Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease - Essay Example

Obesity is often associated with the development of various diseases such as (1) type II diabetes; (2) hypertension; (3) dyslipidemia; (4) cancer; (5) cardiovascular diseases; (6) obstructive sleep apnea; and (7) sleep-disorder breathing among many others (Lavie, Milani, & Ventura, 2009). Considering the case of the patient, the following is the design for the patient’s periodic health examination schedule:

Wellness and Health Promotion

Disease Prevention Activities

1st visit to the clinic

1.   Educate the patient about the health consequences of being overweight and obese.

2.   Teach the patient the proper way of reducing weight (i.e. avoid eating in fast-food restaurants, live an active lifestyle, etc.)

3.   Teach the patient about the need to drink more liquid on day time rather than night time.

4.    Educate the patient about the importance of eating healthy foods.

5.   Other things that the patient should know include: (1) the main causes of obesity; (2) why the patient needs to lose weight; and (3) effective diet and weight loss programs.

1.     Encourage the patient to be more physically active (i.e. walking, etc.).

2.     Frequent urination at night can distract the patient’s sleep. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage the patient to avoid drinking too much liquid and beverages with caffeine or alcohol a few hours before bedtime.

3.     Encourage the patient to eat healthy foods and avoid food and beverages that can promote weight gain (i.e. soda, foods with too much sugar, etc.)

  Among the few, developmental and socioeconomic considerations for the patient include the fact that his wife has recently died which forced him to sell his house to pay his wife’s medical bills. Knowing that the patient is living together with his son, it is important to know how old his son, who between them is in one in-charge of food preparation at home, who works for a living, and so on. Basically, knowing the socio-economic situation of the patient can help a lot in terms of designing more effective and more appropriate health promotion and disease prevention strategies.

            With regard to cross-culture, it is important to pay close attention to the patient’s tradition, practices, and personal beliefs. When designing the patient’s periodic health examination schedule, it should be in accordance with the patient’s cross-cultural background. For instance, the patient should be able to speak the same language with the healthcare professionals to ensure a smooth flow in communications.

Furthermore, it is equally important to consider the emotional status of the patient given that his wife has recently died due to illness. An emotional burden can be a hindrance to an effective healthcare intervention. Therefore, assuming that the patient is having difficulty coping with losing an important person in his life, it could be best for the medical experts to give more emotional assistance or empathy to the patient. In doing so, the healthcare professionals could establish the patient’s trust before actually implementing the proposed wellness and health promotion including the list of disease prevention strategies.