...the developed world Introduction ‘Obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health’ (World Health Organization, 2013). To accurately define obesity, one’s body mass index (BMI) is greater than or equal to 30 means he or she is obese (ibid). Obesity is increasingly spread all over the world and becomes a global health issue. According to WHO (2013), the population of the obese is twice larger than that three decades ago and more than 500 million adults are obese currently. Obesity can give a rise to the likelihood of getting other serious illness such as diabetes, cancer and CVD. Therefore, over 2.8 million lives are claimed by obesity directly or indirectly per year (ibid). Both developed and developing countries are experiencing this increasing obesity epidemic, but there are distinctions in the factors in these two kinds of areas. In comparison, the reasons in developed regions are more common problems and are more familiar to people living in urban areas. Investigation into the causes for the increasing obesity epidemic in developed countries gives the public a deeper understanding of obesity causes and helps governments make policies to tackle obesity crisis. Causes of this increasing trend are grouped into three categories in this essay, which are unhealthy food, excessive food consumption and lack of physical exercise. Unhealthy food Unhealthy food, food with high energy but poor nutrition, takes a toll in rising obesity epidemic...
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...Future Health Careers In the 1900s the majority of people died from a disease that they couldn’t have protected themselves from. The leading causes of death were tuberculosis, influenza, pneumonia, and GI infections. The unsanitary environment, lack of proper hygiene, and lack of medication and treatment were all causes of the diseases. Then through improvements in sanitation and hygiene, technology, vaccination, and antibiotics, infectious disease related deaths begin to decline and now today are almost obsolete or are now treatable (CDC, 1999). With all the advances in technology, science and medication though the world started to see a shift from these infectious diseases to chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, smoking, and diabetes....
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...about proper nutrition and regular exercise. The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) found that by making a couple of lifestyle changes, one could greatly decrease the their risk of developing diabetes’s: “The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) demonstrated that people at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes could decrease their risk by 58% through a lifestyle intervention of proper diet and exercise” (Berry et al., 2009). Interventions for proper diet include preparing home cooked meals, and excluding fast food or processed foods from the diet. Also, advise the patient to avoid eating to many toxic snacks high in sodium and sugars such as chips and sodas. When assessing a patient’s physical activity, determine whether or not they need to increase their exercise habits. Advise clients that 30 minutes of walking a day a few times a week should be enough to reach the minimal recommended guidelines of healthy physical activity. In addition, teach the patient about the risk of developing type II diabetes because of their culture. While genetics may or may not play a role, it’s important that the patient understands the high prevalence of type II diabetes among their culture. When implementing a care plan for a Native American patient at risk for diabetes, there are several factors the nurse must be aware of. These factors include: “Time restraints and demands of daily living… added expense of eating nutritionally balanced healthy meals; general lack of awareness and/or understanding...
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...Assessment Middle aged Hispanic male Physical health: newly diagnosed with hypertension, 12 pounds overweight, occasional alcohol use, and no tobacco use. He does not exercise regularly, does not have any hobbies at this time and he lacks motivation to take annual physical exams and preventive measures or test. Mental Health: stressful employment, emotional and financial responsibilities for his parents. Learning needs: Visual learner (reading Introduction to the disease process: According to "Center For Disease Control And Prevention" (2012), “hypertension, also referred to as high blood pressure, when the force of blood against your artery walls is out of the normal range” (High Blood Pressure Facts). A healthy blood pressure reading is lower than 120/80mmHg and pre-hypertension is between 120/80mm Hg and 139/89mmHg. Stage 1 hypertension is between 140/90mm Hg and 159/99mm Hg and stage 2 hypertension is a reading of 160/100mm Hg or higher. Blood pressure is recorded as two numbers the systolic pressure (the heart beats) over the diastolic pressure (as the heart relaxes.) Risk factors for cardiovascular diseases including hypertension include: increasing age, male, race (African Americans, Hispanics), diabetes, family history, high sodium diet, obesity, physical inactivity, alcohol and tobacco use. The extra pressure to the walls of the arteries from the high blood pressure can damage the arteries and organs. This risk of damage is increased the longer the pressure remains...
