Assessment And Interventions For Health Promotion
One of the essential missions of Healthy People 2020 and 2030 is to increase public awareness and understanding of the determinants of health. Determinants of health fall under several broad categories: biology and genetics, access to health services, physical environment, social interactions, and individual behaviour (Healthy People 2020, n.d.). Additionally Healthy People initiative highlights the significance of focusing on the social determinants of health by creating social and physical environments that promote good health for all (2021). Based on all these principles, I would like to discuss the problem of obesity and its determinants of health.
Statistics
Obesity is a universal healthcare issue. According to CDC data collected between 2017 and 2018, the U.S. obesity prevalence was 42.4% (2021). From 1999 –2000 through 2017 –2018, the obesity prevalence in the U.S. increased from 30.5% to 42.4%. Among the most common conditions caused by obesity are health disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer (CDC, 2021)
Biology and Genetics
According to CDC data published in 2021, the race prevalence presents as Non-Hispanic Black adults (49.6%), Hispanic adults (44.8%), non-Hispanic White adults (42.2%), and non-Hispanic Asian adults (17.4%). Furthermore, the obesity prevalence was 40.0% among adults aged 20 to 39 years, 44.8% among adults aged 40 to 59 years, and 42.8% among adults aged 60 and older (CDC, 2021).
Social determinants
The study completed by Brockman & Ross (2020) concludes that the link between financial stress and obesity could be through behavioural and physiological factors. Behaviorally, stress has been linked with consuming highly palatable foods high in fats, and sweets, leading to obesity (Brockman & Ross, 2020). Physiologically, it shows that stress elevates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity, followed by metabolic abnormalities related to weight gain (Brockman & Ross, 2020). Chrissini & Panagiotakos (2021) concluded that health literacy is essential. Promoting health and empowerment strategies could increase children’s and adults’ control over their overall health and awareness to overcome obesity issues. Initiatives to improve health literacy levels could be helpful tools in managing the obesity epidemic, starting from integrating health literacy into the school curriculum and further into family and community action plans (Chrissini & Panagiotakos, 2021).
Lack of access to healthy foods may explain why residents of low-income neighbourhoods and African Americans in the U.S. (Ghosh-Dastidar, 2014) have high rates of obesity. The locations of food deserts, or unhealthy food environments, correspond to areas with the highest proportions of African-American residents, a population suffering from higher rates of many chronic conditions, including obesity and diabetes in our study area (Ghosh-Dastidar, 2014).
Physical determinants
The study done by Lugones-Sanchez et al. (2021) showed that regular physical activity reduces all-cause mortality and prevents cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, anxiety, and depression. However, high levels of inactivity have been reported worldwide over time, especially now since the COVID-19 pandemic, so promoting regular physical activity remains a public health priority. The study also suggests that other psychological factors like attitude and weight-related self-stigma might also increase the risk for obesity (Lugones-Sanchez et al., 2021). An additional study was conducted by Bryant et al. (2015), which showed that participants who worked the most significant number of hours, which was fifty hours or more, per week had poorer dietary habits and the highest body mass index.
Conclusion
About 2 in 5 adults and 1 in 5 children and adolescents in the United States have obesity, and many others are overweight (Hales et al., 2017). Despite policies and action plans put in place by countries globally, overweight and obesity continue to be a pressing public health issue and one of the critical drivers of non-communicable diseases, constituting a health, social and economic burden worldwide. Culturally appropriate programs and policies that help people eat nutritious foods within their calorie needs can reduce overweight and obesity. Nurse practitioners need to be aware of social determinants and their effects on individuals’ lives.
References
Brockmann, A. N., & Ross, K. M. (2020). Bidirectional association between stress and physical activity in adults with overweight and obesity. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 43(2), 246–253. https://doi- org.libauth.purdueglobal.edu/10.1007/s10865-020-00145-2
Bryant, P. H., Hess, A., & Bowen, P. G. (2015). Social Determinants of Health Related to Obesity. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 11(2), 220–225. https://doi-org.libauth.purdueglobal.edu/10.1016/j.nurpra.2014.10.027
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Adult obesity facts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
Chrissini, M. K., & Panagiotakos, D. B. (2021). Health literacy as a determinant of childhood and adult obesity: a systematic review. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 33(3), 9–39. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh- 2020-0275
Ghosh-Dastidar, B., Cohen, D., Hunter, G., Zenk, S. N., Huang, C., Beckman, R., & Dubowitz, T. (2014). Distance to stores, food prices, and obesity in urban food deserts. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 47(5), 587–595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2014.07.005
Hales, C.M., Carroll, M.D., Fryar, C.D., & Ogden, C.L. (2017) Prevalence of obesity among adults and youth: United States, 2015-2016. National Center for Health Statistics Data Brief. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db288.pdf
Lugones-Sanchez, C., Crutzen, R., Recio-Rodriguez, J. I., & Garcia-Ortiz, L. (2021). Establishing the relevance of psychological determinants regarding physical activity in people with overweight and obesity. International Journal of Clinical Health & Psychology, 21(3), 1–11. https://doi- org.libauth.purdueglobal.edu/10.1016/j.ijchp.2021.100250
ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
We’ll write everything from scratch
Question
Read the required reading. Review the Determinants of Health website and view the short video and content.
Healthy People content site: https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/foundation-health-measures/Determinants-of-Health
Video Link at the site: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Yb3B75eqbo
For this discussion, you will identify and define determinants of health for an at-risk individual or family, including social, environmental, and global factors as applicable. How you approach the discussion is your choice. You may choose a condition or topic first and then elaborate from there while including the population characteristics and health determinants. Alternatively, you may choose to define a specific population, such as rural Appalachian single mothers, and then address risks and the determinants of health.
Directions: at least 1 page and a half, APA, at least 3 references.