Factors which contribute to obesity - Research Paper Example

?Running Head: Obesity Obesity Obesity Introduction This paper addresses the assertions made in health communication concerningobesity. It is discusses the importance of health communication in promoting effective health care. Communication influences the accomplishment of healthcare related goals. It examines the relationship between health outcomes and health communication (Sharma & Romas, 2011). The paper will also discuss on some of the factors which contribute to obesity, healthy risks which are related to obesity, CDCynergy Health Communication model for addressing chronic health issues, Step by step plan for the health promotion program and the limitations of the model. Obesity is a condition in which the body accumulates excess fat that may lead to adverse health effects. It is different from overweight in that being overweight can be due to extra water, bone or muscle and not necessarily fat. Obesity is a condition mainly contributed by the lifestyle one leads. The condition leads to being highly prone to diseases and can cause reduced life expectancy. Obese people are likely to suffer from asthma, heart disease, some cancer types, diabetes mellitus and osteoarthritis. One becomes obese when the body mass index is above 30 kg/m2. It is caused mainly by taking high energy foods, genetic susceptibility and lack of physical activity like exercise. The excess energy in the high energy foods is converted to fat and deposited in the body. Some cases of obesity may be caused by endocrine disorders, genes or some medications. Obesity is contributed by a variety of factors making it a complex health issue to address. Genetic factors, environment and one’s behavior all have an effect in causing obesity. The main cause of obesity is the intake of more calories than the amount the body can burn through physical activity. Behavior, genetic makeup and the environment have different are the main causes for calorie imbalance. An average person eats about ten million calories in ten years, but the body weight only changes by about ten pounds. This indicates that the body weight remains fairly stable over time because the body controls calorie balance. However, the body may fail to manager the quantity of calories in the body. When this happens, the excess calories in the body may cause obesity as it results in excess weight. The environment Obesity has become a health issue with the number of obese people in the UK increasing by over three times in the last 25 years (Cottrel and McKenzie, 2010). This increase can be attributed to changes in lifestyle particularly change in physical activities and foods taken. Obesity is more like a lifestyle disease which is caused by what people eat and the kind of lifestyle they lead. Processing of foods improves their taste and leads to varieties with low costs thus people tend to consume more. Modernization and busy schedules have led to increase in intake of soft drinks and fast foods that have high calories. People nowadays choose to go for the refined foods since they are either easy to prepare or are ready for consumption due to their bust schedules which also contributed to high obesity levels. Advertisement of these packaged foods also promotes their intake mainly by children. Use of public transport and cars means people really do physical activities like walking. People also spend their free time surfing the internet and watching television rather than in physical activities. Most jobs also involve working while seated for several hours. The environment we live today highly contributes to the high obesity rates in the world today. Genes Environment can not contribute to obesity entirely by itself. This is clearly shown in a case where the environment is the same, but some people are slim while others are obese. Study of the effect of lifestyles and genes on obesity can be carried out on twins and adopted children. Genes affect how food is metabolized and stored in the body. Insulin plays a role in fat storage and hunger behaviors. Insulin regulates the amounts of several nutrients in the blood. It helps maintain an optimum for these nutrients and controls breakdown of various fuels (Sharma & Romas, 2011). Insulin is released when blood glucose levels are high. This favors metabolism of glucose and conversion to glycogen for storage. Excess glucose is converted to fats for storage. During low blood glucose levels, insulin is not released favoring break down of stored fats and carbohydrates to release energy. Insulin thus suppresses burning of fats after intake of high carbohydrate meals. High protein meals also stimulate secretion of insulin. Intake of carbohydrate foods triggers insulin release. High levels of insulin prevent burning of fats and instead lead to more fat storage. Some protein meals like meat trigger insulin secretion to the same extent as starch foods like pasta. Behavior It is impossible to alter our genetic makeup or control the environment we live in, but we can control our eating behaviors. Regular physical