Is obesity a disease - Research Paper Example

? Is Obesity a Disease? XYZ Table of Contents Problem ment Position A………………………………………………………………………4 Position B………………………………………………………………………6 My Opinion…………………………………………………………………….7 Impact on Nursing……………………………………………………………..9 The impact on nursing practice in the hospital and other clinical settings The education of future nurses Continuing education of licensed nurses Nursing research Nursing administration The political arena Legislation Summary and Conclusion……………………………………………………..12 Endnotes………………………………………………………………………14 Bibliography…………………………………………….……………………..15 Problem Statement The paper aims to discuss a controversial issue of considering obesity a disease in the light of latest researches and literature review in order to present a clear picture of the topic. The topic of the discussion surrounds a problem statement, that is, is obesity a disease? In order to answer the question raised in this paper, an attempt has been done to discuss the issue with two opposite perspectives. One perspective argues in favor of the problem statement whereas the other viewpoint disfavors the given statement. In addition, the paper also describes my opinion on this controversial topic which I have formed on the basis of the literature review. Not only have the arguments been made objectively, but also the impact of the given issue on the field of nursing has been studied extensively. Obesity can be defined as a medical condition in which the weight of the person is so much that it could harm his body. The harm to the body can be done by making the person vulnerable to various diseases. It is a condition in which the person has a body mass which is more than what is supposed to be his normal weight. It is different than just being overweight as the obese person is of extremely big size and body mass. In order to classify people whether they fall into the category of normal, overweight and obese, a device named Body Mass Index is used. As per the survey of 2005 by World Health Organization [1], millions of people suffer from obesity throughout the world (Pawloski, Ruchiwit, & Markham, 2011). It highlights the prevalence of obesity which is increasing consistently in both advanced and underdeveloped regions of the world. Not only is it affecting adults in US, but it is also a common problem of adolescents and children. The people of both 1male and female genders get affected by this health state in different parts of the world. Position A It has been studied by the researchers that obesity could be considered a disease because of numerous reasons (Ahima, 2011; Pawloski, Ruchiwit, & Markham, 2011). First of all, it influences the normal body functioning and affects various body parts negatively. Several tissues are built upon the body of people who are obese which disturbs their food regulation process and causes abnormal energy wastage in their bodies. Secondly, obesity decreases life expectancy of man and at times results in premature death. It has been compared with smoking to consider it as one of the biggest reasons behind the deaths which could be prevented if treated properly [2] (Ahima, 2011).The hereditary nature of obesity hints toward the concept that it cannot be considered a normal state and must be treated like a disease. Obesity consists of a set of symptoms which make it a disease rather than a normal state. One of the biggest symptoms of the disease of obesity is excessive fat which is measured by means of Body Mass Index (BMI). Obesity is a precursor for various diseases, including diabetes, where the person weighing 35kg/m2 has increased risk of getting diseases. In males, it has been seen to increase by 42 fold, while in women it is 93 folds. The risk of heart disease is found to be 85% in men with a weight 20% more than average, while the rate of risk in women is 3.6 fold. The study assumes that the heart disease arises when the body’s blood pressure increases and homeostasis factors seem to be changing. It suggests that obesity cannot be considered merely as a stigma for the society but is in fact a disease (Ahima, 2011). It also creates serious illnesses in the body like liver disorders, endocrine disease, renal disease, and periodontal disease. More accurately, it opens a Pandora box for all illnesses so obesity is not less than a disease! Moreover, it has been regarded as a disease by various health care organizations, for instance, National Institute of Health [3]. It is known to play a significant role in creating hypertension in people which is a major factor behind heart problems. Not only that, it has also been investigated as a threat for creating cancers and diabetes. In addition, obesity had been identified as the disorder by the surgeons belonging to the period as early as seventeenth century. Kalat (2009) argued the case of obesity and considered it a syndrome disease which resulted from genetic reasons [4]. He indicated that obesity was, nonetheless, a disease and could be treated. Not only hereditary reasons, but obesity also occurred due to disturbances in various parts of the brain. For instance, severe damage to frontal or temporal lobe has been studied to cause overeating behaviors in humans. Sometimes environment also