The Issues Around Sustainability in Obesity - Case Study Example

The Obesity Burden Affiliation Obesity burden Introduction Obesity is a lifestyle disease that is on the rise because of people’s lifestyle. It manifests with body mass index of more than thirty in adults.It remains one of the major challenges facing public health in the twenty-first century. The disease has tripled since 1990 and has risen to epidemic levels. This rise may become prevalent if no vivid action is taken. It is estimated by 2015 if appropriate measures are not taken one hundred and fifty million people will be suffering from the condition. Obesity diagnosis Skin Fold Thickness is one method used to measure obesity. In this case, the subcutaneous fat located beneath the skin is grasped and measured using the calipers to determine the percentage of body fatness and relative fitness. Waist circumference and waist to hip ratio is a simple measure for body fatness, though the level of inaccuracy is high due to the instances of measurement error. The cut points in the measurement are as follows: increased risk of health problem is when it is equal to or more than 94cm and greatly increased risk health problems being more than or equal to 102 cm (Cook et al. 2005, pg. 113). Bio-impedance measures mean the impedance to flow of small electric currents through the human body. Lean mass comprises 73% water, and fat has no water content. This method usually is used to calculate the lean tissue mass that acts as a conductor and fat mass acting as an insulator through changes in voltage (Reilly et al. 2002, pg.393). To sustain the functions of the body, energy is key. Some daily living activities that need extreme energy include respiration, circulation and physical work including the synthesis of proteins. The main suppliers of the much-needed energy include fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Each of the above-mentioned sources of energy has their distinct characteristic and importance. As a school nurse develops the weight loss program, he/she should consider their significance and functions (Kitzinger & Karle 2013, pg. 81). Carbohydrates that are also the sugars or the starch provide mainly the energy to the body cells. The brain is carbohydrate dependent organ (Wylie-Rosett et al. 2004, pg. 124). Therefore, the carbohydrates are very essential to keep the brain cells healthy and functional. Fat is the main source of the body’s fuel assisting in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and other components of food as the carotenoids (Haslam & James 2005, pg.1200). Poly saturated fatty acid, linoleic acid makeup the list of the essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids are the acids that are not produced naturally by human bodies. A deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids leads scaly rough skin and dermatitis primarily (Misra et al. 2005, pg. 980). The poly-saturated fatty acids are also significant in the formation of the membrane lipids, moreover, the eyes retina and the nerve tissue. The fats carry out the regulation of the metabolism of omega-3; therefore, controlling the balance of omega-3 and n-3 fatty acid derived eicosanoids (Whitaker et al. 1997, pg. 973). The proteins form the structural component of all the body cells. The proteins together with the amino acids work as membrane carriers, hormones and enzymes. Nine amino acids are considered indispensable, therefore, essential and provided in the diet (Deckelbaum & Williams 2001, pg. 240). The burden of obesity Large proportion of diseases and death are attributed to obesity by world health organization. These diseases are like type two diabetes, some cancer types such as endometrial and breast cancer, ischemic stroke, heart diseases and hypertensive problems. Obesity also affects psychosocial health and person quality of life (Ma et al. 2005, pg. 365). Economic growth is affected since resources are fueled toward treating the disease thus affecting productivity leading to a shortage of labor due to unavailability of health personnel (Finkelstein et al. 2005, pg. 240). To address this issue, government commitment is seen by registration of rules that will help curb obesity epidemic.it has formed a partnership with the organization to monitor the food chain and the food consumed. Research institutions have been put up to research on food and communicate to the government on food safety measures (WHO 1998, pg. 250). The government is also working on the sustainability of food through working hand in hand with the weather forecasting department. It is to ensure there is food security in case of drought.in addition, good forecasting enables people to be updated to the climatic changes expected thus plan for the future (Kopelman 2000, pg. 640). United Kingdom been a major manufacturing country sustainability of raw material and food is key to feed its growing population. Proper measure and emphasis must be put on the production of food and its chain. The food consumed produce impact on the health and environment at large. To ensure sustainability and avoid depletion of food sources, the government has come with strategies (Berenson 2012, pg. 120). Government strategies Reducing inputs. These are the inputs used to grow food that may have dire consequences on the health. It includes minimizing fertilizer usage and use of insecticide. Secondly, it aims at minimizing waste by coming up with strategies that will ensure waste can be recycled for other purposes. Changing people’s opinion on their food consumption pattern is another key issue been addressed (Gade et al. 2010, pg. 55).It can be achieved through education on mass media and seminar on the importance of staying healthy and avoiding the intake of excess calories that are the cause of overweight that leads to obesity. Logistics improve necessarily if the government wants sustainability of food. It enables it to know the population of the people and the percentage affected and infected by the obesity (Crammond et al. 2013, pg. 220). Production processes should be optimized by giving incentives to them to encourage them to produce standard good that do not have an adverse effect on the population (McLaren 2007, pg. 30). They should also ensure the steady supply of the product in the