Weight Loss Behavior Modification - Assignment Example

s and Behavior Modification Brown, DW, Pleasants, R, Ohar, JA, Kraft, M, Donohue, JF, Mannino, DM, Liao, W, Herrick, H, (2010). Health-related quality of life and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in North Carolina. North American Journal of Medical Sciences, 2 (2): 60-65. Brown, Pleasants, Ohar, Kraft, Donohue, Mannino, Liao, Herrick (2010) compared the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) between individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and individuals in the general population. The aim of the research was to determine a relationship between the four determinants of HRQOL and COPD in the sample population. The sample consisted of 13,887 individuals, who had participated in Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) carried out in North Carolina (NC) in 2007, with age 18 years and above. Survey method was used to collect data regarding COPD and HRQOL from the sample population. Logistic regression was used to analyze the data. According to the results of the study, the occurrence of COPD in the age-adjusted sample population was 5.4%. Almost half of the individuals with COPD indicated fair/poor health compared with 15% of individuals without the disease. Furthermore, the occurrence of ≥14 unhealthy days over the past one month and fair/poor health state was higher for individuals with the diseases in contrast to those individuals who did not have the disease, that is 45% and 17% respectively. Individuals with COPD accounted for double the amount of unhealthy 24-hours in contrast to those without the disease. Individuals with COPD were expected to have lower intensity of HRQOL for each of the four unhealthy day determinants in contrast to individuals who do not have COPD. The results of the study revealed that there was a negative relationship between HRQOL and COPD as higher levels of COPD resulted in lower intensity of HRQOL. The reason behind this was that appropriate looking after of COPD necessitates individuals to make significant lifestyle adjustments. These alterations entail both physical and behavioral changes that might result in psychological dysfunction. Thus, the study offered guidance for individuals to manage their disease and a framework for future policy decision making regarding people having such diseases. Miotto, P, De Coppi, M, Fre zza, M, Petretto, DR, Masala, C, Preti, A, (2003). Eating disorders and aggressiveness among adolescents. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 108: 183–189. Miotto, De Coppi, Fre zza, Petretto, Masala, Preti, (2003) investigated the association between the tendency to be aggressive and eating disorder among school-aged adolescents. The aim of study was to prove the hypothesis of a positive connection between eating disorders and aggressiveness. The sample consisted of 1000 adolescents with ages ranging from 15 to 19 years. The instruments used to measure eating disorders among adolescents were Bulimic Investigatory Test of Edinburgh (BITE), Eating Attitude Test (EAT) and the Body Attitudes Test (BAT). The instrument used to determine aggressiveness among adolescents was Aggression Questionnaire (AQ). Levene Correction for Inequality of Variance, t-test, Pearson Correlation and Chi-square were used to analyze the date. The results of the study suggested that the males were slightly heavier than females. Females scored quite higher as compared to males at all the eating disorder instruments with females scoring 11.7% on EAT, 7.5% on BITE and 17.2% on BAT as compared to males’ 5.5% on EAT, 4.4% on BITE and 11.4% on BAT. Furthermore, females also showed higher expectancy as compared to males to inform scores beyond the indicated cut-off for a clinically significant eating disorder at the EAT, the BITE and the BAT. The results also revealed that adolescents scoring higher on BMI also scored higher on BAT and BITE but not at EAT. Males achieved higher scores as compared to females at the AQ, that is, 48.7 (10.9) for males and 46.8 (9.1) for females. Both males and females showed a positive association between the scores at the eating disorder instruments and the scores at AQ. Thus, adolescents attaining higher scores in the eating disorder inventories scored higher AQ scores, suggesting a positive association between eating disorders and aggressiveness. The aggressive tendencies of individuals with eating disorders might make such individuals unenthusiastic towards the treatment. This unresponsive behavior towards the treatment increases the chances of negatives influences resulting from their own actions, such as suicidal thoughts, immoral behavior, alcohol, and substance abuse. Behavior Modification Project Name: Age: Weight: 154 pounds Height: 5 Feet 4 Inches Body Mass Index (BMI): 26.4 as ≥ 24.9 (Overweight) Goal: I will lose 20 pounds over the next 10 weeks so that I become normal weight as compared to being overweight now. Identification of current behaviors Even though, I live very close to my school, but I still used to drive to school. In order to keep myself healthy, I have been walking to school since the past three months which has made me feel quite healthy but it has also resulted in me being late for my classes. The walk to school is about 5-10 minutes, which I consider enough physical activity for the day. I do not smoke or drink. On the other hand, I eat a lot of junk food which has caused me to gain a few pounds. I eat out with my friends regularly and do not take fruits or vegetables. Previous interventions A few weeks ago, I started dieting in order to lose the extra pounds that I had gained. I stopped eating food and only took liquids for about a week. This diet made me feel quite weak and after one week, I stopped it and started eating again. Objectives I will lose 2 pounds every week. I will increase the intake of water, fruit and vegetables in my diet. I will exercise for 30 minutes everyday. Action I started with changing my sleep pattern by going to bed early and getting up early in the morning. Afterwards, I drank 3-4 glasses of lukewarm water to burn down the extra fat. I started having fruit in my breakfast regularly and did not skip it in any case. I had all my meals and snacks at the same intervals and generally at the same time of day. Before eating, I recorded my entire food intake so, that I was aware of the number of calories I was consuming per meal or per day. During the first one week I noted down my most weak times for snacking and planned a defense before temptation struck. If I was tempted to eat something unhealthy, I either went for a walk or exercise but if that was not possible I called up a friend who was also on a diet. In order to avoid going back into the comfort zone, I got rid of all my clothes. I rewarded myself with non-food items for all my accomplishments. I not only rewarded myself for achieving major goals, but also rewarded myself for smaller achieving smaller objectives such as every time I passed up a pizza slice or said no to a cola drink. I took the money that I would have spent on the chocolate cake and put it in a special rewards box. As it added up, I got myself a perfume that I had wanted for ages. Lastly, I drank 12-14 glasses of water per day so that I do not feel hungry rather drinking so much water will helped me feel ‘full’. Monitoring I monitored my behavior modification plan for weight loss continuously by recording the amount of calories I consumed, the amount of water I drank and the level of physical activity I indulged in. After a week, I weighed myself and saw that I had achieved my objective of losing 2 pounds. I stuck to this plan and after 10 weeks, I had lost the 20 pounds that I needed to and became normal weight, that is, BMI less than 24.9. Works Cited Brown, DW, Pleasants, R, Ohar, JA, Kraft, M, Donohue, JF, Mannino, DM, Liao, W, Herrick, H, (2010). Health-related quality of life and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in North Carolina. North American Journal of Medical Sciences, 2 (2): 60-65. Miotto, P, De Coppi, M, Fre zza, M, Petretto, DR, Masala, C, Preti, A, (2003). Eating disorders and aggressiveness among adolescents. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 108: 183–189. Read More