Adolescent Health Prospects - Essay Example

?Adolescent Health Introduction From various surveys and researches, it has been proved that lifestyle choices affects long-term health prospects of a nation significantly. According to the data collected from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, it has been observed that obesity rate has increased at a shocking rate, since 1980. In the OECD countries, 1 in 2 adult is overweight and 1 in 6 is obese. In some countries, the rate of overweight people is estimated to increase by a further 1% per year for the next 10 years (Robb, 2010). According to various surveys and statistics, 101,310 deaths were reported in UK due to Coronary Heart Disease, the leading cause of death for both sexes, in 2005. Cerebrovascular disease which is the second leading cause of mortality in U K killed 21,966 men and 35,902 women in 2005. Lung cancer was the third leading cause of death in U K which caused 7.15 % death rate in males and 4.65 in women in 2005 (Hawe, 2008) According to the Health Survey of England (2009) childhood and adult obesity have increased drastically over the past 30 years. In England, about 31.4% of boys and 28.2% of the girls are either overweight or obese in 2009. The well-established Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) conducted a study on the effects of childhood obesity on proven cardiovascular risk factors. The study showed that, in most cases childhood obesity is tracked into adulthood and onward; therefore, risk factors would already be present in youth will continue and finally increase risks for both cardiovascular events and diabetes in adulthood. (Logue and Sattar, 2011) Figures from the report Statistics on Smoking: England 2010 showed that in 2009, smoking contributed to over 81,400 deaths per year in UK. The latest guidelines from the British Hypertension Society emphasize the importance of changing lifestyle choices in order to reduce the occurrence of serious cardio vascular events.( NHS, 2009) This paper emphasises the need of further action in childhood obesity control both at a population level by changing eating and exercise behaviours and at an individual level by reducing weight in a safe, successful way and thereby; reducing the risk of developing diabetes and cardio vascular diseases in adulthood. It also describes the campaigns and programmes arranged by public health institutions and other institutions for providing awareness about the hazards of tobacco, alcohol etc and also the necessity to follow a healthy diet from childhood in order to avoid the high risk of some diseases. Role of Public Health Services in Promoting Healthcare from early adolescents The National Health Service (NHS) Stop Smoking Services provides support to help people quit smoking. This includes intensive support through group therapy or one-to-one support provided by trained personnel, such as specialist smoking cessation advisors and trained nurses and pharmacists. During the period April 2008 to March 2009, 337,054 people successfully quit smoking with NHS Stop Smoking Services. The statistics proved that the success rate of quitting smoking increased with age, from 39% for those below 18, to 53% of those above 60. About 37% of those below 18 were failed in their quit attempt. (NHS, 2009) The Government is concerned about the increased rate of obesity in U K. In 2007, the Government-commissioned Foresight report forecasted that 60% of men, 50% of women and 25% of children would be obese by 2050, if no action was taken. By considering the impact of obesity on people’s health, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and heart and liver disease, it has become a priority for the government to take action to reduce obesity. The government works in partnership with local government, charities and business institutions with the aim to reduce obesity by providing clear, consistent messages to people on why they should change their lifestyle, how to do so, and come up with strategies and approaches make this easier. (DH, 2011a)  Department of Health's Change4Life campaign is England’s first ever national social marketing campaign to promote healthy weight. It intends to prevent people from becoming overweight and obese and also encourage them to eat better, exercise more and live longer. It is a society-wide movement. It is one of the marketing components of the Government’s response to the increased rate of obesity.  This campaign aims to encourage the whole society, where everyone develops a concern in preventing obesity, be they Government, business, healthcare professionals, charities, schools, families or individuals (DH, 2011b). The NHS East Lancashire and the Change4Life team have developed a wide range of inventive oriented and eye-catching ways to bring Change4Life to their local communities. The Healthy Heroes programme, developed in primary schools by incorporating a Change4Life brand, helped to encourage the children to be more active and to eat more healthily. Change4Life sub brands are adopted by East Lancashire Sport and Physical Activity Alliances, School Sports Partnerships and Food Forums and all are using both Bike4Life and Walk4Life in their cycling and walking schemes.(DH, 2011b, case study) The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) is an annual programme, by the department of health, which measures the height and weight of children. The information gathered from this programme is used to help NHS and local authorities in planning and providing better health services for children. The National Child Measurement Programme provides information on child’s weight to the parents and supports them to make positive changes that will affect their child’s long-term health. (DH, 2011a) The Childhood Obesity National Support Team (CONST), established in 2007, has supported local areas in addressing unhealthy behaviours that leads excess weight gain during pregnancy, in children and in young people, and in their families. (DH, 2011a) Role of Education (schools, college, Government programmes etc) In UK, the Department of Health, the food industry, charities, and other Government and non-governmental organisations work together to assist the public to select a healthier diet for as part of a healthy lifestyle. The Department of Health launched the eatwell plate policy tool that defines the Government’s recommendations on healthy diets. It gives a visual representation of the types and proportions of foods, required for a healthy and well balanced diet and thus, makes healthy eating easier to understand. The eatwell plate provides the right recommendation for most people including people of all ethnic origins, healthy weight or overweight people and also for vegetarians. This policy helps the schools to adopt a ‘whole school’ approach to diet and nutrition and helps the young people in understanding the relationship between diet and health and thus making them aware of the right food choices. (DH, 2011c) The easiest way to influence the food habit of children is by the advertising and marketing of food to children. The Government works in association with media and communications regulator, Ofcom and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to ensure healthier