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...Cancer Biology Assignment TOPIC: Cancer prevention Group Members 1. Benjamin Mbau 2. Charles Lwanga 3. Charles Mwanzia 4. Bernad Korir 5. Balovera Arquings CANCER PREVENTION * The best way to deal with cancer is by prevention. Cancer has no cure and hence prevention is the best strategy. * To prevent cancer, an individual needs to know the causes of cancer CANCER PREVENTION * The best way to deal with cancer is by prevention. Cancer has no cure and hence prevention is the best strategy. * To prevent cancer, an individual needs to know the causes of cancer CAUSES OF CANCER There are several causes of cancer; some of the causes of cancer are listed below; * Smoking * Viruses * Sun burns * Obesity * Lack of exercise * Poor diet * Use of alcohol and drugs * UV Rays CANCER PREVENTION METHODS GETTING SCREENED * Screening is one of the surest ways to prevent cancer. Be sure to take annual screening tests like the Pap test and mammogram if you are a woman, and the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test if you are a man. * Both the Pap test and PSA can detect cellular changes before they become cancerous, and the mammogram can detect breast cancer in its earliest stages. * Also people above the age of 50 should get screened for colon cancer since it is at this age that a person is most vulnerable to colon cancer. * Remember, some cancers are over 90 percent curable if detected early, so...
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...“The Causes, Effects, and Prevention of Child Obesity” Jennifer Like ENG 122 English Compositions II Instructor: Jessica Hamman November 12, 2012 Obesity is more than a looking good concern. It does not just affect the way people look. It can change the development of our lives, and not for the better. It sets us on a fast track for health complications such as heart disease, type-two diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. In addition, it is not just a problem for adults, but it has also become a health concern among teens and children. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) A child who fights obesity and carry extra weight threatens their future and their quality of life. So what is obesity, what causes it, what effects can it have on an individual and is there any ways to prevent it? Obesity is the state of being well above one's normal weight. An individual that is twenty percent or more above their ideal weight is considered as being obese. The ideal weight consists of the height, age, sex, and build of an individual. Obesity defined by the NIH (National Institutes of Health) as a BMI of thirty and above. A BMI of thirty is about thirty pounds overweight. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) The BMI (body mass index), a key index for relating body weight to height, is a person's weight in kilograms divided by their height in meters squared. Since the BMI describes the body weight relative to height, it correlates strongly with the total...
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...Childhood Obesity Once upon a time, kids were skinny. They ate healthy food three times a day, ate an apple for snack, and got lots of exercise. They played tag, hide and go seek, and ran around outside till the lightning bugs came out. They only watched T.V on Saturday mornings when the cartoons came on for two hours and tuned in on Sunday evenings to watch The Wonderful World of Disney, and video games were just a figment of our imagination. Somewhere along the lines came a profound change in the average American family lifestyle; it took a turn from an active outdoor type to a inside sedentary one. Now thirty years later, kids are overweight; they are lucky if they eat 1 healthy meal a day, and for many, the only exercise they get is walking from class to class. CHILDHOOD OBESITY EFFECTS ONE THIRD OF ALL KIDS, AND IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM, ONE THAT COMES WITH MANY HEALTH RISKS, BUT IT IS A PROBLEM THAT COULD BE EASILY PREVENTED. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claim that childhood obesity has more than tripled in the last 30 years and that the obesity is a result of caloric imbalance – too many calories and not enough being burned (CDC). Thirty years ago, 81% of American families had a stay at home mother and a working father (Kreider 1) In the late 70’s and early 80’s, the majority of families still cooked most of their meals, reserving fast food for special occasions. Life tended to run at a slower pace, allowing time for families to sit and eat...
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...Literacy and health in Canada: what we have learned and what can help in the future? A research report. Clear language edition [monograph on the Internet]. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Institutes of Health Research; 2004 [cited 2011 Nov 25]. Available from: www.cpha.ca/ uploads/portals/h-l/literacy_e.pdf Public Health Agency of Canada [homepage on the Internet]. Ottawa, ON: Public Health Agency of Canada; 2003 [updated 2011 Oct 21; cited 2011 Nov 26]. What determines health?; [about 3 screens]. Available from: http:// www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ph-sp/determinants/index-eng.php. Scott Murray, Data Angel Policy Research, Incorporated, Rima Rudd, Harvard School of Public Health, Irwin Kirsch, Educational Testing, Service, Kentaro Yamamoto, Educational Testing Service and, Sylvie Grenier, Statistics Canada. Health literacy in Canada: initial results from the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey 2007 [monograph on Internet]. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Council on Learning; 2007 [cited 2011 Nov 26]. Available from: www.ccl-cca.ca/pdfs/HealthLiteracy/HealthLiteracyinCanada.pdf Rao JK, Anderson LA, Inui TS, Frankel RM. Communication interventions make a difference in conversation between physician and patients: a systemic review of the evidence. Med Care. 2007;45(4):340-9. Stewart MA. Effective physician–patient communication and health outcomes: a review. CMAJ. 1995;152(9):1423-33. Rootman I, Gordon-El-Bihbety D, Frankish J, Hemming H, Kaszap M, Langille L, et al. National Literacy and Health Research...