activity and health eating habits help to reduce the risk of being obese. Obesity is highly attributed to our daily behavior, and that is why scientists and researcher say that we should aspire to feed our heart which includes being obesity free. The issue of obesity can be addressed through change in policy, behavior and the environment. Health risks related to obesity There are different healthy risks, and a disease which may come across incase one is suffering from obesity. This makes a person suffering from obesity to suffer from other infections. i. High blood pressure Blood pressure is the force at which blood pushes against artery walls as it is pumped by the heart. Increase in pressure above the normal for a long time with no control can lead to death. Obesity increases the chances of having high blood pressure. Scientists say that we should always feed our hearts by consuming all foods which will not have any negative impact on the heart condition. Consumption of healthy foods will make us healthy and free from obesity and high blood pressure which may lead to heart attacks and heart failure. ii. Stroke Obese people are prone to plaque build-up in the arteries. These plaques eventually burst forming a blood clot in the area. A clot located near the brain blocks oxygen and blood flow to the brain leading to a stroke. Obesity leads to an increase in the total Body Mass Index (BMI) which is a healthy risky if it goes beyond 25. Increase in BMI index increase the risk of having a stroke. iii. Coronary heart disease A high body mass index increases the risk of having coronary heart disease. This condition occurs when a plaque forms inside the coronary arteries. Coronary arteries are responsible for the supply of oxygenated blood to the heart. The plaque either narrows or blocks these arteries reducing the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart. This results either to angina, a pain in the chest or lead to heart attack. Obesity may lead to accumulation of excess fat on the muscles of the heart leading to heart failure. iv. Cancer Obesity increases the risk for breast, colon, gallbladder and endometrial cancers. The release of hormones and other signaling molecules by the adipose cells causes cancer. These have huge impacts on the growth of the proliferation of cells and promote uncontrolled growth of cells which cause cancer. The resistance of insulin also contributes to the development of different cancer. Obesity also causes inflammation which plays important roles in the cause of cancer. However, development of cancer depends on environmental factors and genetic make up. v. Type 2 diabetes Diabetes is a condition in which the blood sugar level is too high. Insulin hormone favors conversion of glucose to energy to be used by the body. Body cells of people suffering from Type 2 Diabetes are insensitive to insulin (Goforth, 2013). This condition results to increase in levels of blood glucose. The body initially reacts by producing more insulin to help control the high levels. Diabetes may lead to kidney disease stroke, chronic heart disease or even to death. vi. Osteoarthritis This is a condition that causes pain in the joints of the lower back, hips and knees. It occurs when the tissue that protects these joints wears off. Extra weight cause wearing of this tissue as it puts pressure in the joints causing pain. As a result, obesity leads to osteoarthritis due to the excess weight which comes with it. vii. Gallstones Gallstones are pieces of stone-like material mainly made of cholesterol that form in the gall bladder. They cause back pain and stomach pain. Obese people are like to have gallstones due to the excess fat in their bodies (Goforth, 2013). The excess fats in their bodies end up in forming stones in the gall bladder, hence making the patient easy to suffer from other infections. CDCynergy Health Communication model Professional encourages public health planning as an important step in addressing chronic health issues. This is crucial when the health issues require long term strategies and a variety of approaches (Frost, 2008). The multiple approaches include change of environment, policy and the individual behavior. The availability of many models provides health practitioners with the flexibility to match an intended model with an appropriate model. They also enable one to use a model that meets the expectations and norms of an organization and the community involved (Terry & Xi, 2010). A plan can be designed using a variety of models, and this offers great flexibility in plan design. It also calls for the need of an evaluation instrument that is reliable in the expanding and diverse body of health plans. Planning models provide a planning process and does not articulate attributes of a completed plan or give the outcome of a process. CDCynergy is a CDROM used for managing, planning and evaluating public health communication programs. It is an innovative rule used to assist and guide users in designing in creating health communication interventions within the public health framework (Frost, 2008). It was originally meant for use within the CDC but is currently used outside the agency. It is now used by health practitioners on a state, national and local level. The tool does not assume that communication solves the public health issue. It takes one through a process in which: 1. One is able to use research to help determine and describe the causes of a health program that he/she plans to address by use of an intervention. 