plays its part in it. The people who adopt an unhealthy lifestyle and do not focus on exercise and good eating habits are said to become obese over time. Therefore, a major part of their treatment consists of changing the lifestyles and unhealthy habits of the obese people. The classification of obesity as a disease is not only bookish as it has been officially declared as a disease in the United States [5]. Bendich & Deckelbaum (2009) stated that almost half of the Americans suffer from obesity and weight problems, and it is increasing rapidly with time. On average, the number of obese people has multiplied and it is predicted that by 2030, the rate of obesity will increase more making 85% males and 51% females of America overweight and obese. The number of deaths caused by obesity is around 30,000 in the US per annum. Position B Obesity is not a disease because it does not disturb the body functioning to an extent which diseases do. It has also been seen that obese people do not always have a shorter life span and sometimes live up to longer years as compared to non-obese people. There are some cases in which obese people do not have diabetes and do not even have tendencies to develop other diseases (Ahima, 2011). Moreover, obesity does not have the symptoms which a disease must have in order to be classified as a disease. The only sign of obesity is excessive fat which is not sufficient to consider it a disease. The consideration of obesity as a non-disease does not limit it to lack symptomology, but also to the role of learned behaviors (Kopelman, Caterson, & Dietz, 2010). It has been attributed to a certain lifestyle which causes a person to develop increased weight and thus become obese. Not only the people having poor lifestyles become the obese, but in fact they also have certain personality traits that make it difficult for them to lose weight. Keeping the issue of genes untouched and talking about learned behaviors only, the obesity is created by having unhealthy eating patterns and doing less exercise and movement. It has also been related to the habit of not taking the responsibility for oneself and being sluggish and lazy. For instance, it has been seen that obese people often have the habits of sitting for long hours and not involving themselves in active movement. In addition, obese people do not entertain healthy eating habits and tend to eat excessively (Kopelman, Caterson, & Dietz, 2010). In other words, the selection of a lifestyle which is subjected to choice and can be prevented leads toward obesity in many people. In addition to the condition of obesity resulted by a specific lifestyle, it is also among the main reasons of preventable deaths (Burke, & Wang, 2011). Like smoking, obesity is a state which could be avoided by implementing a healthy lifestyle and preventing oneself from the excessive intake of harmful substances and eatables in the body. It is surprising to state that in some cases, obesity appears to be beneficial for the person. For instance, it has been reported to prevent oneself from osteoporosis which is a medical condition and can be avoided by excessive body mass. Because of the similarity of obesity to smoking and alcoholism in terms of their role as leading factors of preventable death, it cannot be considered a disease. In other words, a disease is supposed to be resulting from factors outside the control of a person in most of the cases. However, the state of obesity often does not seem to occur because of an inner body malfunctioning and is largely the result of poor lifestyles, unhealthy eating habits, lack of locomotion and irresponsible behaviors (Burke, & Wang, 2011). These factors cause us to think of obesity as a state which is not a disease at all, but a problematic condition which requires proper dealing with. My Opinion I believe that obesity can be categorized into two forms and must be treated not as same. In a way, my opinion is based on both sides of the issue. Obesity could be consideredas a disease in some cases, while not in others. For instance, sometimes obesity is created by genetic or hereditary factors and in other cases; it is created solely by the person’s adoption of a certain lifestyle. According to Kalat (2009), syndromal obesity is the term given to the condition which is occurred due to biological conditions and genetic factors. Syndromal obesity is no doubt the result of some inner body impairment which makes it a disease. People need an extensive treatment plan for getting out of this medical condition. It involves making them follow a strict diet and workout schedule as well as becoming involved in a healthy and active lifestyle. There is another type of obesity which is more towards environmental causes. The people gain weight because they select a certain lifestyle which involves less activity and more rest. In a study, a culture has been studied where the people ate large amounts of food in order to save them from starving (Bendith & Deckelbaum, 2010). They stored food in their stomach which made them gain weight. So obesity cannot only be resulted due to biological reasons. Obesity can also result from having a lifestyle which has nothing to do with biological predetermination or tendency. It has been