Obesity is a public health problem that requires immediate intervention. One third of Americans are obese, clearly marking obesity as an epidemic (CDC, 2014). Obesity is not just an aesthetic problem. Being fat alone is not the issue; it is what obesity does to the body that matters. Serious and often deadly diseases like diabetes, coronary heart disease, many types of cancer, and stroke are directly caused by obesity. These are all preventable problems caused by lifestyle habits. Most obesity is due to the most simple factors possible: diet and exercise. Yet little is actually being done to control obesity. As a result, health care costs are rising. The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008, and "the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight," (CDC, 2014). Obesity places a heavy burden on society, reducing overall quality of life. Therefore, interventions must include mandates in the private and public sectors that lead to long-term changes in normative culture and lifestyle. Americans cherish their perceived freedoms, but even Americans understand the need for public health interventions from a utilitarian perspective. Vaccinations are one example of how Americans are willing to collectively improve the public health of the nation. Likewise, the smoking epidemic has been quelled due to direct intervention from the perspective of public health, legality and ethics. The next step is to apply the same methods to food manufacturers, businesses, urban planning, and institutions like schools. "Leaving it to individuals to slim down through dieting and exercise without any such help…consistently fails," ("Heavy Weapons," 2014). Therefore, it is no longer appropriate or ethically sound to expect individual Americans to start feeding their children real food, feeding themselves real food, or walking to work. Americans have failed at self-regulation and cannot be...
Consumers are weak and ignorant, and a top-down approach must now ensue. In the same way that the government heavy-handedly dealt with the tobacco industry for its misleading marketing tactics, the government now needs to place the same pressure on food manufacturers.
Obesity and Health Problems The Solution, First Reason To ensure that the approach adopted in the management of obesity is workable and to avoid the adoption of a potentially discriminatory position against those who prefer a bigger body size; obesity should be classified as a contributing factor to ill health rather than a disease. Those branding obesity a disease can be seen as trying to solve a prevailing problem using the wrong
Health Belief Model and Health Education Public/population health standards place the conventional medical individual care model within several determinants of health. Currently, various public health models exist and are available for a huge range of purposes such as the Health Belief Model. These various health models exist to provide an improved understanding of the dynamics relating to the health and wellbeing of populations. In addition, there are social determinants of health
In person interviews can be an effective research tool but for the purpose of this study it would not be the most effective tool. Asking children in person how many hours they watch of television may not get accurate answers or results. In addition, asking the parents how much television they allow their children to watch may garner inaccurate answers as they may not know for sure, or they
Public health as a discipline is really both the science and art of preventing disease, improving health, and prolonging the quality of life within a given society by use of public and private organizations. Overall, it is concerned with threats that are the type that may hurt society as a whole -- epidemics, dangers, social and mental well-being, etc. Modern public health is a multi-disciplinary field that includes medical professionals,
Fact Sheet. Number of Deaths for Leading Cause of Death. December 31, 2009). For Tennessee the data indicate heart disease 14,636, cancer 13, 161, and stroke 3,450 (CDC. Tennessee Fact Sheet. November 9, 2010), yet it is heart disease which strikes the Tennessee population most egregiously. Coronary heart disease is caused by "the narrowing of the coronary arteries due to fatty build- ups of plaque" (American Heart Association. January
We can train our people, communicate with them, and ensure that they are performing correctly. There has to be an understanding that there are severe consequences for failing to ensure proper sterilization. This issue is one where I would want to guarantee 100% elimination of the problem at my facility. HIV and teenage pregnancy are relatively straightforward issues. We need to make sure our young people are equipped with knowledge
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