UK Public Health agenda: Obesity

Paper Info
Page count 4
Word count 946
Read time 4 min
Topic Health
Type Essay
Language 🇺🇸 US

Introduction

Obesity is a condition when excess weight accumulates, which can be harmful to health. It may seem that it is one of the key public health issues, which has already been thoroughly studied. However, concerning the public health agenda, it is crucial to refer to the most relevant research and appropriate statistics. As a member of the European Public Health Association, Great Britain shares the importance of increasing the public health professionals’ proficiency and gaining knowledge in this field. Understanding crucial issues and gaining relevant statistical data help improve policy decisions and the education of public health professionals.

First of all, “Healthy Lives, Healthy People” should be mentioned. It is a document produced by the Government, which outlines the strategy for public health in England. According to the document, Public Health England is responsible “for funding and ensuring the provision of services such as recovery from drug dependency, sexual health, immunization programs, alcohol prevention, obesity, etc.” (Healthy lives, healthy people, 2010, para. 14). Health professionals, including nurses, have to be highly qualified in these conditions’ features to provide high-quality community services to patients suffering from obesity.

Obesity: public assessment

Concerning assessment, BMI is a body mass index that equals weight divided by the square of height and is regarded as an indicator of excessive fat in a body. According to World Health Organization, obesity for adults defines as when their body mass index is “greater than or equal to 30” (Obesity and overweight, 2020, para. 4). Obesity for children can be diagnosed when their BMI is “greater than three standard deviations above the Child Growth Standards median” (for children under five) and greater than two standard deviations (Obesity and overweight, 2020, para. 4). Obesity might lead to several diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, and cancers. The primary cause of obesity is inequality between calories that people consume and extend. In this regard, health promotion on diet and public health nutrition are indispensable topics when applied to obesity.

Reasons

To solve this health issue, it is essential to understand the health behaviors and biological mechanisms related to them. The behavioral premises of overweight associated with unhealthy eating habits are relatively evident. Concerning children and youngsters, they “often compete with normal weight youngsters” when it comes to sports exercises and are more vulnerable to injuries, leading to a lower interest in physical activities (ten Hoor et al., 2021, p. 111). As for biological factors, lower energy intake provokes adaptive hormonal responses related to high appetite, which causes a fast weight to regain. Another factor is presented by the “fat cell hypothesis,” meaning that a quick loss of weight changes the size but not the number of fat cells (Muhlhausler and Smith, 2009).

Health promotion of diet

Improper eating habits could lead to this disease, which makes nutrition one of the main determinants of health concerning obesity. Since 1980, “global rates of obesity almost doubled,” indicating the critical significance of public health nutrition interventions (Welch and Hayhoe, 2018, p. 398). Regarding the health promotion of diet, it is crucial to limit the intake of fats and sugars and eat more vegetables, fruits, nuts, and whole grains.

Health interventions plan: Prevention

Focusing on obesity prevention, it is important to bring up the notion of weight stigma. Given that being overweight is caused frequently by environmental factors, weight loss interventions should become health interventions (ten Hoor et al., 2021, p. 111). Weight loss might be stigmatized, which can affect persons’ phonological well-being, requiring focusing on health instead of weight. World Health Organization advocates that governments should support individuals in the process of losing weight and preventing overweight. It might be done through policies, that “make regular physical activity and healthier dietary choices available, affordable and easily accessible to everyone” (Obesity and overweight, 2020, para. 35). Baggot (2012) states that the health policy’s development contributes to achieving health outcomes, such as increasing quality and sustainability. A tax on sugar-sweetened beverages is an excellent example of such a measure. Moreover, the food industry might influence people’s choices in this sphere by offering products with reduced fat and sugar.

Health interventions plan

Concerning health promotion interventions, they are closely related to age and sex specifics, and several factors should be taken into account. For example, young adults can eat more without gaining weight and lose it quicker than people over 30 due to faster metabolism. BMI is also related to genetic factors: single gene defects might lead to diseases accompanied by obesity. Moreover, social factors, such as adolescence, pregnancy, and environmental changes in life can provoke weight gain. Regarding exercises, one can engage in daily physical activity, which equals 150 minutes per week for adults and 60 minutes per day for children

Evaluation

The nutrition interventions help control the obesity rate among the population. Moreover, it plays a vital role in avoiding premature deaths (Perrin, 2020). It actualizes the necessity of public health policies. This process provides “information for public health practitioners to inform future work” (Welch and Hayhoe, 2018, p. 399). The evaluation results play an essential role in planning and help to understand whether the investments lead to effective outcomes.

Conclusion

Regarding the situation in England, obesity is considered a serious concern and one of the leading causes of death. It needs to be noted that failures of public health policies relating to poor evaluation and failures should be analyzed to learn from this experience. The understanding of mistakes will make public policy in this field more comprehensive. In other words, to learn more effectively and provide better health services, appropriate lessons should be learned about the specific kind of problems to involve this experience in future policy plans.

Reference List

Baggot, R. (2012) ‘Policy success and public health: the case of public health’, Journal of Social Policy, 41(2), pp. 391-408.

Healthy lives, healthy people (2010) Web.

Muhlhausler, B. and Smith, S. R. (2009). ‘Early-life origins of metabolic dysfunction: role of the adipocyte.’ Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism, 20(2), pp. 51-57. Web.

Obesity and overweight (2020) Web.

Perrin, K.M. (2020) Principles of planning, evaluation, and research for health care programs. 2nd edn. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

ten Hoor, G.A. et al. (2021) ‘Development, implementation, and evaluation of an interdisciplinary theory- and evidence-based intervention to prevent childhood obesity: theoretical and methodological lessons learned’, Frontiers in Public Health, 5, pp. 110-119.

Welch, A. A. and Hayhoe, R. (2018) ‘Evaluation of public health nutrition interventions and policies’, in Welch, A. A. et al. (eds.), Public health nutrition. Chichester: Wiley, pp. 398-404.

Cite this paper

Reference

EssaysInCollege. (2022, July 2). UK Public Health agenda: Obesity. Retrieved from https://essaysincollege.com/uk-public-health-agenda-obesity/

Reference

EssaysInCollege. (2022, July 2). UK Public Health agenda: Obesity. https://essaysincollege.com/uk-public-health-agenda-obesity/

Work Cited

"UK Public Health agenda: Obesity." EssaysInCollege, 2 July 2022, essaysincollege.com/uk-public-health-agenda-obesity/.

References

EssaysInCollege. (2022) 'UK Public Health agenda: Obesity'. 2 July.

References

EssaysInCollege. 2022. "UK Public Health agenda: Obesity." July 2, 2022. https://essaysincollege.com/uk-public-health-agenda-obesity/.

1. EssaysInCollege. "UK Public Health agenda: Obesity." July 2, 2022. https://essaysincollege.com/uk-public-health-agenda-obesity/.


Bibliography


EssaysInCollege. "UK Public Health agenda: Obesity." July 2, 2022. https://essaysincollege.com/uk-public-health-agenda-obesity/.

References

EssaysInCollege. 2022. "UK Public Health agenda: Obesity." July 2, 2022. https://essaysincollege.com/uk-public-health-agenda-obesity/.

1. EssaysInCollege. "UK Public Health agenda: Obesity." July 2, 2022. https://essaysincollege.com/uk-public-health-agenda-obesity/.


Bibliography


EssaysInCollege. "UK Public Health agenda: Obesity." July 2, 2022. https://essaysincollege.com/uk-public-health-agenda-obesity/.