Management of the Obesity Condition - Research Paper Example

Management of the Obesity Condition

Management of the Obesity Condition

• Research Summary
• Health Problem

The health problem that is discussed in this research is obesity. Obesity is a health condition that affects many people in the United States and globally. Obesity is caused when an individual accumulates excess body fat that interferes with the normal functioning of the body. People are viewed as obese if their Body Mass Index (BMI) exceeds 30 kg/m2. Obesity occurs if the person exceeds the overweight condition that is between 25 to 30 kg/m2(Hamdy, 2017). Obesity is undesirable in the population because it causes severe health outcomes. These include cardiovascular diseases, depression, cancer, and type 2 diabetes (Carvajal et al., 2013). There are three major factors that can cause obesity. The first factor is excess food consumption. People who consume diets that have a high concentration of fats and sugar are likely to experience the obesity condition. The second factor is physical inactivity. People who do not engage in regular physical activities accumulate excess body fats because their bodies cannot burn the excess fats or calories to generate energy. The third cause is genetic susceptibility. Children who come from families with a history of obesity are likely to develop the condition during the childhood or adulthood stages of life (Cunningham, Kramer & Narayan, 2014).

• Significance of the Problem

Obesity is a major cause of preventable deaths in America and worldwide. The health condition is worrying health stakeholders because it is increasing at a high rate. The increasing quality of life implies that individuals access more food and this translates to the high obese condition (Taveras et al., 2013). Also, individuals are spending more hours pursuing their education and careers. They have limited time to engage in physical activities because of the many hours spent sitting in lecture halls and offices. The physical inactivity causes obesity. Obesity is more prevalent among the women than the men. Women are generally inactive because they spend a lot of time sitting in offices, classrooms, and homes. They also have more access to food because in most households it is the responsibility of the women to prepare meals. The obesity condition should be addressed as a public health issue to minimize the occurrence of related health conditions like cardiovascular diseases and hypertension (Ogden at al., 2014).

• Current Practice

Health professionals encourage people to manage the obesity condition by embracing a positive lifestyle. The lifestyle involves the consumption of healthy diet and regular participation in physical activities. There are five behavior modifications that can assist individuals to manage the condition effectively. The first step is goal setting. The person should develop targets of engaging in healthy activities. For example, a person can decide to engage in a 30 minutes jogging exercise every day. The second modification is monitoring food consumption (Yang & Colditz, 2015). The person should not consume foods that have high calories level. The third step is stimulus control. It is important to avoid scenarios that can influence the person to engage in unhealthy lifestyle. For instance, the person should avoid streets with fast food outlets. The fourth issue is the adoption of nonfood rewards like compliments and monetary incentives. The fifth modification entails relapse prevention. It is important to be consistent in engaging in activities that ensure a healthy lifestyle (Hellmich, 2017).

• Impact of the Problem

Obesity causes various problems in organizations. Employees who are obese require more sick leaves and this affects the performance of the company negatively. Obese employees visit the hospitals regularly because of the need to address related conditions like cardiovascular problems. Obese individuals have low self-esteem. This is because they are not allowed to engage in certain social activities (Cunningham, Kramer & Narayan, 2014). For example, ladies who are obese are discouraged from pursuing careers in the fashion and modeling sectors. The health behavior of the patient is affected because he or she is forced to take medications for addressing the obesity condition. The preferences of the patient are also affected because he or she cannot engage in competitive sports and recreational activities.

• PICO Table

PICO

Description

P (Patient / Population)

People affected by obesity in America

I (Intervention / Indicator)

Healthy diet and regular exercise

C (Comparison)

Individuals who live unhealthy and inactive lives

O (Outcomes)

Reduced cases of obesity

The population discussed in the research is the patients who have the obesity condition in the United States. The intervention in the study is the adoption of a healthy lifestyle. This involves the consumption of a healthy diet that has low quantities of fat, sugar, and carbohydrates. A physically active lifestyle is achieved through engaging in labor intensive activities or participation in regular physical exercises. It is important for the patients to engage in a daily physical exercise program that is approximately 30 minutes. The comparison group involves the obese individuals who live normal lives (Hellmich, 2017). They do not engage in exercise and they do not consume healthy meals. The obese people who adhere to a healthy lifestyle are compared to the obese individuals who do not participate in the healthy lifestyle program. There are several outcomes of the study. The first outcome is reduced cases of obesity in America. The second outcome is lower hospital admission and treatment rates for the patients who have obesity and the related conditions. The third outcome is the encouragement of the American population to participate in the healthy lifestyle program. The PICO question below addresses all aspects of the research study.

B1. PICO Question

Does the adoption of a healthy and active lifestyle reduce the prevalence of obesity and the related health conditions in the American society?

• Search Strategy
• Key Words

The key words used in the search are: treating, obesity, related obesity conditions, overweight, and America. The four key words were important in finding the research articles that addresses the measures of managing obesity and overweight conditions in the United States.

• Available Research Articles

The key word search generated thousands of articles in the googlescholar.com search engine. 126,000 results were generated in 0.13 seconds. To minimize the number of research articles I set the search date from 2013 to 2017. 17,100 articles were displayed within 0.15 seconds. I selected the articles with relevant titles in the first two pages of the displayed results. All the articles displayed were scholarly. Google scholar only publishes the medical articles that have been peer reviewed.