food is promoted to children on TV and in non-broadcast media. In 2004-2005, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) developed the nutrient profiling (NP) model as a tool to help Ofcom to differentiate foods on the basis of their nutritional composition and to improve the balance of television advertising to children. The NP model was supported by the independent Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) and a wide range of nutrition experts. Its scoring system balances the contribution made by beneficial nutrients that are primarily essential in children's diets with components in the food that children should eat less of. The overall score determines whether that food or drink can be broadcasted on TV during children’s viewing time, or not. Ofcome put forward broadcasting restrictions in April 2007 with an aim to lessen the exposure of children to television advertising of foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) considerably, and thereby encouraging the promotion of healthier alternatives (DH, 2011d). Role of Legislation (for example, anti tobacco, anti-junk food advertising; food control acts etc) Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), a campaigning public health charity, established in 1971 by the Royal College of Physicians, works to eliminate the harm caused by tobacco, in UK. In 2011, ASH is mainly focusing on ensuring the successful implementation of the government’s Tobacco Control Plan for England. The government’s plan launched with an aim to reduce smoking prevalence among adults, young people and pregnant women by 2015. Following the publication of the Government’s Tobacco Plan, the Smokefree Action Coalition put forward a new strategy “Make smoking history for our children”. ASH has also established its association with the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies based at the University of Nottingham. (ASH, 2011) National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is an independent UK based organisation which provides national guidance on promoting good health and preventing and treating ill health. NICE has its own implementation programme to help support implementing its guidance. NICE introduced guidance for school-based interventions to prevent the uptake of smoking among children (NICE, 2010). This guidance aimed at providing assistance and education to those responsible for preventing the uptake of smoking by children and young people aged below 19, children and young people, their parents and other members of the public. The NICE’s guidelines include five recommendations: organisation-wide or 'whole-school' approaches, adult-led interventions, peer-led interventions, training and development and coordinated approach. The organisation-wide or 'whole-school' approach includes developing a whole-school or organisation-wide smoke free policy in consultation with young people and staff. This includes smoking prevention activities and staff training and development. The adult-led interventions include integrating the information about the adverse health effects of tobacco use and legal, economic and social aspects of smoking into the curriculum. The peer-led interventions aimed at preventing the uptake of smoking. The training and development involves training for all staffs involved in smoking prevention work. A coordinated approach ensures smoking prevention interventions in schools and other educational establishments are part of a local tobacco control strategy. (NICE, 2010a) Conclusion In the present world where the obesity rate and high risk factors to the chronic diseases such cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, respiratory disease and many cancers are increased at an alarming rate, it has become inevitable from the part of government and other stakeholders to do the necessary attempts to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle in the society. In UK, department of health, NHS and many other institutions put forward many campaigns and programmes regarding this. These steps have contributed considerably in generating awareness about the hazards of unbalanced diet, tobacco, alcohol, physical inactivity etc and also helped in reducing the rate of obesity. However, unfortunately none of these programmes can claim a complete success in this regard. The increasing population and the unawareness among some people regarding the objective of the programme can be considered as a barrier for its success. Health education is the most important factor for the success of health promotion programme. It should be started from the family itself to attain a better healthy lifestyle among the children and adolescents. School level health promoting campaigns along with a good dietary habit adapted in the family can make the programme an effective one. For that, parents should guide their children to nurture good eating habits from their childhood. Hence, it is essential for the success of the programme to extend the target of promotion campaign so as to reach the parents. It has been observed that social background and parenting involvements always influence a child in making his lifestyle. So, in the family parents should be the role model for children in eating habits, and in their approach towards physical exercise. They should guide the children to lead a disciplined life. References ASH., 2011. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH): Annual review 2011. Ash.org.uk [Online] Accessed Dec 22, 2011. Available at: DH., 2011a, Department of health: Obesity. Dh.gov.uk. [Online] Accessed Dec 22, 2011. Available at: DH., 2011b, Department of health: Change4life. Obesity. Dh.gov.uk. [Online] Accessed Dec 22, 2011. Available at: DH., 2011c, Department of Health: Nutrition. Obesity. Dh.gov.uk. [Online] Accessed Dec 22, 2011. Available at: DH., 2011d, Department of Health : Publications, The nutrient profiling model. Obesity. Dh.gov.uk. [Online] Accessed Dec 22, 2011. Available at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_123494 Robb, D., 2010. World Obesity Stats – 2010 and beyond. hivehealthmedia.com.[Online] Accessed Dec 22, 2011. Available at: Hawe, E., 2008. Compendium of Health Statistics. Oxon: Radcliffe Publishing Sattar, J and Logue, J., 2011. Childhood Obesity: A Ticking Time Bomb for Cardiovascular Disease? Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 90(1), 174–178 Health Survey for England., 2009. Health and Lifestyles. Ic.nhs.uk. [Online], Accessed Dec 22, 2011: http://www.ic.nhs.uk/webfiles/publications/003_Health_Lifestyles/hse09report/HSE_09_Volume1.pdf NHS., 2009. Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services: England, April 2008 - March 2009. ic.nhs.uk. [Online], Accessed Dec 22, 2011. Available at: NICE., 2010 School-based interventions to prevent the uptake of smoking among children. Nice.org.uk. [Online], Accessed Dec 22, 2011. Available at: http://www.nice.org.uk/PH23 NICE, 2010a, School-based interventions to prevent the uptake of smoking among children, Recommendations. Nice.org.uk [Online], Accessed Dec 22, 2011. Available at: http://publications.nice.org.uk/school-based-interventions-to-prevent-the-uptake-of-smoking-among-children-and-young-people-ph23/recommendations [ Read More