Obesity and San Diego - Essay Example

Obesity and San Diego Insert Insert Grade Insert Obesity and San Diego Introduction Obesity is generally the condition in which an individual weighs more than the recommended height to body weight ratio, which is referred to as the body mass index. However, the determination of whether one is an obese (or not) differs with age and therefore, is measured differently. The problem of obesity has been a major health issue in the county. Being a nursing student in the health care policy class, I feel that this issue should be tackled in a more appropriate way. Having been an experienced medic in the area, I have observed several cases; and even potential ones; of obesity and therefore there is need for a more inclusive approach in tackling the health condition. The various volunteer works I have been engaged in have further brought to my attention on the consequences of ignoring this issue especially by professionals in the medical field. In addition, my quest for eliminating this problem has been further motivated by the situation currently experienced in my own household. My teenage siblings are at high risk of being obese because of their lifestyle and their consumption habits. This paper focuses on the major contributors of obesity and how to eliminate them in the county of Florida. The various indications as will be discussed below show that this problem is becoming a critical issue in both the county and the whole nation of United States. Policy Plan The healthy people 2010 (2009) indicate that the county’s level of obesity, at least for those who have reported, is about 15% among teenagers and about 18% among the adults in the county. This shows a very alarming trend that calls for intervention by the leadership of the county and overall, of the state. To draw a further highlight of this problem, it is better to mention that obesity is a major contributor of other life threatening conditions like: asthma, coronary diseases, diabetes, cancer and others according to the county’s health and human services agency. It is because of these findings that there was a decision to contact the local authority in this case, the mayor of San Diego City Council. The date identified for this visit will be the 23rd day of February, 2013. Policy making is very essential for eradication of this problem and therefore the justification of this choice. Since there is difficulty in securing appointment with the mayor, it is important that there are various people mobilized to help capture some attention. Another proposed way is therefore through mobilization of affected people for a peaceful procession to the mayor’s office in which an appointment will be sought and the date above be pushed. The main policy proposal will be that of ensuring that there are campaigns and sensitization programs in the county to aid in the awareness creation that will help change the lifestyle and eating habits of the local people so that they do not succumb to this great problem. A report by Jeannie et al (2009) indicates that the HOPE project is one of the successful ways the nation has enabled the medics in the country provide necessary assistance and guidance to victims of this condition by establishing a curriculum for the medical professionals like nurses to enable them learn through the internet on ways to tackle this issue. Internet use has been widespread among the teenage population and that is why this project can be used as a guideline in developing a policy to combat this problem in the county. The healthy people 2020 (2012) suggest methods of tackling the problem of rising obesity among the teenagers in the country. Most importantly, it envisages the reduction of obesity cases by use of alternative prevention mechanisms of which campaign by professionals, especially the nurses, is one of them. It even goes further by pointing out the need for sufficient information on the causes of overweight among the county’s population. Story et al (2008) propose a combined policy and environmental approaches of combating this problem showing that is important to approach this serious health policy issue in a multidimensional way so that it is effectively eradicated. A meeting with the authorities to show them the number of people that is most likely to be directly or indirectly affected by this health problem. The approach will be to present the statistics and my real life experiences of being obese apart from the cases handled during my volunteer and medical profession’s work as a local nurse. Most of the problems are highly related to the issue of being overweight and presenting overweight or the activities that lead to it as the major impediment in reduction of other diseases like cancer will be effective to convince the policy makers. There will be presentations and video evidence of a sample of patients that have been able to overcome the problem through proper guidance and awareness creation. An example of a proper policy formulation is the state of Philadelphia; which ranks as the state with highest number of people with obesity; where there have been a policy to encourage more healthy foods in grocery stalls (Kliff 2012). The HOPE project mentioned above in this proposal is one such approach that relies on educating the people through proper curriculum development so that all stakeholders have the clear ways of addressing varied cases of obesity and potentials cases among the local population. This paper therefore, proposes the approach of educating the local population in particular the youth on how to take care of their diets and lifestyle so that they are not caught up with this problem. Since it is not possible to eliminate the problem on only an individual’s own efforts, it is better that all locals be educated so that the affected will not find difficulties in getting out of this health issue. The use of the internet to share important education and sensitization materials is very important and the policy to be proposed will be anchored on the online media that appeals to the youthful locals from the various ethnic groups living in the county. Conclusion From this plan, there is an expectation that the policy makers will at last look at this issue even though it may take time to develop. A strategy to be used is that of making frequent follow ups and engaging professionals and opinion makers in this issue so that the policy making is fast tracked before this problem becomes worse. The various methods of ensuring follow up is made will be through the use of frequent reminding messages and phone calls to the mayor and other policy makers in the county so that they are consciously aware that the issue is still pending. Local campaigns will also be commenced to provide an illustration of how the proposal is bound to work. Finally, it is important to recognize that the nurses and other medical professionals have a role to play in the areas of prevention of this medical condition and it is through shaping the policies that address this issue conclusively that they are bound to do this. Since national welfare is not only measured in terms of income economic indicators like GDP, but also through the other social welfare indicators like health status of the population, this is a serious national issue. References County of San Diego. (2012). Community Health Statistics: Obesity Fact Sheet. Retrieved from www.sdcounty.ca.gov Huang, J. et al. (2009). The Health And Obesity: Prevention And Education (HOPE) Curriculum Project- Curriculum Development. Pedriatics, nov 2009, vol. 124; issue 5 Kliff, S. (2012). Will Philadelphia’s experiment in eradicating food deserts work? The Washington Post, 6th august 2012 issue Story, M et al. (2008). Creating Healthy Food and Eating Environments: Policy and Environmental Approaches. Annual Rev Public Health, 2008; 29:253-72. The Healthy People 2020. (2012). Nutrition and Weight Status. Retrieved from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=29 Read More