Health Research Project- Obesity Literature Review
Introduction
Obesity has increased rapidly in the last few years globally. The rise in obesity cases across the United States among adults and adolescents has become a health issue of concern. The causes of obesity are multifactorial. The health condition is substantially linked to several chronic non-communicable and adverse social and economic outcomes. Obesity is today a leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States. The United States government has recognized obesity prevention as a high priority in managing current and future obesity and related health issues and socioeconomic outcomes. Our assignment writing services will allow you to attend to more important tasks as our experts handle your task.
Causes of Obesity and Obesity Health and Socioeconomic Outcomes
Obesity is a health condition characterized by excessively abnormal weight (Wu et al., 2021). According to Shibuya et al. (2020), the American Medical Association (AMA) ‘s recognition of obesity as a chronic disease in 2013 made it possible for physicians and researchers to focus on treating associated comorbidities and engaging in patients’ weight management. Currently, obesity is associated with the highest levels of morbidity and premature mortality globally.
Excessive weight leading to the development of obesity results from a complex interplay of an individual’s behavior, environment, and genetics (Wu et al., 2021). The majority of obesity cases are linked to sedentary lifestyles, aging, and lower socioeconomic status. There is a higher connection between the environment, behavioral lifestyles, and a heightened risk of obesity. For instance, Hales et al. (2018) found that adults living in nonmetropolitan and rural areas had a higher prevalence of obesity as compared to adults living in urban metropolitan areas. Obesogenic environmental factors such as the environment’s social and built features (Pereira et al., 2018), and the closeness to and accessibility of food stores and canteens to schools and neighborhoods (Jia et al., 2019), have been associated with childhood obesity, a common precursor to adult obesity. Socioeconomically vulnerable regions have also been linked to a high prevalence of obesity (Pereira et al., 2018).
Obesity is a serious health issue; it is also a risk factor for other chronic non-communicable diseases with huge impacts on social life and the economy. According to Wu et al. (2020), obesity has been associated with an increased risk of diabetes mellitus (DM), cardiovascular diseases, musculoskeletal diseases, risk of disability, sleep disorders, and mortality. These negative health outcomes place obesity as one of the largest contributors to the overall burden of diseases in the United States. Conclusively, Crawley et al. (2021) noted that the direct costs of obesity at the US national level as of 2016 were recorded at $139.4 billion paid by private health insurance, with $57.9 billion paid by public health insurance, while out-of-pocket expenditure related to obesity total at $20.0 billion.
Due to the stigma associated with obesity, the condition has been linked to negative social outcomes such as low self-esteem, increased anxiety, and depression. Obese people experience discrimination across all social settings, resulting in adverse outcomes in their education, health care, and social relationships.
Demographics and Prevalence of Obesity in the United States
Obesity affects all people, including children, men, and women of all ages and races. However, empirical evidence shows that it affects some groups differently based on age, race, gender, income, and level of education. Epidemiological surveys carried out across the United States from 2011 to 2018 have shown that the current prevalence rate of obesity is increasing and reaching alarming levels (Liu et al., 2021). Between 205 and 2016, 39.8% of adults living in the US were obese. Out of these, 42.8% were aged between 40 and 59 years, 35.7% were aged between 20 and 39, and 41% were aged 60 years and above (Hales et al., 2018). The prevalence of obesity across the gender divide based on the report showed that 43.0% of American men were obese. In comparison, 42.1% of American women were reported to be obese (Hales et al., 2018).
Analyses of national prevalence data drawn from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) indicate that the prevalence of adult obesity across the US varies across race, education, and income (CDC, 2020). According to the data based on race, 44.8% of adult people of Hispanic origins were obese, the non-Hispanic Black population had a 49.6% obesity prevalence, while non-Hispanic White had a prevalence rate of 42.2%. On the other hand, non-Hispanic Asian adults had the lowest obesity rate at 17.4%.
The 2011 to 2018 obesity prevalence data based on gender showed that 45.7% of adult Hispanic men, 41.1% non-Hispanic black men, 44.7% non-Hispanic, and 17.5% of non-Hispanic Asian adult men were obese (Liu et al., 2021). On the other hand, based on the 2017 to 2018 data, 56.9% of non-Hispanic black women were obese compared to 43.7% of Hispanic women, 39.8% of non-Hispanic white and 17.2% of non-Hispanic white women (CDC, 2020).
Cases of severe obesity are on the rise across the US. A review of the 2017 to 2018 data published by the CDC indicates that severe obesity is prevalent among 9.2% of American adults, with women at 11.5% and men at 6.9% (CDC, 2020). Cases of severe obesity vary with age, as adults aged 40 to 59 were recorded to have an 11.5% prevalence, and those aged 20 to 39 and over 60 years had a 9.1% and 5.8% prevalence of severe obesity. Although data disparities exist in ethnicity on obesity, it is evident that non-Hispanic black communities are more prone to obesity than any other race in the US, while non-Hispanic black women have the highest prevalence of obesity (Liu et al., 2021). Based on the obesity prevalence trends, the prevalence of adult obesity in the US is estimated to be above 40%, while 70% of the overall population is overweight or obese (Pollack et al., 2022).