2. This assists to come up with several strategies to deal with the problem 3. It provides an ability to select the feasible strategies that will help the audience 4. It helps to understand the role communication plays in planning, evaluating and implementing of the selected strategies. 5. It helps come up with a comprehensive communication plan that has audience research, production, launch, pre-testing and evaluation at every stage. The State Plan Index (SPI) tool was developed for the evaluation of the CDC’s Physical Activity and Nutrition program to prevent obesity and other chronic diseases. The CDC Obesity Prevention Program gives a planning support and any related assistance to states for obesity reduction and prevention (Frost, 2008). CDC came up with it to help evaluate plan developed by state public health practitioners and other partners with the use of a number of health planning models. Good health plans give good programs that lead to good health outcomes. Step by step plan for the health promotion program Sample, refinement, measures and refinement The sample will include 55 items that will be grouped within 9 components. A 5-point Likert scale is to be provided for each item 1 indicating low quality and 5 showing high quality (McKenzie, Neiger & Thackeray, 2012). A ‘not addressed’ option is also included for each option. A pilot test is then conducted on the instrument for by rating two state plans independently. Analysis Cronbach is calculated for each component to determine if the items grouped within the same component measure the same dimension. Face validity of the items should also be determined by review by state, public health and academic planning experts. Results The nine components used are: 1. Involvement of stakeholders 2. Goals 3. Selection for population and intervention of strategy 4. Objectives 5. Presentation of data on disease burden and efforts to control obesity 6. Integration of strategies with other programs and implementation 7. Resources required for implementation 8. Evaluation 9. Accessibility of the plan The results should be in a score of one to five. Limitations The plan quality relies on the assumptions in the literature reviewed and the public health models. The evaluation only involves nine states which may not give reliable data. The tool gives a systematic and detailed for evaluating plan quality, but determinations can only be made based on the judgment of the rater (Health Sciences, 2010). Assessment can be influenced by the sequence in which a rater reviews plans. There is also lack of useful instruments to evaluate plan quality at the state level. Conclusion Evaluation of programs can be used to guide new programs and strengthen existing programs. The CDCynergy model is used to plan training sessions, to guide technical assistance and enhance communication of state stuff on plan quality, content and public health approach. Public health models have the assumption that quality planning leads to good health outcomes. This planning model provides ideas to suit different planning situations and groups. References Cottrel, R. & McKenzie, J. (2010). Health Promotion & Education Research Methods: Using the Five Chapter Thesis/ Dissertation Model. Jones & Bartlett Learning. Food Science Source. http://www.ebscohost.com/biomedical-libraries/food-science-source. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database. Frost, R. (2008). Health promotion theories and models for program planning and implementation. Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. University of Arizona. Retrieved from: http://azrapeprevention.org/sites/azrapeprevention.org/files/2008_01_UA.pdf Goforth, A. (2013). Food and nutrition. ProQuest LLC. Retrieved from: http://www.proquest.co.uk/en-UK/catalogs/collections/detail/Food-and-Nutrition-78.shtml. Health Management, 13(6), 297-307. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database. Health Sciences, (2010). Research collections, serials and Dissertations. ProQuest. Retrieved from: http://www.proquest.co.uk/assets/downloads/catalogs/collections/Health_Sciences_Catalog.pdf . Sharma, M., & Romas, J. A. (2011). Theoretical foundations of health education and health promotion. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. McKenzie, J. F., Neiger, B. L., & Thackeray, R. (2012). Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating Health Promotion Programs: A Primer: International Edition. Pearson Education, Limited, Terry, P. E. & Xi, M. (2010). An examination of presenteeism measures: the association of three scoring methods with health, work life, and consumer activation. Population. Read More