market. Production companies should participate in enlightening people on the danger of consuming large quantities of their product in order to have a healthy people and a healthy nation. Food wastage must be dealt with to ensure sustainability. Emphasis on intake of food that has low lipid lipoproteins is essential in the daily life. Adoption of such trend prevents accumulation of cholesterol in the body that predisposes one to obesity. This food includes red meat and sausages (Orzano & Scott 2004, pg. 360). Vegetables have high lipid lipoprotein that is not harmful to the body thus need to advocate for consumption of vegetables and less of meat. However, measure must be put in place to monitor the growth and farming these vegetables so as the inputs used to grow them do not have an adverse effect on the population (Herrera & Lindgren 2010, pg. 500). Genetically modified organisms and food should be considered, if one has to ensure sustainability. Consequently, it ensures there is no depletion of food capacity to cater for the population (Blackburn & Walker 2005, pg. 209). It will also promote technological advances in agricultural that ensure large-scale production of food. Caution is important in production and consumption of this food, as they are known to cause lifestyle diseases and cancers (Farooqi & O’Rahilly 2006, pg. 712). What drives the food system? Food system is complex.it is reliant on culture, environment and economy. Understanding thus factor can help formulate policies that guidelines that help sustain food supply and prevent lifestyle diseases such as obesity. The population is growing rapidly and this increase the demand of food. This needs to be addressed by injecting resources in the agriculture sector to cater for the rising demand of high quality diet. Food prices must be fair to make them adequate, affordable and accessible to the population in the right proportions and ensuring they consume a balanced diet. It can be achieved by value added tax on food produced locally and those that are imported. Methods to achieve sustainable food production Good knowledge on the environment and the impact it poses helps to build a sustainable health program. Moreover, it stimulates a sustainable food production hence adequate supply that promotes sustainable food consumption (Institute of Medicine 2009, pg. 114). Food policy coherence improves necessarily in order to reduce food wastage and losses. However, inter-sectorial collaboration is essential in achieving sustainability. Multi-sectorial approach is also important, whereby the government collaborates with other health, sports and games department for the sake of creation of exercising and gym units. Such recreation areas are useful for obese people, where they can visit and decrease their calories after exercises done (The NHS Information Interventions to curb obesity In the review of the article “Don’t blame the eater,” the author claims that when he was a child the parents did force him to eat fast foods. These fast foods are not only affordable but also accessible and easily available. Therefore, he was not to blame for the nature of his fatness. He says, “Complicating the lack of alternatives is the lack of information about what, exactly, were consuming.” He became overweight by the time he was 15 years. Furthermore, he claims that the foods are inexpensive and an alternative to fast food restaurants. However, any fast food taken fails to communicate the amount of calories it possesses. In response to that article, the food joints needs to have a policy that all food sold needs to have a label at the side. The label should indicate the caloric content of each food, which deters the consumer in making a risky decision. The government also needs to chip in and regulate the policy (Zinczenko, 2002, pg. 12). The consumer should be aware of the detrimental effects of any decisions made. The aspect of regulated marketing of these foods is a clear way of combating the trend. Every person needs to have a responsibility in the diet taken. Before buying anything and putting it in the stomach, one needs to question the dietary content of the substance and its implications to the health. One can make a healthy plate of food at home: a plate that would not have impacts to the consumer. The parents are to blame for the trend of consumption after all none of the restaurants put a gun on the head of the consumer forcing him or her to make purchases. Campaign can be conducted to continue providing information to support families and individuals to make simple changes to their diet and activity levels. In addition, the government in collaboration with Health Check program, which is aimed at preventing heart disease, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease and obesity, continues its surveillance on the population. It is working with the food and drink industry, as part of the Public Health Responsibility Deal to deliberate on health and sustainability of food. The National Child Measurement Program has a mandate to informs, plan and commission local services as well as building the evidence base to help inform local prioritization through the work of the National Obesity Observatory. There should also be a shift from over reliance on imported food. England mainly relies on raw material grown elsewhere such like Africa. This limit production and supply of products since the food have to go through a series of test to satisfy that they are good for human consumption. In order, to cut down on processing and transportation process, government may come with incentives and policies that advocates and attract investors to start local production of the food materials as well providing a ready market for the food. Policies that ensure easy and quick delivery of food can ensure sustainability since some food is highly perishable, and any delay in delivery affects supply and sustainability. A health plan is necessary to address the rising cases of obesity in this region. The goal to conduct the plan remains to curb and halt the increasing cases of obesity in this region. The ultimate implementation of the plan is important in decreasing the resources the government utilizes in treating the disease conditions emanating from obesity. The plan classified in five