Causes and effects of obesity
Discuss about the Prevalence Of Overweight And Obesity In Australia.
One of the primary public health challenges in Australia and other continents is obesity. Obesity is a condition that results from too much accumulation of body fat which causes adverse effects on the health of an individual. It relates to both systemic and environmental factors which influence eating and activity behaviors. The leading causes include consumption of food with high level of calories. It is also caused by lack of adequate physical activity which helps in burning excess calories in the body. Some genetic factors also predispose individuals to obesity. The lifestyle of a person such as the consumption of unhealthy diets also exposes an individual to obesity. Some medications also have the potential of causing obesity (Obesity.imedpub.com, 2018).
There is high obesity prevalence of Obesity in Australia. The rate of obesity in North Coast, New South Wales is estimated at 50.9% with 29% as adults and children at 21.9%. Although the percentage is lower in some other regions, it remains a serious health concern due to the rising cases of obesity in the area. Obesity has negatively affected the physical, psychological and social health of people of North coast. It has led to the increase in the number of cardiovascular diseases, type two diabetes, and stroke. As a result, the mortality and morbidity rates have increased and hence adversely affecting the economy. It has also led to psychological effects such as depression, low quality of life and anxiety among the obese people. This has resulted in early deaths and low school performance (Rahman and Harding, 2013).
Controlling obesity is one of the Australian National Health Priorities designed by the National government and relevant stakeholders. The government has put into place measures to help eradicate the disease. It is focused on encouraging physical activities among the Australians. It also aims at ensuring that the people consume low-risk foods by increasing taxes on the unhealthy foods. The introduction of taxes has ensured that manufacturers have changed from producing foods rich in sugar and salts to prevent business losses. The government has also banned the advertisements of foods that are high in sugar during the children viewing hours (Sharma, 2013).
The government has funded education and media advertising programs that educate Australians on the benefits of consuming healthy foods and physical activity. It has also developed food labeling to ensure that individuals make good health choices why purchasing products. The government has provided proper training and placement of primary health workers with the aim of ensuring that there is enough workforce. It has also increased the funding programs in the primary health care setting to ensure that people are well educated on the proper nutrition and physical activity. All these actions are aimed at ensuring that the prevalence of obesity is reduced to improve the health of the people (Hawkes, 2015)
Obesity prevalence and impact in North Coast
According to (Braveman and Gottlieb, 2014), the socio determinants of health include both the economic and social that impact and indicate the health of a population or community. The three socio determinants of health that have a direct effect on obesity include low socioeconomic status, lack of education and gender. There is a strong relationship between low income and high obesity rates. Studies indicate that individuals from low-income countries have a possibility of developing obesity compared to high-income countries. This may be influenced by the fact that they lack fitness facilities and adequate nutrition. Lack of education on the benefits of consuming healthy foods and the effects of consumption of food with high fats and sugar results increase the rates of obesity (N, 2015). Recent studies in Australia indicates that men have a high prevalence of obesity compared to women. This is attributed to the fact that men do not pay attention to their weight which makes them less likely to notice that they are obese. They then end up not taking appropriate action and hence developing adverse health effects from the disease (Swinburn & Wood, 2013).
The North Coast community has policies and programs that support the fight against obesity. They include healthy eating programs such as Community kitchens and Community Gardens. Schools have food guidelines that promote healthy eating. They also have community health nurses whose play a significant role in ensuring that the schools provide healthy meals to their students and hence preventing them from becoming obese victims. Through this, the community has been able to reduce the number of people suffering from obesity.
The community also has Family Resource Centers who help enhance food security. Individuals in this community are affected by food preference, income and other social factors such as food prices. The use of the Resource Centers has improved the consumption of nutritious food. It has also increased affordability and acceptability of healthy foods in different settings in North Coast (Calle &Kaaks 2014,p 579).
Research indicates that the maternal weight during pregnancy is one of the indicators of obesity in children. As a result, the community has prenatal nutrition programs for expectant women, children, and infants particularly those with low income. Such programs help expectant mothers to be aware of their nutrition requirements and good diet practices that aid in fighting chronic ailments like obesity affecting their children. The government has increased the consumption of adequate vegetables and fruits to prevent obesity and other related dietary issues. The community has significantly improved the quality of food and has taken the responsibility of providing education using nutrition and programs for pregnant women in North Coast (Drummond et al., 2010).
Government measures to control obesity
An active lifestyle and living a healthy life advancement initiatives are supported by one-time funding which is limited and restricted at the same time. The community has restrictions regarding finances which holds back the policies that need to be executed on time. Due to delay, some areas might not get the chance to understand the plan and live a healthy lifestyle. Majority of the people in North Coast have low income. Therefore, it becomes difficult for them to buy nutritious food. The education interventions are also not practical due to lack of enough funding and cooperation
Due to increased poverty levels which is profoundly influenced by lack of employment, people living on the North Coast lack work to do. Therefore, they prefer staying indoors which makes them less active. They might not afford the exercise cost in the gym or acquire sports equipment (Drummond et al., 2010). Currently, two funded regional nutritionist positions give consultation roles. Their capacity is limited to enhancing the skills and the ability of the population at the level of the community. Due to the limited number nutritionists in the area, many people lack information about the kind of meals they have to take as commented by. As much as the government is trying to manage obesity, there is lack of cooperation between the community and the medics regarding unhealthy foods (Ickes et al., 2014).
