technique provide hope for people at large suffering from obesity? 3. Search Strategy A systematic review of relevant English language, peer reviewed articles was carried out for the last decade. The question at hand was if self monitoring was an effective way to lose weight. Electronic sources were searched in four databases which were Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, Science Direct and Ovid PsycINFO. The keywords used were obesity, overweight, self monitoring and weight loss. The reference sections of the studies were searched manually too in order to gather more sources. English language and human beings were used as search limiters. Studies conducted within the Anglosphere within a time frame of a decade 2001 to 2011 (inclusive) that focused on self monitoring for weight loss were included. The inclusion criteria were any studies done in English language related to the effects of self monitoring on weight loss and having comparison groups. Any studies that failed to create a connection between self monitoring and weight loss were not included. A systematic review was also included to include more results from recent years. The initial search results provided around 19 relevant articles out of which 7 were excluded as they did not report the effects of self monitoring on weight loss. The 12 remaining studies were reviewed and 6 studies were chosen that investigated various aspects of self monitoring and their effect on weight loss including studies from systematic reviews. 4. Summary Table A summary of the studies included is presented below in order to clarify the relevance of these studies to the research question and setting. Authors / Study Design Sample Characteristics Approach to Self Monitoring Results Nothwehr, Peterson 2005 Iowa City United States To assess weight management attitudes and strategies which are employed by rural adults in attempts to lose weight. Pre-post design without comparison group Cluster and convenience sampling Focuses on self reporting and self monitoring of diet and exercise Sample n=123 with 73.2% women (who were white only), sample age range 19 to 71 years with a majority above 50 years of age BMI are all greater than 25 Response rate 29% Self monitoring scores for the entire sample were as below: diet: range 6 to 24; mean 13; standard deviation 4.2 exercise: range 4 to 16; mean 7.7; standard deviation 2.6 questionnaires were used total time for study 52 weeks Respondents who were trying to lose weight (n=60) had a better self monitoring scores for both diet (14.16 0 4.13) and exercise (8.25  2.71) versus respondents who were not trying to lose weight (n=63) who had self monitoring scores of diet (11.92  4.06) and exercise (7.25  2.42) Helsel, Jakicic, Otto 2007 Pittsburgh United States To examine the effectiveness of correspondence based weight loss programs that are randomised for traditional detailed methods of self monitoring versus abbreviated methods. Pre-test post-test randomised design Randomised sampling Two samples were created with detailed and transitional self monitoring. The compositions were as below: Detailed self monitoring, n=21, sex and ethnicity not reported, mean age 38 years with standard deviation 5.9 years, BMI mean 32 with standard deviation 1.6 Transitional self monitoring, n=21, sex and ethnicity not reported, mean age 35 years with standard deviation 6.6 years, BMI mean 32.5 and standard deviation 1.5 retention 48% in traditional methods and 57% in abbreviated diary group participants in the abbreviated self monitoring group returned greater diaries (15.2  1.4) against traditional diary groups (14  2) given that only completed diaries were considered with P Read More