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...increase in healthy behaviors. Despite this fact, “the number of persons at high risk of or diagnosed with type 2 diabetes is increasing all over the world” (Korkiakangas, Taanila, & Keinanen-Kiukaanniemi, 2011). Carbon County Pennsylvania is one area where this disease is on the rise. It used to be referred to as adult onset diabetes because it was commonly seen in older adults, but today there is also a high incidence seen in teens and even children as young as four years old (Bowden, 2012). The increase in obesity among children is most likely the cause (Schub & Caple, 2011). A health promotion and disease prevention program to prevent type 2 diabetes might include diet modification or increased activity. Both actions have been proven to prevent this health problem a large percent of time. Population of Carbon County Carbon County covers an area of over 500 square miles which has state game lands over two thirds of the area (Carbon, 2002). With so much available area for physical activity the population should be leading the state in physical fitness. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2008, 8.2 percent of the adults in Carbon County Pennsylvania have been diagnosed with diabetes, 28.8 percent of the population is obese, and 26.2 percent are physically inactive (2012). This high rate of obesity and inactivity puts even more of its residents at risk of contracting type 2 diabetes. The rural landscape may contribute to the inactivity...
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...California: Assessment of a Diverse Community California, also known as the golden state and a melting pot of the United States because of a diverse culture and a large immigrant population. To some Americans, it is a paradise and an ideal tourist destination because of sunny weather and easy access to oceans, mountains, and deserts. California integrates foods, languages, and traditions all over the world. According to, People of California 2006 census, California has an appraised population of 377,172,015 and is the thirteenth quickly-growing state. The population consists of 61.9% White American, 6% Black or African American, 10.4% Asian American, 18.4% other race, 1.7% American Indian, 2.1% mixed race, 38.5% are Hispanic or Latino, and 40.3% of the population is non-Hispanic Whites. The leading industries of California are agriculture, manufacturing, biotechnology, and tourism. In terms of politics, Californians are more liberal, especially those who live in the inland states. Based on California Political Parties there are six political parties, the American Independent, Democratic, Green, Libertarian, Peace and Freedom, and Republican. California experiences frequent and devastating wildfires. During the last decade in 2003 and 2009, California experienced devastating wildfires that affected countless lives. Thousands of families were left homeless and hundreds of lives were lost. California officials have made strict laws against unsafe practices that may cause accidental...
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...common health issue in the United States. The Center for Disease Control (2011) calls it “dangerous and expensive.” On July 8th, 2014, Medical News Today, a health news website reported that obesity in the U.S. is due to a decline in exercise, and not due to overeating. The article reports, “a study from Stanford University reported in The American Journal of Medicine suggests the rise in obesity in the US is likely due to increased sedentary lifestyles across the nation, and not eating too many calories” (Paddock, 2014, para 1). Although this health issue has received a lot of attention in the last couple of decades, the rate of obesity still continues to be high. According to the CDC, in 2011–2012, the prevalence of obesity in the U.S. has continued to increase significantly in the past 20 years; 36% of adults and 17% of children and teenagers are currently overweight. Another 17% of children and teenagers are obese (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2010). The terms ‘overweight’ and ‘obese’ are determined by ‘body mass index’ or BMI. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number determined from a person's weight and height. For an adult, a BMI from 18.5-24.9 is considered normal, a BMI between 25-29.9 is considered overweight, and a BMI greater than 30 is considered obese (CDC, 2011). This paper discusses the Medical News Today article, the topic of obesity, and how it is related to Healthy People 2020. While I agree with the Medical News Article that a lack of exercise is...