Programs towards the Management and Prevention of Obesity
Obesity is a complex and multi-faceted health problem that requires multiple approaches to manage and prevent. In response to the rise in obesity cases across the US, a common intervention has been the push for change in individual self-regulated behaviors such as physical activity and eating habits (Liu et al., 2021). However, due to the disparities in income and access to nutritional health information and nutritious foods, such interventions have not succeeded. The US government has much focused on programs that help identify population health needs, provide nutrition education, understand population behaviors, and plan and provide dietary interventions to balance caloric intake. One of the leading programs the US government has developed to address the rising prevalence of obesity is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
SNAP is a nutritional program designed to supplement food budgets for low-income households and enable them to afford nutritious and healthy foods and move towards self-sufficiency (Schanzenbach, 2019). The program is aimed to serve households that support elderly or disabled family members, aged households with children, and households with low or no income (Schanzenbach, 2019). The program provides cash incentives and restricts the purchase of certain foods using the incentives (Mozaffarian et al., 2018). Participants in the SNAP program receive e-vouchers to purchase food items from participating outlets. Besides providing nutritional support to low-income families, the program has been noted to support the economy during economic hardships (Schanzenbach, 2019).
Conclusion
Obesity is a complex disease with adverse effects on health systems, society, and the economy. It also leads to chronic comorbidities. It is a priority health issue of concern in the US. Managing obesity now and in the future requires a current shift in lifestyles. However, getting the right strategies to address obesity requires identifying the current trends in the pandemic. Currently, the most common risk factor for adult obesity is childhood and adolescent obesity. Besides the current prevention strategies, focusing on preventing childhood and adolescent obesity can largely reduce the prevalence of adult obesity.
References
CDC. (2020). Prevalence of Obesity and Severe Obesity among Adults: United States, 2017–2018. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved 12 April 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db360.htm.
Cawley, J., Biener, A., Meyerhoefer, C., Ding, Y., Zvenyach, T., Smolarz, B. G., & Ramasamy, A. (2021). Direct medical costs of obesity in the United States and the most populous states. Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, 27(3), 354-366.
Hales, C. M., Fryar, C. D., Carroll, M. D., Freedman, D. S., Aoki, Y., & Ogden, C. L. (2018). Differences in obesity prevalence by demographic characteristics and urbanization level among adults in the United States, 2013-2016. Jama, 319(23), 2419-2429.
Jia, P., Xue, H., Cheng, X., & Wang, Y. (2019). Effects of school neighborhood food environments on childhood obesity at multiple scales: a longitudinal kindergarten cohort study in the USA. BMC Medicine, 17(1), 1-15.
Mozaffarian, D., Liu, J., Sy, S., Huang, Y., Rehm, C., Lee, Y., & Micha, R. (2018). Cost-effectiveness of financial incentives and disincentives for improving food purchases and health through the US Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): A microsimulation study. PLoS medicine, 15(10), e1002661.
Liu, B., Du, Y., Wu, Y., Snetselaar, L. G., Wallace, R. B., & Bao, W. (2021). Trends in obesity and adiposity measures by race or ethnicity among adults in the United States 2011-18: population-based study. BMJ, 372.
Pereira, M., Nogueira, H., & Padez, C. (2018). Association between childhood obesity and environmental characteristics: Testing a multidimensional environment index using census data. Applied Geography, 92, 104-111.
Pollack, C. C., Onega, T., Emond, J. A., Vosoughi, S., O’Malley, A. J., McClure, A. C., & Gilbert-Diamond, D. (2022). A national evaluation of geographic accessibility and provider availability of obesity medicine diplomates in the United States between 2011 and 2019. International Journal of Obesity, 1-7.
Rey, F., Urrata, V., Gilardini, L., Bertoli, S., Calcaterra, V., Zuccotti, G. V., & Carelli, S. (2021). Role of long non‐coding RNAs in adipogenesis: State of the art and implications in obesity and obesity‐associated diseases. Obesity Reviews, 22(7), e13203.
Schanzenbach, D. W. (2019). Exploring options to improve the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP). The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 686(1), 204-228.
Shibuya, K., Ji, X., Pfoh, E. R., Milinovich, A., Weng, W., Bauman, J., & Burguera, B. (2020). Association between shared medical appointments and weight loss outcomes and anti‐obesity medication use in patients with obesity. Obesity Science & Practice, 6(3), 247-254.
Wu, T., Yang, S., Liu, M., Qiu, G., Li, H., Luo, M., & Jia, P. (2021). Urban sprawl and childhood obesity. Obesity Reviews, 22, e13091.
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Question 
Body of Paper: (30 Points)
The body of your paper should include the following:
1. Detailed information about your chosen health topic.
2. Target Group: What group of people is this health issue affecting (ex, African Americans, Asians, Caucasians, Elderly, Children, Teenagers or College Students)?
Health Research Project- Obesity Literature Review
3. Statistics/Prevalence – (Evidence of the issue’s impact): Include supporting facts and details about the health topic (include at least one statistic about your health topic).
4. Best Practices: What is being done to address this health issue? Discuss at least one program, organization or initiative that addresses your health issue and target group.
APA Style & References: (15 Points)
Your paper is required to be written in APA style. You are also required to have at least five peer-reviewed articles as references. Retrieve five peer-reviewed articles about your chosen health topic and target group from the PGCC library research database. You are not limited to only five references. You can also include books and other scholarly references to help you write your paper.