The Fight Against Obesity in the United States of America: Diagnostic and Treatment - Research Paper Example

 Healthy weight is the most important factor toward reducing the obesity epidemic in America Name Institution Healthy weight is the most important factor toward reducing the obesity epidemic in America Introduction Excessive weight and obesity are issues of serious concern to the American population. In a documentary, it was pointed out that nearly two-thirds of Americans are struggling overweight or obesity. Interestingly, not even the children have been spared with one-third struggling with heavy weight or childhood obesity. The huge population portion coupled with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle has climaxed to a serious issue within the American society. Arguably, this can be shoved off as a personal problem. Nonetheless, how realistic will this be when a number of health journals argue that overweight and obesity are extremely big societal issues and increases prevalence of other diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, among others? Shockingly, it is estimated that obesity and its related ailments costs the nation up to $150 billion every year in terms of health care costs. A fundamental question however is, “is healthy weight the most important factor in reduction of obesity in America?” this is a question worth answering. Background Information Obesity in America Obesity in children is one of the major concerns of the 21st century. The trends and habits inhibited by children lead them to gain weight at an early age. The childhood obesity dilemma in the United States has increased in percentage with a considerable amount. The percentage of obese children falls between 16 and 33%. Obesity is easy to diagnose but difficult to treat. Children gain unhealthy weight due to poor fitness and nutrition. 50 % of children are less active compared to a century ago (Andersen, 2003). Most children are either picked by the school bus or dropped off to school by their parents limiting their physical movement. Obesity is responsible for over 300,000 deaths annually. The cost to manage obesity in a society estimates at $100 billion. The likelihood of obese children to become obese adults is high unless they adopt a better lifestyle. The epidemic does not show any sign of deterioration but rather keeps increasing day by day in the United States of America. Obesity and overweight is a major problem mostly affecting developed countries around the globe. The two rank as the fifth leading global risk factors for death. In the past three decades obesity and overweight condition has grown more than double. Currently in the United States of America, research shows that over a third of adults in the country are obese. In the United States of America, one of the ways that we can use to promote development and growth in children is through teaching them how to develop healthy habits. To accomplish the normal day-to-day tasks, people with disabilities need to work hard than their peers to accomplish these tasks. If they are obese, the burden now becomes greater for both the person with disability and their caretakers. One of the ways that it inconveniences them is high cost incurred by obesity. Obesity also puts added stigma incases where the child might already be stigmatized. Another challenge the condition may bring is limiting an individual’s movement that may hinder their ability to participate in leisure activities. These activities may range from amusement park rides to playground rides. Obesity also puts adults and children at a great risk of acquiring secondary health conditions. These include cardiovascular diseases, breast, colon, and endometrial cancers, orthopedic disorders, diabetes, asthma, gynecological problems and osteoarthritis. The other challenge for people with disability is that the task of toileting and bathing becomes more difficult. One of the ways to assist the people with disability in the United States of America is, implementing policies for the public that support physical activity programs for people with disabilities. There need to be more major investments in programs at the private and public sector for those people living with disabilities. These include fitness and wellness clubs for them. The other option in the bid to promote healthy weight in people with disability is talking to the individuals and involving them indecision making about their health and fitness. Obesity is a condition where excess fat depositions made in the human body to the extent of causing health effects. Measuring obesity is achieved through the Body Mass Index (BMI) where the height and weight of an individual is compared to cluster the person and underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese (Andersen, 2003). A reading greater than 30 kg/m2 places an individual under the obese cluster. Certain considerations are placed such as age, body structure and the level of fitness. Obesity is a major cause of deaths globally. Increasing number of obese children and adults is highly attributed to the food consumed. Obesity is highly stigmatized with many children and young adults using extreme means to ensure they maintain a body image accepted by the public (CDC, 2012). Causes of obesity Obesity occurs when an individual take excessive food intake, combined with limited or no physical activity. In few circumstances, obesity is hereditary, caused by medications, endocrine disorders, or psychiatric illness. In some instances slow metabolic rates also causes obesity. Some patients eat small amounts of food, but gain weight since the food takes time to be digested hence depositing as fat. The society is also responsible for obesity. The relationship between a BMI result and social class is indirectly related (Andersen, 2003). Women who have high status ranking are less likely to be obese and vice versa. The income factor plays a role as individuals are able to afford a balanced, healthy diet. This group can manage an exercise regime by paying for gym memberships. There are minimal impact aspects that have been associated with increased levels of obesity such as, insufficient sleep, increased obese trigger medication usage, environmental pollutants, and decreased ambient temperature (WHO, 2000). Characteristics of obesity Obesity can be recognized by excessive weight. Most patients do not recognize that they are obese and continue to indulge in unhealthy eating habits with low exercise levels. It is until is late that many patient get desperate to shed off the excess weight. Patients are usually faced with respiratory problems due to constricted vessels (Andersen, 2003). Physical limitations of obesity Obesity is associated with the 21st century (CDC, 2012). Stigmatization is also common making the patients, especially teenagers, to fall deep into the problem limiting their movement from one place to another. It is difficult for patients to exercise as weight is placed on