steps will aid in quick identification of the problems faced in the community and resolve them to decrease the obesity cases. These steps include the creation of a team to create awareness of the rising epidemic of obesity, multi-sectorial partnerships with other organizations to disseminate collaboratively the information, complete health education to the population on risk reduction measures and policies formulation to curb obesity. The team created consists of all cadres of professionals in the hospital, who ranges from nurses, dietician, pharmacists, physicians and psychologists. The team then sets for a date for going to the field and coming up with an effective community diagnosis about obesity. The selected team works hand in hand to establish the number of cases diagnosed to be obesity through physical examination and critical evaluation. The team evaluates the epidemiologic data after a quick survey (Cawley & Meyerhoefer 2012, pg. 220). The Public Health Department can collaborate with other national departments in creating awareness to the public regarding the dangers associated with obesity. The information communication can create awareness through frequent advertisement in the media. The goal of educating the public should be preventive, curative and rehabilitative. Essential policies development further aids in curbing obesity and rehabilitating the affected population. Health education remains the key plan. The population should be aware of the causes, prevention and management of obesity. Lifestyle modification and exercises remain a key factor in obesity reduction. Encourage healthy eating as a preventable measure (Fabricatore & Wadden 2006, pg. 360). Planning Model The Health promotion model is effective in ensuring consideration of all the angles of health to combat obesity burden. The model strategies focus on five key elements whose key goal is to come up with effective health for every person in the population. The model focuses on building an effective public policy, whereby people can learn the implications of the choices they make in life. A choice of diet has an effect on a person’s health behavior. Moreover, it campaigns for the creation of environments that favor health promotion. For example, encouraging support to those losing weight. Health Promotion Model also utilizes the community in decision making as well as implementing them. In addition to that, it develops personal skills and re-orients the health services in a bid to cater for curative, rehabilitative and promote aspects of obesity (Moldovan & David 2011, pg. 165). Applying a theory of behavior change The health belief theory explains that a clients behavior trend is because of influence emanating from the treats of certain actions. The model consists of perceived susceptibility, perceived seriousness, perceived benefits and perceived barriers all, which determine the action one takes. If the threats to obesity consequences outweigh the benefits of being obese, then the affected client will adopt a new behavior. The new behavior includes continuous exercising, dietary modification and decreasing stress incidences. The person should also feel efficient enough to maintain the new exercising technique (Bennett & Sothern 2009, pg. 156). An internal or external trigger is necessary to actualize the behavior. An internal motivation on the advantages accompanying the health adoption program guides the user and keeps him or her on toes. Sustainable and healthier catering must be encouraged. Toolkits are important as they provide relevant information to caterers on hope to improve food nutrition content and taking into account minimizing the risks posed while catering. Toolkits provide information on the organization with the aim of meeting government standard of buying food. The government is also encouraging businesses and companies to sign responsibility deal that will enable them to come up with effective actions (Kitzinger & Karle 2013, pg. 81). Moreover, it will ensure the employees are healthier by making right decisions. In addition, choices such like policies that manage and support obesity. Massive campaign must be carried out to create awareness on obesity and combat discrimination as well as prejudice that obese people suffer from in their workplace (Sallis & Glanz 2009, pg. 130). Societal challenges of obesity Determinant of social activity mainly includes factors like literacy level, gender issues, and peer influence. Economic status of an individual, as well as the perception of the individual towards physical activities, affects social life. Environmental determinant includes availability of open spaces that are safe for recreational purposes. Policies must be installed to ensure maximum utilization of the facilities for physical activity to reduce the rise of people suffering from the obesity disease (Frønes 1996, pg. 28). Government must look into the totality in what its citizen consume through policies and guidelines that govern the supply of commodities.it must also look into working conditions of employees, and advocate for free time for physical activity. Policies can also be made that ensure the people partake adequate food (Parker et al. 2009, pg. 7). An approach on managing obesity prevalence and overweight must be considered. In addition, measures that lead to healthier living at the peoples residences is crucial in curbing obesity. People must be protected from consumption of unhealthy food through education and registration on food production chain and supply chain (Ran 2010, pg. 225). Conclusion It is people fundamental right to eat and drink whatever they wish. However, they must be educated and made aware of the dire consequences of taking lot of calories without engaging in work or physical activity. Taskforce on obesity has taken into account of forces that impede change for those people who know the health risk potential and consequences of overweight and obesity. The taskforce strategy is to ensure social change. It can be facilitated through personal preference and skills development, supporting and encouraging participation in physical activity in schools, workplace and local community as well as communicating clearly to them on public health strategy. 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