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...statistics shows that diabetes is disease requiring significant attention in the youth population. Epidemiological studies are needed in order to direct healthcare in the youth population and to provide effective interventions designed to reduce the prevalence and incidence rates of diabetes amongst our youth. Definition and Purpose of Study The purpose of epidemiology is to study disease and as a tool of community health it performs this function through a series of steps: 1. Search for determinants – A search for causes and factors that influence public health such as disease or high risk behaviors such as drug use. 2. Study of events- Health-related states or events need to be studied such as chronic diseases, injuries, birth defects, maternal-child health, occupational health, environmental health, and behaviors, i.e., exercise, seat-belt use, etc. 3. Control of disease- Using data from determinants and events, conclusions can be drawn to stop or control the disease. 4. Application of data- The epidemiological data can be applied to community health and can be used to deter, prevent, and educate the community against...
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...of heart conditions. The most common form of HD is coronary heart disease (CHD), also called coronary artery disease (CAD) because it involves the coronary arteries. Other types of CVD include hypertension, congestive heart failure, stroke, congenital cardiovascular defects, hardening or narrowing (atherosclerosis) of the blood vessels, including the coronary arties, and other diseases of the circulatory system. The majority of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is caused by risk factors that can be controlled, treated or modified, such as high blood pressure, cholesterol, overweight/obesity, tobacco use, lack of physical activity and diabetes. However, there are also some major CVD risk factors that cannot be controlled. In terms of attributable deaths, the leading CVD risk factor is raised blood pressure (to which 13 percent of global deaths is attributed), followed by tobacco use (9 percent), raised blood glucose (6 percent), physical inactivity (6 percent) and overweight and obesity (5 percent). MODIFIABLE RISK FACTORS: 1) Hypertension (high blood pressure) Blood pressure is measured as two numbers, written one over the other and recorded in millimeters of mercury – for example, 120/78 mm Hg. High blood pressure is defined as a repeatedly elevated systolic pressure of 140 or higher OR a diastolic pressure of 90 or higher. * Globally, nearly one billion people have high blood pressure (hypertension); of these, two thirds are in developing countries. * Hypertension...
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...Obesity in Pregnancy Presented by: Tammy Therrien, CHN Hillsborough County Health Department Maternal-Child Health Prenatal Clinic Obesity in Pregnancy Obesity in the United States has increased dramatically over the last 25 years (American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), 2013). More than one half of pregnant women are overweight or obese (ACOG, 2013). Maternal obesity is one of the most commonly occurring risk factors in obstetric practice. Assessment and counseling, preconception and during pregnancy for obese women is strongly encouraged. Purpose of Presentation To improve the health and well being of obese pregnant women and their babies To show maternal and fetal effects of obesity To show recommendations and interventions to improve outcomes Target audience are overweight and obese pregnant women at first prenatal visit. Overweight and Obese Definition The World Health Organization (WHO) definition is: BMI greater than 25 is overweight BMI greater than 30 is obesity Risks and Complications Increased Maternal Risks: Gestational diabetes Pre-eclampsia Cesarean section/wound infection Anesthesia complications Thromboembolism Dysfunctional labor Maternal death Risks and Complications Increased Fetal Risks: Macrosomia Shoulder dystocia Stillbirth Increased admissions to the NICU Decreased rates of breastfeeding Neonatal death Obesity Perceptions and Facts A case study...
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...Childhood Obesity: A Preventable Disease Childhood obesity is at an all time high today. Children who have a body weight ten percent higher than what is recommended or have a BMI in the 95th percentile or above are considered to be obese. One out of three children in the United States are considered overweight or obese. Eighty percent of these obese children remain obese adults, leading to severe health problems and possibly an early death (Schifferdecker, 2008). The current obesity epidemic has produced a generation of children that may be the first to have a life expectancy shorter than their parents (Gance-Cleveland, Gilbert, & Kopanos, 2010). This disease not only effects a child’s psychological well being, but also leads to many serious health issues within the body’s systems. The cardiovascular system, endocrine system and respiratory system are the most effected systems in a child with obesity (Statters, 1996). Children with obesity are at risk for lifelong health complications. Nurses have a responsibly to educate children and their parents on the dangers of this disease and the steps which can be taken to prevent it. The cardiovascular system is composed of the heart, arteries and veins; it is responsible for the circulation of blood, throughout the entire body. The arteries carry blood away from the heart and the veins carry blood back to the heart. This system plays a vital role in the delivery of nutrients and the removal of waste in the body. The heart is the...
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