Obesity and Its Effect on Nursing Health - Term Paper Example

Obesity and its Effect on Nursing Health

Outline

Introduction

Thesis statement: Considering the significant number of nurses found to be obese and overweight, it is evident that their condition impends their ability to promote health practices and some of them face stigma that reduces their confidence to render services.

Body

• Reasons as to why nurses become obese
• Nurses become obese as a consequence of the nature of their jobs
• Busy schedules make them find it difficult to eat healthy diet
• When nurses get promoted, physical activity is likely to reduce
• They are ignorant of their BMI status
• Effects on nursing health
• Obese nurses can be stigmatized while carrying out their responsibilities
• Can suffer low levels of self-esteem
• Nurses who are obese can easily get physical injuries as they move around to attend to the patients.
• Loss of productivity can lead to dismissal from their work station
• May make nurses to suffer arthritis and diabetes
• Susceptibility of nurses to obesity
• Issue of races makes whites and Hispanics to be more susceptible to obesity as compared to individuals from Asian countries
• Older nurses are more likely to become obsess than the younger ones
• Some nurses are influential by their genes to become obese

Conclusion

• A large number of nurses are obese and overweight, and this has had a toll on their health and productivity

Introduction

Numerous studies have focused on the effect of obesity on the mainstream population. However, few of them have considered how health professionals such as nurses can be affected by overweight. Considering the significant number of nurses found to be obese and overweight, it is evident that their condition impends their ability to promote health practices and some of them face stigma that reduces their confidence to render services.

Analysis

Studies in the UK indicate that 7 in every 10 nurses in Scotland are obese or overweight (Kyle, Neall and Atherton 127). Such a revelation raises pertinent question in regard to why the professionals who are expected to know more about the disorder become vulnerable to it. Occupational factors may come in play, where many nurses find themselves adding more weight due to the nature of their jobs. According to Kyle, Neall and Atherton, poverty may force some nurses to have poor diets which often causes them to become obese. In addition, low levels of physical activity may compound the challenge further. As nurses move higher the career leader and become managers and supervisors, physical activity is likely to reduce, making them to add more weight. Even when government provides physical activity guidelines, most of them would forfeit the recommended five portions of fruits or vegetables on a daily basis. Despite the guidelines, most of them would not resist the temptation to eat foods that are high in calories.

The performance of physical aerobic exercises could provide a panacea to the challenge of overweight among nurses. Conversely, there is evidence to the effect that the working patterns may make it difficult for them to perform regular exercises that can facilitate their fitness. For instance, working in shifts often disrupts regular eating, sleeping and exercising schedules, making them to become vulnerable to obesity. Even then, the question of eating healthy foods at the workplace depends on their availability. According to Richard, Neall and Atherton, it becomes difficult for nurses to easily access the foods required to keep good health. Besides, many nurses find themselves working in shifts, and this can lead to sleeping disorders particularly when they find it difficult to get adequate rest time. Sleep disorders may cause an imbalance in appetite regulating hormones.

A study in a sample of Californian registered nurses indicated that 48.7% of them were obese or overweight (Chin, Nam and Lee 63). Conversely, the high prevalence made the nurses to be perceived negatively. Research for instance proves that obese nurses suffer greater levels of stigmatization. As they perform their medical responsibilities, nurses may become socially unacceptable due to stigma, and this can affect their levels of confidence and self-esteem. In some cases, nurses are ignorant of their BMI status, an aspect that make them to underestimate their health risks (Zhu, Norman and While 571). Usually, the nurses who serve patients in the area of weight control need to be knowledgeable about their BMI, yet, some of them who are not aware of their BMI can fail to provide effective education. According to Zhu, Norman and While, nurses who fail to decipher their own weight can misadvise the public in regard to the issue of weight. For instance, a national health interview survey carried out by the authors indicated that 29% of the respondents misclassified their weight as a consequence of misadvise from obese nurses. Therefore, the health outcome of patients can be compromised if nurses fail to recognize and appreciate that they are obese. In fact, some nurses who are ignorant of their overweight status may flout the standard BMI measure and misadvise obese patients to create the impression that they are of normal weight.

