Problems in the Community
Obesity is a complicated health problem that arises due to various individual factors and causes, such as genetics and behavior. The latter include physical inactivity, activity, medication use, and dietary patterns. It is important to note that physical activity and food environments, food promotion and marketing, and skills and education contribute to the development of obesity. The issue is dire as it is related to lower life quality and bad mental health consequences. It is linked with some of the major causes of death worldwide and in the US, such as various cancer types, stroke, heart disease, and diabetes. Statistics indicate that about 34% of Florida residents have a healthy weight, 36% are overweight, and 28% are obese (Florida Health, 2022). This trend indicates that 2030 may see the percentage of healthy individuals shrink even further, reaching 30%. Nonetheless, it is important to note that Florida does not elicit the only state with an obesity problem, as the nation’s obesity prevalence stood at 42.4% in 2018 (Florida Health, 2022). This was a stark contrast to 2000, when this rate stood at 30.5% (Florida Health, 2022). Obesity is a major problem in the US and Florida and should be addressed immediately.
Factors that Impact the Issue
It is important to note that activity and food influence how people add or lose weight. When individuals eat more calories than they can burn during exercise, they may become obese as they keep adding weight (NAP, 2017). Food with high dietary fat contributes to obesity and should be avoided, particularly if an individual has a family history involving overweight or obesity issues. Furthermore, copious amounts of carbohydrates are detrimental to one’s health as they are converted to fat if not processed, contributing to weight issues in the future if an individual’s lifestyle remains the same.
It is crucial to note that individuals derive most of their eating habits from the environment. It influences a person’s capacity to maintain a healthy weight. Our community does not promote sports activities and fails to showcase enticing programs for young people to attend that involve exercise (NAP, 2017). While this may not be an issue, most people tend to eat at McDonald’s due to their busy work lives, resulting in unhealthy eating habits.
Additionally, it is essential to note that genetics play a major contributing factor to obesity development among a significant portion of Florida’s residents. The state does not posit many economic issues and has a significantly high average wage for its citizens (NAP, 2017). In this light, many individuals have ready access to food. People with obesity-linked genes and fat mass are likely to develop obesity in this case compared to those without a weight issue in the family.
Input from Key Stakeholders
The Center for Consumer Freedom operating in Florida and other states, claims it is a nonprofit coalition that protects personal choice and common sense in the US. It derides legislation and lawsuits that would limit consumers’ rights to access some foods and promotes healthy alternatives to these consumptions. This organization ridicules the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) directives to provide consumers with nutritional data (NAP, 2017). It refers to the CSPI as self-appointed food police while taking on legislators, public health officers, and other bodies they deem intent on altering Americans’ diets.
It is important to note the detrimental nature of this organization’s campaign in Florida. The body aided in the downfall of a measure introduced by Ortiz in 2003 to necessitate fast-food restaurants to provide nutritional facts concerning their products (NAP, 2017). Additionally, the Center for Consumer Freedom endorsed the state’s Republican representative, Ric Keller, and supported his Food Consumption Act that protected any restaurant from incurring a lawsuit base on obesity issues (NAP, 2017). The body prevented the Commonsense Consumption Act from going past Committee in 2004 (NAP, 2017). It protested legislative efforts in 2005 that aimed at instituting a food tax service in fast-food restaurants. In this way, the organization actively opposed providing consumers with an accurate record of the food they were imbibing and how it would affect their well-being. It prevented any form of scrutiny on unhealthy offerings, deeming it more important to protect fast-food restaurants than people’s health within the state.
Intervention and Rationale
Floridians and US residents, in general, need to adopt better and healthier eating habits to reduce the obesity problem in the short term before addressing its long-term implications. The first step involves using government laws and regulations to pressure fast-food restaurants to provide healthy alternatives (NAP, 2017). The government should impose a larger tax on unhealthy offerings while offering debates for healthy food to motivate these businesses to deal with unhealthy food within their offerings. They should take an active role in alleviating the problem by developing promotions that boost the image of healthy food, as they have done for unhealthy offerings over the years (NAP, 2017). It is important to use exercise as a good measure of curbing obesity within the US and Florida; encouraging people to take walks every day would reduce the number of calories in their diet. Finally, individuals should take an active role in alleviating the issue by limiting the number of calories their families consume in every meal. In this way, food vendors should avail such information to help these individuals take an active role in mitigating obesity in their homes.
Evaluation
It is prudent to note the necessity for regularly collecting information on the issue to determine if the measures are taken to address this problem. In this instance, fast-food restaurants should develop a menu with nutritional facts that enable customers to gauge the number of calories. The number of fast-food restaurants providing this option in the state will illustrate if the scheme is working. Additionally, it is prudent to use information from other sources, such as medical institutions and the government, concerning individuals with various illnesses related to obesity. It is crucial to monitor these rates as they showcase whether there are more obesity-related cases or if they have decreased in the period.
The government should develop a way to deal with obesity in Florida by using different means, such as the development of taxation laws to alter the eating habits in Florida. It is important to use these regulations to provide nutritional facts through fast-food providers as individuals are increasingly relying on them to form good eating habits. The model is crucial and should include healthcare practitioners to develop an analysis of the obesity rates and how they fluctuate in each region. In this case, the issue involves communicating with obese individuals and informing them of this issue to prevent it.
References
Florida Health. (2022). Healthy Weight. Florida Health. Web.
NAP. (2017). Communities in action: Pathways to health equity. The National Academies Press.