Abstract
With the increasing cases of individuals suffering from obesity in the whole world, the healthcare provision sector has put in place ways that can make it possible to reduce its spread to a higher limits. The number of those infected is high among those middle age individuals and children that are brought up in urban settings. The most contributing factor is termed to be their lifestyles and lack of sufficient exercise. All these ignited the search for a more modernized way of dealing with the disease (Evidence Based Nursing, 2011). Availability, access and the dissemination of information about obesity was found to be the only efficient and quick way of dealing with the disease. The different providers of the education should be given proper training and resources to carry out the process fully. Individuals should be also willing to cooperate and provide any relevant information that may be required by the experts to properly carry on the exercise and provide the necessary and immediate remedies. Health education has proved to be of more practical in the developing nations since lack of access to information initially was the greatest cause of a number of diseases, some of which include obesity (Dietz, 2004).
Introduction
A high number of patients within the age brackets of 5-9 admitted in hospital with obesity cases have a secondary diagnosis of cardiovascular disease especially high blood pressure. Obesity rate for children between the ages of 6-11 years has increased from 7 percent in 1980 to approximately 20 percent in 2008. Similarly, those between the age brackets of 12-19 which represent the adolescent have recorded an increase from 5 percent to 18 percent over the same period. In the year 2008, of all children more than one third was obese or overweight. Overweight refers to having surfeit body weight for a definite height from muscle, fat, water, bone, or a mixture of these factors, whereas, obesity refers a situation where an individual has excess body fat. Obesity and overweight occur due to caloric imbalance. This is due to factors like behavioral, genetic and environmental ones. The well-being and health effect of childhood obesity is both immediate and long-term (Malloch, 2010).
Research indicates that, among obese youths of 5-17 age brackets, 70 percent are likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure. In addition, they are prone to sleep apnea, joints, bone problems, psychological and social problems such as poor self-esteem and stigmatization.
The possible solutions necessary to curb this health condition are changing the lifestyle habits, for instance, healthy eating and adequate physical activity. These healthy lifestyle habits if adopted can lower the risk of being obese and acquiring related diseases. Again, the behavior of children in terms of diet and physical activity are externally influenced by different sectors of the society such as, families, schools, communities, childcare settings, faith-based institutions, the media, government agencies, medical care providers, entertainment industries and food and beverage industries. This means that such behaviors can be influenced for better. Moreover, a school setting plays a critical role through the establishment of supportive and safe environment with practices and policies that strengthen and support healthy behaviors. In addition, schools provide students with an opportunity of learning about and practicing healthy eating as well as healthy physical activity behaviors (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2010).
Implementation
Health education acts as a tool that will effectively help in the treatment of the disease. The education does not only deal with the prevention and basic knowledge on health but in addition it cultivates ideas that play a big role in reshaping the usual habits of people. Most of people whose lives are reshaped are those that practice unhealthy lifestyles. The cultivation of the new ideas in the minds of the individuals will not only affect the health lives of the existing generation but it will greatly influence the health conditions of a generation to come. The coming generation will benefit through a well conditioned and improved ideas on health matters. The ideas will help them to properly deal with the causes and treatment of the disease (Paxon, 2006).
Moreover, apart from physical health treatment, health education has helped a high number of individuals and aided them deal with the extreme effects of obesity that at times may result in death or detrimental health effects. This is clearly seen in the ability of education to deal with the issue of either emotional or mental depressions that accompany the excessive weight that one attracts due to obesity. The disturbances and stress can be well tackled through health education; this is when an individual is made to fully understand the chemistry that surrounds obesity and the likely ways in which treatment can be sought (Alska Medical library n.d).
The education given by the heath workers will act as a motivator for the people to re-look to their personal interests to improve their lives. The improvement in their living standards may amount to a total change in the kind of diet they eat and the amount of exercise they do on a daily basis. The knowledge on the consequences they are likely to face due to much eating will greatly change the ways of individuals who are considered as gluttons. When the populace is motivated, they are more than even willing to change, adjust or adopt new lifestyles that correspond with a healthy living (Melnyk, 2004).
Education on healthcare will also help educate a sense of individual responsibility in terms of health issues. The responsibility can even extend to a community and even members of the family. This vests the issues of healthcare in the hands of people (Cooper, 2009). People are well explained on their needed responsibilities that must be adhered to improve their health conditions. People as individuals, members of a family unit and as a society, will be the custodians of their own health. Various studies indicate that a high number of illnesses, obesity included, infect many people due to negligence and ignorance of what exactly they are suppose to do. With healthcare education that clearly singles out the responsibilities of an individual and community, the health being of the people will be improved (Frewin, 2009).
The education will also provide with an appraisal of what the population in a particular societal setting understand about obesity, their habits together with their attitudes. The collection of this information will reflect to some extend the spread and maybe the number of people that have the same problem or signs and symptoms of the disease. The appraisal will give the health workers to provide an immediate response to the disease. The health workers will have an easy way of looking into the existing deficiencies within the healthcare provision system and provide a solution (Krebs, 2007).
Evaluation
The outcome of the care provided to obese children is monitored to establish if the patient is following the stipulated diet schedule. The decrease in body weight is measured using BMI (body mass index). The monitoring exercise is labor intensive and should be carried out every two months. The data collected shall be used in generating most reviews and developments in the management of the situations. The data are also necessary for future policy interventions and changes in plans for administering the nursing care plans (Taylor and Francis, 2008).
Dissemination
The community health nurses and states can assess the retail food environment for children in order to understand the existing differences in relation to healthier food accessibility. Give incentives to farmers’ markets and existing supermarkets to sell healthier food or have subsidiaries in low-income places (Dontje, 2006). Again, the community health workers and state can expand their programs of availing vegetables and local fruits at schools as well as erecting salad bars near or inside schools. Nurses together with other authorities can also work to ensure that children consume less sugar and more vegetables (Pařízková & Hills, 2005).
Conclusion
The healthcare education on obesity deals mainly with the behavioral strategies that can assist an individual to deal with the reduction of weight. In most instances, individuals are encouraged to observe the behavioral strategies if they will want to live a life without heavy weights. If they will revert back to their usual lifestyles they are likely to have their weight loss regained. Other experts maybe employed to assist in changing the people’s minds set-up about their body size and image (Simko, 2009). Their techniques are helpful in the psychological makeup of the individual. Other rewards can be put in place so that individuals maintain the lifestyles that they are being introduced to without reverting to them immediately after the education (Rowder, 2007). If the system of healthcare education is fully embraced, it is likely to bear good fruits that will transform the health condition of all people in the world as the saying goes “information is power”.
In some instances, the population can be given a lecture on some of the available psychotherapy techniques that deal with food disorders. This treatment is necessary before any individuals suffering from obesity start losing weight.
References
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