Nurses who are overweight can may fail to perform their responsibilities as a consequence of their health status (Krussig, Willoughby and Parker 16). Ahima shows that obesity causes numerous body conditions. Due to their inability to move effectively in limited space, they are more likely to get injuries. In addition, loss of productivity due to slowness may cause such nurses to suffer greater consequences when they lose their jobs. As envisaged earlier, governments often create health guidelines that would ensure that nurses maintain standard fitness. Consequently, there is always the possibility of government dismissing those nurses who fail to abide by healthy eating habits. In essence, nurses who are obese are more likely to become absent from work stations, specifically when they start to suffer from other health challenges associated with overweight. Diseases such as arthritis and diabetes may emerge as a consequence of persistent obesity.

The question of overweight can become complicated by the fact that issues of race and age can inform obesity among health professionals. Studies indicate that whites and Hispanics are more susceptible to obesity as compared to individuals in Asian countries (Chin, Nam and Lee 64). In fact, a study on female Korean nurses indicate that a significant proportion of them (66.5%) maintained normal weight despite being subjected to conditions that made their counterparts in western countries to become obese (Kim, Son and Park 4). In addition, age is a significant factor of obesity, where older nurses are more likely to become overweight when compared to their younger counterparts.

Obesity in nurses may be driven by a stressful work environment. Being a stressful job, nurses may find themselves developing coping mechanism such as overeating and avoidance of exercise. In this regard, Chin, Nam and Lee contend that within their early stage of training, young nurses need to benefit from health promoting activities.

Having considered the racial and age-related aspects of obesity, few researchers have ever considered the genetic makeup of the condition. As many analysts consider how aerobic exercises and adherence to a strict diet can help lessen its prevalence, Richard, Neall and Atherton believe that health promotion should go beyond merely sensitizing public and nurses about the relevance of keeping fit. Accordingly, nurses who are obese by a matter of their genetic makeup may achieve little through performance of physical exercises (Zhu, Norman and While 569). Based on the fact that obese nurses can easily be stigmatized and suffer biased treatment, health promotion may ensure that colleagues and patients can have an empathy for obese nurses and therefore help them to attain self-confidence. If such nurses are stigmatized as a consequence of conditions that are beyond them, then there is a possibility that they can leave the profession.

The heath of nurses is quite significant in achieving public confidence. There is no way that the mainstream public can have confidence in the services of nurses who are obese and seldom take initiatives to enhance their wellbeing. However, before blaming them, it is important to also consider how their adverse working condition can impend on their health. Even in the midst of constructing health promotion programs in the workplace, it becomes evident that most nurses still become vulnerable. Nurses should be construed just like any other people who have made preference to fast foods that provide ready-made alternatives (Chin, Nam and Lee 67). In the midst of saving time so as to respond to emergencies, nurses find it difficult to resist the temptation to eat ready-made foods. In essence, the obese nature of nurses may be linked to their desire to provide urgent services. Based on the fact that emergencies can never be predicted, some of them may work for longer hours without rest, limiting their ability to prepare a meal. Thus, most of them would save a few minutes to get to a fast-food outlet. Perhaps the issue of nursing shortage should be managed effectively so that the existing few would find adequate time to care for themselves. Due to pressure of workload, a medical facility that has employed many nurses would have the pleasure to offer their medical professionals ample time to re-energize and consume healthy foods, and this can reduce cases of obesity.

Personal experience

As an obsess nurse, I have often experienced several challenges stemming from being accepted to practice. Most clients often find it difficult to discuss issues of obesity with me, considering that they believe that I do not have the capacity to do so based on my condition. However, there are those who accept that obesity can also be genetic. Such clients have understood that I can do little to about it, specifically when my kinsmen are also obese. I am lucky that for my situation, there is an aspect of acceptance, specifically considering that my employer has offered to advise me on how I can maintain my self-esteem when I am stigmatized by my colleagues and clients. The fact that within the US obesity has been accepted as normal has also helped me to maintain a positive attitude. Thus, I believe that nurses should not be discriminated upon for their body weight, on condition that they can exhibit professionalism in their duties.

Conclusion

It is only in the recent years that the wellbeing nurses has received greater attention. A considerable portion of nurses is obese and overweight, and this has had a toll on their health and productivity. Most of them cannot move briskly to offer emergency services, with others becoming susceptible to arthritis and diabetes. Considering that many nurses are using their obese condition as a benchmark in health promotion, studies have shown that most of them have misclassified the BMI of their patients. In some countries, patients who are overweight have been classified as having normal weight by obese nurses.