Verified Document

Roles Of A Community Health Nurse: Childhood Obesity Essay

Obesity Preventing Childhood Obesity

Nina Davuluri of Syracuse, New York met with several dozen students at the Bell Elementary School in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 6 to discuss her experiences with childhood obesity (Eger, 2014). This was particularly poignant because Miss Davuluri is the reigning Miss America. A steady diet of white rice, naan bread, soda, sugary cereals, and cookies during her childhood had led the family physician to warn her parents that Nina and her sister were borderline obese. Her parents responded appropriately and eliminated or restricted many of the offending foods and encouraged engagement in strenuous physical activity. Although this strategy was successful, Miss Davuluri relapsed in college and developed bulimia. Since then she has created a personalized approach to managing her diet, which helped her to lose close to 60 pounds shortly before the Miss America pageant.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2014) the prevalence of obese children and adolescents has doubled and quadrupled over the past 30 years. Currently, nearly one third of all children younger than 18 years of age in the United States are overweight or obese. Unfortunately, if these children are unable to return to normal weight they will suffer from an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer during adulthood. To better understand what roles a public health nurse can assume when combating the obesity epidemic in children, this essay will examine this health issue through the lens of prevention.

Roles of Public Health Nurses in Obesity...

54). A primary prevention strategy would involve taking steps to prevent the onset of disease. For childhood obesity this might involve educating families in the advantages of healthy diets and ample physical exercise (CDC, 2014). Secondary prevention identifies individuals in the early stages of the disease process before symptoms manifest (Turnock, 2012, p. 54) For children, this might involve tracking body mass index (BMI) over time and identifying those who may be overweight (Hoelscher, Kirk, Ritchie, Cunningham-Sabo, & Academy Positions Committee, 2013). An intervention could then be administered to halt and reverse this trend before obesity manifests. Tertiary prevention strategies are implemented after the individual has become symptomatic (Turnock, 2012, p. 54). The earliest symptoms a child may develop include hypertension and high cholesterol, but unless treated effectively the risk for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer persists from childhood into adulthood (CDC, 2014).
A community health nurse would have an integral role in primary prevention strategies for childhood obesity. The primary prevention strategies advocated by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (hereafter referred to as Academy) is a community-wide education campaign directed to all members of the public, including children and their parents (Hoelscher et al., 2013). A community health nurse could create literature and give seminars on this topic at local community centers and schools. The main…

Sources used in this document:
References

CDC. (2014). Childhood Obesity Facts. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm.

Eger, A. (2014, June 7). Miss America visits Tulsa school to raise awareness about childhood obesity. Retrieved from http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/education/miss-america-visits-tulsa-school-to-raise-awareness-about-childhood/article_753215cd-8a1e-52cb-9470-948618bd7bc8.html.

Hoelscher, D.M., Kirk, S., Ritchie, L., Cunningham-Sabo, L., & Academy Positions Committee. (2013). Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Interventions for the prevention and treatment of pediatric overweight and obesity. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 113(10), 1375-94.

Turnock, B.J. (2012). Essentials of Public Health (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Nursing Community Health Nursing Duval
Words: 2876 Length: 10 Document Type: Thesis

A healthy community needs to be built from the bottom up. Those things that affect the children need to be addressed so that the children can have a better shot at growing up into healthy adults. Low birth weights, poor nutrition and a lack of physical exercise are all major contributors to the incidences of childhood illness and disease. Children can not control the environments that they are born into

Childhood Obesity Is a Growing
Words: 2006 Length: 6 Document Type: Research Paper

As the primary operators of community-based health centers nurses are ideally positioned to influence the development of health policies and their implementation. The authors conclude that three key skills are essential for nurses. These include advocacy skills, collaborative leadership skills and social marketing skills for the successful implementation of the prevention and health promotion strategies. Strong advocacy skills coupled with positive action are the key to controlling the obesity

Nursing Journal Community Health and
Words: 837 Length: 3 Document Type: Article Review

As a result, it becomes more difficult to ascertain exactly what mode of intervention would best be suited for helping children overcome health matters that are at least to some degree beyond their control. That said, a defining strength of the research is its chosen method of intervention. The perspective that the health of the children at the center of this study cannot be improved without effectively improving the health

Childhood Obesity & Nutrition Evaluation
Words: 4811 Length: 18 Document Type: Term Paper

" (1999) Moran states that it has been demonstrated in many studies that a "familial aggregation f risk factors for obesity exist and the family "provides the child's major social learning environment." (1999) Surgical and Pharmacological Treatment There is very little conclusive research in the area of surgical and pharmacological treatment of child and adolescent obesity. These types of treatments are generally considered by HCPs to be "last resorts" (NIHCM, 2004) the

Community Health Oklahoma Modern Healthcare
Words: 3003 Length: 7 Document Type: Essay

The subject is now part of a national political task force, with the goal of eliminating the problem within one generation (Ferran, 2010). Formally, teen pregnancy is based on a woman who will not reach her 20th birthday by the expected birth of her first child. This definition does not assume marriage, nor if the woman is legally an adult (depending on the country). The idea of marriage and birthing

Community Health
Words: 2829 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

Health - Nursing Community Health 9400 Community Health Community Health Community America is the most obese nation in the world. American nation in general and people of Lansdowne in particular are studied here for the issues of obesity. Lansdowne is located in county of Delaware, Pennsylvania with a diverse population and demographics. Geographical area Lansdowne is located in east of America. The city is at WikiMiniAtlas 39°56"29"N 75°16"31"W? / ?39.94139°N 75.27528°W. The city has land area of ?

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now