the overweight bones. The physical makes up exerts pressure on joints causing diseases such as arthritis. Fat deposits that accumulate under the skin make it difficult for perspiration to take place in the body of an individual. This means that physical processes of the body do not take place properly. Waste removal is essential for the body as it removes toxins from the body (CDC, 2012). Literature Review According to Troiano & Flegal (2007) 43% of American Indians are categorized as obese while a further 34.5% are considered overweight, with a meager 22.8% experiencing normal/low weight. The authors in their analysis emphasize that obesity constitutes a major risk among the Navajo children, just like it does to the general population. In essence they acknowledge the increased prevalence of obesity amongst the American population and attribute this to shift from traditional foods and activity levels to modern foods constituting high fats and calories, in addition to the change to sedentary lifestyle (Troiano & Flegal, 2007). In another research, Maurer & Smith (2009) attribute obesity amongst the American population to a number of factors most of which stem from the emerging lifestyles. Amongst the factors cited include imbalanced nutrition and hence susceptibility to risk factors such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular conditions as well as increased lipid levels, poor health habits such as eating habits, sexual inappropriate actions, knowledge inadequacy/ignorance, social stigma and self-esteem issues as well as cultural issues (Maurer & Smith, 2009). These findings are supported by Welty (2008) who also investigated case of obesity amongst the American population. In his research, Welty (2008) used the health belief model in development of an approach to understanding ways of dealing with increased cases of obesity. In the paper, Welty (2008) notes that when dealing with a cultured community, it is important to create beliefs that will counter the negative beliefs they already have. This he notes, forms the pillars of dealing with obesity in instances where culture is part of the causes. In another research, Broussard et al (2009), notes that obesity is epidemic which affect the young and the old alike. According to this research, the young, the old, the teenagers, as well as people with special needs are affected with obesity. Moving further, he notes that treatment and prevention have often focused on behavioral changes. However, he raises an important aspect noting that cultural gap as well as social status seems to have an impact on the prevalence of obesity amongst the American population with some cultures seemingly recording higher prevalence rates as compared to others. In their findings, the authors note that focus on behavioral changes has not been so much a success and there still exists cases of overweight and obese population. In essence, the authors point to an inextricable link between overweight and obesity. Like Broussard et al (2009), Public Health Service report of 2008 points out that the issue of healthy weight amongst people with disabilities is as serious as is the case for the public at large. Once again, this report ties the weight issue to obesity noting that people with disabilities who have heavy weights are more prone to becoming obese irrespective of whether they are adults or children (Public Health Service report, 2008). For example, among boys with disabilities between 2-17 years, obesity prevalence is about 21% whereas for their peers its 17%. For girls aged between age 2-17 the prevalence for obesity is 23% and among their peers its 14% (Dattilo, 2009). In most of the cases, the report notes, those who get obese have heavy weights. Treatment and recommendations of obesity A proper nutritional diet and exercise is the main treatment of obesity. It is necessary to reduce food intake, especially of high energy foods that contain high fat and sugar levels. Increasing dietary fiber foods should be supplemented to ensure the body continues to get nutritious foods. Failures of this method, anti- obesity drugs, are administered to patients to suppress appetite or inhibit the absorption of fat. In severe cases, patients undergo surgery to insert an intragastric balloon to reduce its volume. The patient experiences early satisfaction and the ability of the system to absorb nutrients from food is reduced (Andersen, 2003). Conclusion Since early 1970s, obesity is always been referred to as one of the leading nutritional disease in the developed countries. It has been prone in American adults, children as well as adolescents. Obesity is a major contributory factor of chronic diseases. Some of these negative effects of obesity in America are mortality and morbidity. Its guidelines on treatment are complex and the chances of a successful treatment options are minimal since it affects both children and adults. This brings about high social, psychological as well as medical cost. Participation of national leadership is a crucial step that will require considerable funding as well as a multifaceted policy in public health. For the United States of America to have a better chance in succeeding on the fight against Obesity, it would require a public health campaign, reversing certain trends and national leadership. This would all call for necessity in early prevention of gaining excess weight. If possible, the practice should be encouraged very early in life. This would also be possible if individuals would develop habits of taking healthy foods and avoid unhealthy foods such as junk food. Individuals should as well eliminate some of the environmental barriers that might be there and adopt an active lifestyle. This would balance input and expenditure of energy in the body. References Andersen, R. (2010). Obesity: etiology, assessment, treatment, and prevention. New York: Human Kinetics. Broussard, B. A. et al. (2009). Toward comprehensive obesity prevention programs in Native American communities. Obes Res, 3, p. 289S–97S. 69. CDC. (2012). Overweight and Obesity. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/ Dattilo, A. M. (2009). Dietary fat and its relationship to body weight. Nutr Today, 53, p. 13–19. Maurer, F. A., & Smith, C. M. (2009). Community/Public health nursing practice: Health for families and populations (4th ed). St. Louis, MO: Saunders Elsevier. Public Health Service. (2008). Healthy people 2010: national health promotion and disease prevention objectives. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services, 1990. US Department of Health and Human Services publication PHS 90-50212 Troiano, R. P. & Flegal, K. M. (2007). Overweight children and adolescents: description, epidemiology, and demographics. Pediatrics, 101, p. 497–504. Welty, T. K. (2008). Health implications of obesity in American Indians and Alaska Natives. Am J Clin Nutr, 53, p. 1616S–20S. WHO. (2011). Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organisation. Read More