Healthy People 2020 - Essay Example

Nursing Nursing The paper analytically reviews Healthy people 2020 objectives identifying the problem as its goal for 2020 referring to the peer reviewed journals. Moreover, the paper will present the strategies that are planned for the prevention in order to reach the goal by 2020 relating to the studies from peer-reviewed journals. Healthy people 2020 aims to provide 10- year plan for Americans in order to set objectives for their health improvement. In its 30 years, it has obtained its goals by providing awareness among people regarding adapting a healthy life style and then encouraging its implementation and planned activities to prevent diseases and unhealthy routine of life. A huge progress can be seen over these years concerning the many objectives or standards that Healthy people 2020 has established for people. One of the various objectives healthy people 2020 has provided for the well being of Americans is the promotion of Nutrition and Weight Status. It encourages the choice of healthy, nutritious diet to reduce the risk of any chronic disease and to maintain a healthy body weight. Good nutrition is especially essential for children’s physical as well as their mental growth. Moreover, it is important in reducing the risk of many health problems such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and malnutrition, etc. (Healthy People.gov, 2013). Obesity is one of the most prevailing health problems among adults and children. Being overweight is a result of excessive intake of calories and underweight is directly linked with food insecurity that means limited or no availability of healthy and nutritious food. It is obvious that the amount of caloric intake affects an individual’s health whether it is high or low. Other than this, it is important to keep this in mind that what is the source of the calories a person is taking. There are many foods, which help prevent various diseases and are also helpful in weight control. These foods include fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nuts. Plenty of researches show that making these foods a huge part of the diet will protect against diabetes, heart problems, high blood pressure and many other health issues. On the other hand, excessive fat and sugar intake increases the possibilities of various health problems (Brug, Starlen, & Maskini, 2012). Most important thing for health is a healthy weight, which can be maintained by a healthy choice of food. A diet that is full of nutritional values i.e. high calcium, high vitamins, high proteins and low fats, low carbohydrates. Eating adequate amount is also very important along with the proper nutrients. Families where accessibility to well nutrient diet is limited, face underweight and malnutrition especially in children, whereas families who adapt unhealthy eating habits such as over eating or eating at wrong times results in obesity and many other issues related to being overweight. The research shows that people who have adopted a busy life style are more likely to be eating unhealthily. They do not focus on the healthy consumption instead they usually go for the fast foods which are high in calories and low in nutritional values. The study also shows that children as well as the adults who have frequent consumption of fast food end up into overeating and over weight gain (Larson & Story, 2011). The research study indicates strong relation between food insecurities and overweight status as well as underweight. Children who eat food in sufficient amount but low in nutritional value were found to be underweight and children who eat controlled diets, however, high in fats and carbohydrates did not seem to lose weight. It proves that the quality of food i.e. high nutrients is more important than the quantity of food in order to maintain a healthy weight. Another most important factor for maintaining a healthy weight is balance in caloric intake and caloric burn. If food consumption is more than the number of calories body gets to burn, it will result into weight gain. Thus, exercise and physical activities are an important part of a good health. Teens and adults having no physical activity are more likely to gain weight rapidly than those who consume excessive calories and manage to workout. Goal of Healthy People 2020 is to help people understand the importance of a healthy life as well as the importance of choosing a healthy diet. For this, health promotion programs and campaigns are being promoted to bring awareness among people of how to adopt healthy eating habits. In order to develop an understanding in every individual for making healthy choices and to ensure the availability and affordability of healthy options Healthy People 2020 is working in various means. More opportunities are being provided for social and physical activities in order to obtain a healthy life style. Among many strategies that are planned in order to achieve the goals, workplace health promotion program is also a big approach. The survey indicates several factors that restrict physical activities as well as nutritional casualties that include unavailability of sufficient time for employees for any such activity or unable to avail the opportunities due to weariness or fatigue. Moreover, lack of awareness and limited accessibility to a healthy diet in and near the offices was seen to be the main barrier in attaining a healthful diet. In order to work this out total sitting time is suggested to reduce by planning different activities during lunchtime and between short intervals. This is to provide physical activity as well as to reduce work stress. Furthermore, knowledge of nutritional value and homemade food is encouraged, and options of unhealthy food should be discouraged near offices. Memberships for corporate gyms offered by the workplace could also be a great resolution (Blackford & Jancey, 2012). The suggested strategies can help solve the health problems by 2020. Thus, workplace health programs should be designed on a larger scale to develop nutritional and weight status awareness amongst employees and organizations. Health awareness programs are more necessarily needs to be promoted in schools including the parents as according to a recent study, parents perception about their child’s weight is the most important factor for weight problems in children (Remmers, Renders, & Raat, 2014). Parents are the first ones to be informed about what is a healthful diet. The first step for this is to educate parents about the underestimation of their child’s weight status as well as educating them about the nutritional values of each food. This includes restricting them to a diet with high nutrients and moderate calories such as low intake of sweetened drinks, foods low in fats, low in carbohydrates, high in proteins and vitamins. Furthermore, discouraging them from eating junk foods and encouraging consuming more fruits and vegetables is important. A large number of children in US are either overweight or obese, and the number is still increasing. For effectual prevention from the issue, it is important to organize strategies at various levels other than educating individuals. Community parks, bike or skating tracks, are a good solution. Moreover, it should be made sure that only healthy and nutritious food is available at school cafeterias because easy access to unhealthy fast food and drinks and lack of secure opportunities for physical activities is the key reason of the unhealthy weight status among the children as well as adults. School is the main place where these prevention plans should be carry on immediately to reach the 2020 objectives because this is where children spend a huge part each day. Local communities will be more effective in bringing change and more approachable to the initiatives than the government (Crawford, Schneider, & Spezzano, 2013). Reference List Blackford, K., & Jancey, J. (2012). Preventing Chronic Disease. Office-Based Physical Activity and Nutrition Intervention: Barriers, Enablers, and Preferred Strategies for Workplace Obesity Prevention. Brug, J., Starlen, M. M., & Maskini, V. (2012). Differences in Weight Status and Energy-Balance Related Behaviors among Schoolchildren across Europe. The Energy Project. Crawford, P., Schneider, C., & Spezzano, T. (2013). Communitywide strategies key to preventing childhood obesity. California Agriculture. Healthy People.gov. (2013, November). Healthy People2020. Retrieved from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=29 Larson, I. N., & Story, T. (2011). American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Food Insecurity and Weight Status Among U.S. Children and Families , 166–173. Remmers, T., Renders, M. C., & Raat, H. (2014). Correlates of Parental Misperception of Their Child’s Weight Status. The ‘Be Active, Eat Right’ Study . Read More