2a. Research and Non-Research Articles

I successfully got five research articles and two non-research articles through the search process. The first research article is titled “Managing obesity in primary care practice: a narrative review.” The article discusses a qualitative research study about the treatment and care of the obesity condition. The conclusion illustrates the effect of lifestyle counseling in addressing the obesity problems (Carvajal et al., 2013). The second research article is “Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States, 2007-2012.” The article is a quantitative research study that demonstrates the level of the obesity condition in the American society. The article illustrates a rising trend of the overweight and the obesity condition in America in the past two decades. Therefore, there is need for extra effort in managing the effects of the obesity condition (Yang & Colditz, 2015).

One non-research article used in the study is “Obesity Treatment & Management.” The article indicates effective measures of managing obesity. For example, the commercial weight loss program is effective in enabling people to control their weight (Hamdy, 2017). Another non-research article is “To fight obesity, USA needs a plan.” The article illustrates that approximately two-thirds of the adult population in America are obese. Likewise, a third of the children population is affected by obesity (Hellmich, 2017). One finding in the article is that obesity can be addressed by making healthier choices; for example, healthy breastfeeding and proper early childhood feeding.

• Evidence Matrix

Authors

Journal name

Publication year

Research design

Sample size

Outcome variables

Level (I-III)

Quality (A, B, C)

Results

Carvajal, R., Wadden, T. A., Tsai, A. G., Peck, K., & Moran, C. H.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

2013

Randomized controlled trials

4 Studies

Weight loss counseling

I

A

Collaborative obesity treatment is effective in weight loss

Cunningham, S. A., Kramer, M. R., & Narayan, K. V.

New England Journal of Medicine

2014

Multistage

probability sampling

7738

Reduced obesity rate

I

A

Obesity cases for children between 5 and 14 years occurred at early life stages

Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K., & Flegal, K. M.

JAMA Internal medicine

2014

Cross-sectional, complex, probability sample

9120

Generate obesity trend analysis

I

A

Obesity prevalence remains high

Taveras, E. M., Gillman, M. W., Kleinman, K. P., Rich-Edwards, J. W., & Rifas-Shiman, S. L.

JAMA pediatrics

2013

Prospective pre-birth cohort study

1116

To explain racial disparities in obesity prevalence

I

A

Racial disparities in childhood obesity are influenced during the infancy stage

Yang, L., & Colditz, G. A.

JAMA internal medicine

2015

Quantitative Research

15,208

Obesity prevalence in the American races

I

A

African-American women have the highest obesity prevalence

• Recommended Practice

Obesity can be managed through positive lifestyle changes. The patient should adopt healthy diet that has low fat, carbohydrate, and calories level. People should engage in regular physical activities because body muscles consume energy when they are used. The American Heart Association has set the appropriate exercise duration as 30 minutes. The moderate exercise should be done five times a week. The weight loss programs enhance the lifestyle changes. Examples of the programs are the Weight Watchers and the Overeaters Anonymous (Cunningham, Kramer & Narayan, 2014).

It is important for the recommended health practice to address the PICO question: Does the adoption of a healthy and active lifestyle reduce the prevalence of obesity and the related health conditions in the American society? The patients who have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 kg/m2 and above should be encouraged to adopt appropriate diet, behavior changes, and physical exercise (Hamdy, 2017). The diet should be low in fat, sugar, and carbohydrates. A minimum of 30 minutes exercises every day is desirable to reduce weight gain and the prevalence of the health conditions associated with obesity. The appropriate behavior modification involves engaging in actions that hinder an increase in weight. For example, the patient can be advised to use a medication that reduces appetite and prevents overeating. There are various weight loss medications that can be given to a patient by a qualified doctor to assist in the management of obesity. If it is appropriate medically, the obesity condition can be managed through surgeries. Bariatric surgery is suitable for the patients who have the morbid obesity condition (Hellmich, 2017). The local and national government should introduce taxes on unhealthy food products that cause obesity; for example, sweets, French fries, and beer. This strategy will reduce obesity prevalence because the taxes will increase the costs of purchasing the unhealthy food products. The advertising of junk meals should be minimized to prevent the children from having the desire to consume the unhealthy food and beverage products (Ogden et al., 2014).

• Implementing the Recommendations
• Stakeholders

Three stakeholders are critical in the weight management program. They are the patients, the caregivers, and the health practitioners. The patients are expected to voluntarily participate in the program and adhere to all the instructions. They are given guidelines to engage in moderate exercises daily and consume diets that are low in fat, carbohydrates, and calories (Hamdy, 2017). The caregivers are important because they assist the patients to observe the weight loss instructions. The caregivers include spouses, children, friends, and relatives. They should monitor the progress of the patients and ensure that they observe the instructions of the weight loss program. The health practitioners provide advice on the effective weight loss strategy.

• Barriers

Some patients may be uncooperative. They may fail to adopt the effective dietary and exercise changes. The patients may fail to identify or afford food products that are healthy. Also, some people have busy education or career schedules. They cannot find sufficient opportunity to engage in regular exercises.

• Strategies for Overcoming Barriers

Counseling is one strategy that motivates the patients to follow the weight management guidelines. The patients are informed about the benefits of the lifestyle changes during the counseling sessions. The second strategy is close monitoring. The caregivers are given the responsibility of ensuring that the patients follow the guidelines of the weight management program.

• Indicator for measurement

The most effective indicator is consistent weight loss. A patient who loses weight progressively after participating in the weight management program is experiencing positive health outcomes (Yang & Colditz, 2015).