Analysis and Application
An Existing At-Risk Population

Obesity has been a major health issue in the United States that leads to numerous diseases. The obesity rates have been on the upward trajectory over the past few years. According to Hales, Fryar, Carroll, Freedman, and Ogden (2018), the rates of obesity have increased from 33.7 percent to 39.6 percent in the past decade. Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) that is 30 or greater (Hales et al., 2018). Severe obesity is defined as having a BMI that is 40 or greater. This is attributed to the lifestyle changes of people and the over-reliance on fast foods. especially in America, junk food is far cheaper than healthy alternatives. This makes it attractive for low-income families, which contributes to the increased obesity rates for middle to low-income groups. With the increased work schedules, people are finding it hard to maintain healthy lifestyles and they have little time for exercise. This results in them living sedentary lives and eating unhealthy meals. Increased urbanization has been mentioned to be a factor too. The nature of work has dramatically changed. Currently, there is little requirement for physical activity in the work environment. Technological advances have made production much easier and less human effort is needed. This means that people are not required to perform as much physical activity as was in the past. Extended working hours and long schedules have ensured that people no longer have spare time for any physical activities.

Obesity is the leading cause of certain chronic diseases like diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and certain types of cancer. While these are all preventable, they can be fatal and they have resulted in premature death. The groups that are at high risk of obesity have been identified by Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen, and Dietz (2009) as Hispanics with a rate of 47%, followed by non-Hispanic blacks 46%. Non-Hispanic whites and non-Hispanic Asians had 37.9% and 12.7% respectively. Annually, there are between 100,00 - 400,000 deaths that are attributed to obesity in the United States. Obesity has also increased the use of healthcare and health expenditures costing the society approximately $118 billion in direct and indirect costs. This is even higher in terms of health care costs that are associated with smoking. The rates of obese women have been increasing with each passing year and women have far higher rates as compared to those of men.

Health Risk Within This Population

Obesity has been shown to contribute to numerous diseases. Type 2 diabetes is one of the diseases where nursing practice can have an impact. While obesity is not the main cause of type 2 diabetes, individuals who are obese or overweight have a high risk of developing the disease (Abranches, de Oliveira, da Conceição, & Peluzio, 2015). Type 2 diabetes is a disease where the levels of blood sugar are above normal levels. Having a high blood sugar level could result in heart disease, kidney disease, amputation, blindness, and stroke. Diabetes has been shown to be a leading cause of death, especially in the United States. Over 87%...…they operate and have training that is aimed at educating the population on the hazards of obesity (Seidell & Halberstadt, 2015). This way the community will get the necessary advice and the facilities can also have an obese center where people can visit to get recommendations on dietary and physical activity changes that they need to make. Community leaders are other stakeholders that one can use to reach out to the communities. These are individuals who are well known within the community and they are considered leaders and advisors for the community. Taking them through training on the effects of obesity and how they can tackle this will ensure that they are able to send out the same message to the community members. These leaders will also offer the necessary insights into the community problem. The community might be unable to meet some of the needs due to a lack of facilities for exercising or play areas. This could be discussed and solutions developed that would be suitable for the community.

Advertising agencies working within the county can be approached to offer their services for free to the community. Seeking their services can allow for the message to be shared in different platforms and this would reach as many people as possible. Advertising agencies can also offer this as part of their CSR activities, which would mean it would be free. Having billboards and advertisements in print and radio will ensure that the message is shared across and the potential of it reaching the desired population is increased.

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