seen that people become obese because of being careless about diet and not having an active lifestyle (Bendith & Deckelbaum, 2010). For instance, people in the modern world tend to spend most of their time in front of television and computer which offers less chances of movement. It leads toward obesity and it can be tackled by the change of lifestyle only. Therefore, this type of obesity which occurs without genetic or biological reasons cannot be considered a disease. Impact on Nursing The various nursing areas which get influenced by obesity have been described below: (a.) The impact on nursing practice in the hospital and other clinical settings The research shows that the issue of obesity greatly influences the nursing practice in the clinical circles and hospitals (Fitzpatrick & Wallace, 2012). The nurses have been reported to face great troubles in dealing with obese patients because of their large body size and weight. It has been witnessed in hospitals that the medical instruments which are used for average weight patients are not suitable for obese people. For instance, the beds and stretchers used for normal weight people cannot be used for obese people because of their extremely large weight. In addition, the nurses have to make sure they use alternative methods and techniques for dealing particularly with the obese people. The nurses are made to use different medical instruments for obese people for checking their blood pressure or heart rate. They have to take special care in dealing with obese patients lest they should hurt themselves. It is a common sight in nearly all health care settings and clinics where the nurses need extra training and patience for dealing with obese people as compared to people of normal weight. Due to this, the budget of hospitals is disturbed and it also demands that nurses should be well-equipped with the knowledge related to obesity. (b.) The education of future nurses The issue of obesity not only impacts the practice of nursing in the clinical setting but also influences the education of nurses who are going to step in to the field of nursing. It is important that the nurses are equipped with latest knowledge about the prevailing condition of obesity in today’s world. It is because of many reasons; firstly, the rate of obesity has increased, secondly, the number of deaths occurring due to obesity has also doubled, and thirdly, many countries have started to invest in the treatment of obesity. With the anticipation of obesity to be increased at a double rate in near future, it is important that the future nurses are given compulsory courses on obesity in order to deal with obese patients. These courses must include detailed chapters on the prevention, symptoms and treatment of obesity. Besides, they must also be able to handle all situations related to obese patients, such as bathing and dressing such patients, and being extra careful in dealing with them (Fitzpatrick & Wallace, 2012). (c.) Continuing education of licensed nurses It is not sufficient to provide necessary education about dealing with obesity to the future nurses (Kalat, 2009). Those nurses who have studied nursing course a long time ago needs to update their knowledge in order to cope with the current scenario of constantly increasing condition of obesity. For this purpose, the hospitals can play a role in introducing training sessions for the licensed nurses (Fitzpatrick & Wallace, 2012). Various nursing institutes can contribute in this regard as well to develop course especially for the licensed nurses so that they do not get lagged behind, and instead become useful in curing obesity and dealing with obese patients too. (d.) Nursing research In order to equip the future nurses and licensed ones with the latest and updated knowledge about obesity and ways to deal with it, it is integral that the researchers conduct researches on this issue. Obesity has changed the direction of future research in nursing and now researchers are thinking about studying obesity. Enough attention had been given to other medical conditions in the past so now obesity would be the preferred research area. It also means that the nursing research will determine the reasonable practices of nurses as well as the unreasonable ones (Kalat, 2009). (e.) Nursing administration The impact of obesity is not only on the nurses working in hospital settings, but it is also evident on the nursing profession as a whole (Kaplan, 2010). The administration charged with the responsibility of taking care of nursing area must take the issue of obesity in their mind. In other words, it is the duty of the nursing administration to enable the nurses, existing and future, to have the required education and knowledge about tackling with the obese people (Fitzpatrick & Wallace, 2012). It is also their responsibility to encourage and facilitate the researchers to conduct research on the impact of obesity on the nursing profession. It is necessary that the appropriate legislation is undertaken to ensure that the nursing profession is prepared to deal with and treat obese patients. (f.) The political arena The obesity has become an issue of great concern among the policymakers and politicians nowadays. Due to the high costs