Introduction
Diet is a foundation of most weight loss initiatives, as it determines the energy and food composition consumed and demonstrates effectiveness in weight loss (Fock and Khoo, 2013). At the same time, physical activities play a support role in maintaining the diet-based weight loss achieved earlier. Therefore, these methods are best combined.
Patient Education
Patient education demonstrated equal clinical effectiveness in terms of weight loss both when used independently and with other interventions (Albano et al., 2012). Patient education increases the patient’s knowledge and self-management skills, which are significant regarding physical activity and proper nutrition.
Adherence to Medication
It is possible to replace a less effective passive adherence of a patient with the active one, therefore, creating a situation of conscious choice (Reach, 2011). Moreover, it is possible to develop patient-physician relationships in such a way as to reduce non-adherence.
Social Justice
“Social justice is the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political and social rights and opportunities” (The San Diego Foundation, 2016, para. 2). From a social perspective, there is significant inequality in terms of the age-adjusted prevalence of obesity between different groups of US citizens. For instance, “Non-Hispanic Black adults (49.6%) had the highest age-adjusted prevalence of obesity, followed by Hispanic adults (44.8%), non-Hispanic White adults (42.2%), and non-Hispanic Asian adults (17.4%)” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.). In turn, this problem creates other ones connected to health, productivity, and quality of life; thus, the gap between different groups of citizens in terms of economic, political, and social opportunities widens further. In that case, implementing the proposed project and interventions can lead to higher levels of social justice for individuals and communities.
References
Albano, M.G., Golay, A., De Andrade, V., Crozet, C., & d’Ivernois, J.F. (2012). Therapeutic patient education in obesity: Analysis of the 2005–2010 literature. Therapeutic Patient Education, 4(2), 101-110.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Adult obesity facts. Web.
Fock, K.M., & Khoo, J. (2013). Diet and exercise in management of obesity and overweight. Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 28(4), 59-63. Web.
Reach, G. (2011). Obedience and motivation as mechanisms for adherence to medication: a study in obese type 2 diabetic patients. Patient Preference and Adherence, 5, 523-531.
The San Diego Foundation. (2016). What is social justice? Web.