Health education is necessary because it will help the community to live a healthy life. Additional knowledge is needed to provide people with information about obesity, its prevalence, and management. It is also important in ensuring that people adopt healthy practices.There is also an exploration of chances that give motivational interviewing education and skill advancement for personnel. Social marketing can also be used as a tool for communication to enhance consumption of healthy foods. (Li 2015, pp. 83-9,).
There is the opportunity for exploration to add the society partnership with religious people, groups, and many others to expand the promotion of health about healthy living and developing policies that can promote physical activities. Furthermore, there is innovation to progress education and assistance in regards to healthy eating and not forgetting the new mothers in the community while they are on maternity leave.
There is lack of knowledge and skills regarding parenting and the development of children. As a result, the parents are unable to control what their children eat and their eating behavior as demonstrated by Greening et al. (2011 pp.1213-1219). Non-nutritious foods are easily accessible and convenient for many people and hence making it hard to restrict the consumption of such foods.
Socio determinants of health and obesity in North Coast
The Nurse-led intervention with the potential of reducing obesity prevalence in North Coast is the supportive-education method. This includes both health promotion, advocacy, and counseling. The intervention incorporates the five stages of the Transtheoretical model to ensure that it is useful. Nurses have the potential of influencing a person’s behavior through changing their understanding of healthy lifestyle choices. Therefore, if the Public Health Nurses put more focus on the behavioral change of individuals in the area, the number of obesity cases will be minimized. Health counseling concerning proper nutrition and physical activity will also help control obesity (Walls et al., 2014). The upstreaming benefits of the intervention across the diverse community group include its ability to change unhealthy behaviors regardless of the culture or socio-economic status. The intervention also includes follow up activities which ensure that people from the North Coast do not revert to poor health practices.
References
Braveman, P. and Gottlieb, L. (2014). The Social Determinants of Health: It’s Time to Consider the Causes of the Causes. [online] Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3863696/ [Accessed 12 May 2018]
Hawkes C, e. (2015). Smart food policies for obesity prevention. – PubMed – NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25703109 [Accessed 12 May 2018].
N, L. (2015). Does more education lead to better health habits? Evidence from the school reforms in Australia. – PubMed – NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25028347 [Accessed 12 May 2018].
Obesity.imedpub.com. (2018). Obesity Journals | Peer reviewed | High Impact Articles List. [online] Available at: https://obesity.imedpub.com/ [Accessed 12 May 2018].
Rahman, A. and Harding, A. (2013). Prevalence of overweight and obesity epidemic in Australia: some causes and consequences. [online] Researchoutput.csu.edu.au. Available at: https://researchoutput.csu.edu.au/en/publications/prevalence-of-overweight-and-obesity-epidemic-in-australia-some-c [Accessed 12 May 2018].
Sharma, U. (2013). Food Policy for Developing Countries: The Role of Government in Global, National, and Local Food Systems, edited by PerPinstrup-Andersen and Derrill D.WatsonII. Published by Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 2011, pp. xx + 400, ISBN 978-0-8014-. [online] Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-8489.12004 [Accessed 12 May 2018]
Swinburn, B. and Wood, A. (2013). Progress on obesity prevention over 20 years in Australia and New Zealand.
Calle, E.E. and Kaaks, R., 2014. Overweight, obesity and cancer: epidemiological evidence and proposed mechanisms. Nature Reviews Cancer, 4(8), p.579..
Drummond, M., Drummond, C., Dollman, J., & Abery, L. (2010). Physical activity from early childhood to adolescence: a literature review of issues and interventions in disadvantaged populations . Journal of Student Wellbeing, 4(2), 17–26. Retrieved from https://search.ror.unisa.edu.au/media/researcharchive/open/9915910359001831/53108809960001831
Greening, L., Harrell, K.T., Low, A.K. and Fielder, C.E., 2011. Efficacy of a school?based childhood obesity intervention program in a rural southern community: TEAM Mississippi Project. Obesity, 19(6), pp.1213-1219.
Ickes, M. J., McMullen, J., Haider, T., & Sharma, M. (2014). Global School-Based Childhood Obesity Interventions: A Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 11. https://doi.org/10.3897/bdj.4.e7720.figure2f
Li, J., & Powdthavee, N. (2015). Does more education lead to better health habits? Evidence from the school reforms in Australia. Social Science & Medicine, 127, 83-91.
Walls, H. L., Peeters, A., Proietto, J., & Mcneil, J. J. (2011). Public health campaigns and obesity – a critique. BMC Public Health, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-136
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