involved in the treatment programs based on curing obesity, the government seriously needs to look into this matter. Each year, the millions are spent on the treatment methods targeted especially on obese people making obesity come under the political arena for thorough inquiry (Linsley, Kane, & Owen, 2011). It has been suggested by the politicians that checking obesity would lead to a mass reduction in increased medical costs. Previously, this issue was not given much attention but the increase in the prevalence of obesity has caused hospitals and clinical settings to purchase specially designed medical instruments for the obese people. On average, the medicals costs have increased considerably with the increase in general eating levels which again put costs on the economy of the country and reduce capital. Therefore, it is crucial that the adequate legislation is undertaken so as to do away with the problems associated with obesity. (g.) Legislation Considering the alarmingly significant issue of obesity, it is important that legislations are undertaken for minimizing the occurrence of obesity. It has been seen that the legislators are looking upon the regulations which could be made to control obesity like smoking. The suggestion of making some amount of walking mandatory for the people has been given to prevent obesity (Linsley, Kane, & Owen, 2011). In addition, for the prevention of child obesity, the schools need to minimize the provision of junk food and soft drinks. In this way, the legislation can play a role in ending obesity by putting a check on the diet and activity of people. Summary and Conclusion To sum up the entire discussion of the paper, certain points have been mentioned and stated with respect to the given topic. The paper has highlighted the prevalence of obesity which is increasing day by day. The state of obesity has been described as a condition of having increased body fat on body. So far, it has been discussed as the only major symptom of obesity characterizing it as a disease. However, various arguments have been presented in the paper which either support the consideration of obesity as a disease or does not call it a medical condition at all. The position A in the paper debate on the issue of obesity as a disease and suggest that it must be considered so because it is resulted by biological and genetic factors. On the contrary, the position B stressed on the other side of the view and maintained that obesity could not be called a disease because it is just a result of an unhealthy lifestyle. However, the other section included my stance on this issue, which is neutral; in my opinion, obesity varies in its causes from being resulted by hereditary to environmental factors. Therefore, it could be a disease in some cases where the reason is genetic or biological and not when it occurs due to the adoption of an unhealthy lifestyle. The paper also focused on the impact of obesity on nursing. Another section of the paper argued the influence of obesity on the nurses working in clinical settings. It was seen that the nurses required specific training for dealing with obese patients. Moreover, the impact of obesity on the education of future and licensed nurses was also discussed. It was seen that the nurses required updated knowledge for keeping pace with the high need of dealing with obesity cases. It could be made possible if the nursing administration intervene and take charge of obesity issue to see its effects on nursing in order to handle this issue tactfully. Endnotes [1] The World Health Organization is an official body which determines health criteria for the all countries of the world. [2] American Obesity Association provides data on obesity and is concerned with the necessary legislation on obesity. [3] National Health Organization is an international research centre which conducts studies on various diseases. [4] Kalat is a researcher who conducted research on obesity and looked at its biological side. He wrote a book named’ Biological Obesity’. [5] Bendith &Deckelbaum (2009) gave this data in their famous book ‘Preventive Nutrition’ References Ahima, R. S. (2011). Digging deeper into obesity.Journal Of Clinical Investigation, 121(6), 2076-2079.doi:10.1172/JCI58719 Bendith, A. &Deckelbaum, R. J. (2010).Preventive Nutrition: The Comprehensive Guide for Health Professionals. New York: Humana Press. Burke, L. E., & Wang, J. (2011).Treatment Strategies for Overweight and Obesity.JournalOf Nursing Scholarship, 43(4), 368-375. doi:10.1111/j.1547-5069.2011.01424.x Fitzpatrick, J. J. & Wallace, M. (2012).Encyclopedia of Nursing Research.United States of America: Springer. Kalat, J. (2009). Biological Psychology.United States: Cengage Learning. Kaplan, M. (2010). Start Treating Obesity as a Disease. Newsday.Retrieved 10 February, 2012 from. Kopelman, P. G., Caterson, I. D. & Dietz, V. H. (2010).Clinical Obesity in Adults and Children.Singapore: Wiley-Blackwell. Linsley, P., Kane, R., & Owen, S. (2011). Nursing for Public Health: Promotion, Principles and Practice. Italy: OXFORD. Pawloski, L. R., Ruchiwit, M., & Markham, S. M. (2011). The Growing Burden of Obesity in Thailand: A Review of Current Trends and Policies. Pediatric Nursing, 37(5), 256-261. Read More