Diet and Nutrition-Related Diseases - Essay Example

PART A: ESSAY OUTLINE The essay is based on diet and nutrition related diseases that are a cause of major concern in today's world. Although the essay highlights the problems associated with unbalanced and improper diet, elaborate description of each disease is not within the scope of this essay. The present population, including Australians is struggling with diabetes, hypertension, obesity and cardio vascular disease to name a few. Nutrition and diet has a pivotal role to play in all the above-mentioned conditions. The poor quality of our typical urban lifestyle along with lack of physical exercise and unregulated dietary intake have made this a major issue of concern among Health Care Organizations as well as governments. This essay focuses on the role of health policies in Australia and how they are going about working towards achieving a healthier way of life for the community and what measures have been taken with regard to this particular health issue. The essay also discusses the effects of these policies on the general population and how effective have they been in achieving their target. What are the changes brought about in the general attitudes of the people Is the impact positive, negative or neutral What more can be done to make the system more efficient and universal These are a few questions this essay attempts to answer. Initial reference list: The Australian Government: National Health and Medical Research Council website. The Ferret Website for picking out the community health issue for the essay. For further detailed reading the following website is recommended: http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/Corporate_Members_and_Links/Default.asp PART-B: COMPLETE ESSAY The faced pace of life coupled with a sedentary lifestyle has brought along with it a myriad of diseases and health problems which were unknown to humankind a till a century ago. On one hand medical science has emerged victorious in fighting the battle against plague, small pox and to an extent polio as well but on the other hand humankind today has become more susceptible to diseases like diabetes, hypertension, obesity strokes, cancers and AIDS. The prevalence of these ailments is more in developed nations, which is a major cause of concern as they greatly affect a nations health care budget. It is of common knowledge that most of these diseases stem from poor dietary habits, lack of physical exercise although they are confounded by various other hereditary and psycho- social factors. Since it is a very vast area, the intensity and impact of is difficult to assess and control. It thus continues to eat into our society like an invisible malignancy. The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization states that: 'health is not just the physical well-being of an individual, but the social, emotional, and cultural well-being of the whole community in which each individual is able to achieve their full potential as a human being thereby bringing about the total well-being of their community'1 Keeping this statement in mind we shall discuss the negative impact and repercussions of improper diet and nutrition, which is currently a national health priority with the Australian Health Care System. Today's "yuppie lifestyle" has bred the demand of "instant and readymade". People do not have the time to assess their nutritional requirements and the exhaustive timings in the corporate world leave them with no energy for physical exercise. There is no fixed pattern for meals, meals are skipped many a times and whatever food is available is consumed without second thoughts. The easiest solution in this solution seems to be fast food or processed food, which is available off the racks. This results in excessive consumption of salt, trans- fats and sugars, which are all anti - health agents. Health status of an individual primarily depends upon the quantity and quality of the food consumed-the right type and amount of food is important in meeting the nutritional needs of the body and fighting chronic diseases. Encouraging physical activity would help combat childhood and adult obesity, which is now an epidemic in developing countrie sincluding Australia. Another important factor to be taken into consideration is food safety keeping in view food and water borne disease like avian bird flue, food poisoning and gastro-enteral disturbance. Health Care Policies: There are various government health policies that formulate schemes and guidelines for public health welfare. One of the most prominent is the National Health and Medical Research Council2. The NHMRC Dietary Guidelines for Australian Adults and Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents in Australia3 use the best available statistics and scientific evidence to provide information to proffessionals as well as the common man . the purpose is to spread awareness about correct food habits and nutritional values of different product and aims at reducing the prevelence of diet related health problems in australians.The dietary guidelines throw light on the food groups which are recommended for consumption along with lifestyle modifications. more important than another. Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents were developed by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NH&MRC) in 1995 and subsequently reviewed in 2003. These guidelines apply to the general population of healthy children from birth to eighteen years4. The NHMRC lays separate guidelines for children and adults and addresses the fact that the dietary and nutritional requirements of both age groups is remarkably variable. The guidelines stress on the importance of breast-feeding, monitoring the child's growth and physical activity and foods recommended for proper development including sugar, fat and salt intake. For the adult and older population NHMRC recommends maintaining adequate muscle mass index, consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, plenty of water and specially food rich in calcium. The guidelines also advise against smoking and alcohol consumption. Saturated fats and high salt intake are also warned against. Is it effective Diet -health issues are gaining more importance by the day as they continue to be backed by voluminous scientific evidence. Decisions regarding food choices and consumption are now largely driven by health considerations. The last decade has seen a revolution regarding diet decisions that have traversed from pure nutritional value consideration to self-medication and disease prevention. The population today is much well informed and educated on issues regarding health than their preceding generation which is fostered by constant exposure and awareness programs from the media and internet and government publicity programs. The chronicity of these diet related health problems have become an expensive affair for the governments to deal with due to treatment costs and decreased overall productivity of the community. To counteract this governments have launched intervention strategies and enforced laws governing the promotion and consumption of foods considered detrimental to health. Influenced by public health programs a large portion of population in the developing countries shifted to consuming a 'balanced-diet', by reducing their intake of red-meats and trans-fats, increasing their intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other whole foods and consuming natural foods. However, using food for therapeutic and preventional measures is a new and fast emerging trend. This new category of food products and derivatives are called" functional foods" and they might be used as whole diets, supplements or drugs. Functional foods are valued for one or more ingredient known to prevent, treat or provide relief from specific diseases. Along with the increasing research and awareness, there is an increasing demand for functional foods, which is a major positive factor in the economic growth of a nation. The present day consumer has sidelined the convenience factor and is willing to take that extra step for the health and well being of himself and his family. The growing popularity of health and functional foods is a sign that people are utilizing their knowledge on nutrition and making efforts on an individual level to improve their lifestyle by adopt a healthier one. Taking current picture into account, one can probably expect the prevalence of diseases like diabetes, hypertension and obesity to come down in the following years. It takes an epidemic to initiate action and it is high time we begin our battle against these preventable diseases. Although the level of awareness is high among people it is only the upper socio economic class that has access to all the information. Efforts should be made to target other socio economic groups too although the prevalence is much lower but not zero. Public education programs should be tailored according to what social group they are being delivered to. For example, the lower economic group should be educated more on malnutrition, child health, vaccination and infectious diseases, which they are more susceptible to. The middle to higher economic group should be targeted with more information on diabetes, hypertension, obesity and cardio vascular and stress related disease as they are exposed to more predisposing factors for these. Health care strategies pertaining to nutrition and dietics should be designed such that they are more universally applicable and acceptable. REFERENCES: The Ferret Website for picking out the community health issue for the essay. http://www. Ferret.com.au/articles/85/0c03e785.asp: newspaper article The Australian Government: National Health and Medical Research Council website. http://www7.health.gov.au/nhmrc/publications/synopses/dietsyn.htm: policies http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/frames.htm http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/cvd/padbwdb01/padbwdb01.pdf http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/Nutrition_for_All_Ages/Children/dietary_guidelines.as For further detailed reading the following website is recommended: http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/Corporate_Members_and_Links/Default.asp . Read More