Caring For Populations : Assessment And Diagnosis

An estimated 97 million adults in the United States are overweight or obese (Klein 2000). “"Affecting one in five Americans – or more than 22 percent of the U.S. population – obesity is one of the most pervasive health problems in our nation right now," said George L. Blackburn, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of surgery and associate director of the Division of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School/Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. "We need to implement steps to slow the progression of this national epidemic” (NAASO 1999). But the problem of obesity does not only affect the United States. "We now know that the growing prevalence of obesity is creating major health problems worldwide," said Dr. James O. Hill, president of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO) and Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Obesity was once regarded as unique to Americans, but it is now seen as a global health risk affecting developing and underdeveloped countries (AOA 2000). Obesity is increasing at an epidemic rate in the United States - 1.3% a year for women over 20. Rates of obesity among minority populations, including African-Americans and Hispanic Americans are especially high (AOA 2000). There is also a marked increase in obesity among children.

Obesity is defined as a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduce life expectancy and/or increased health problems. “The problem of obesity is increasing in the United States. Understanding the impact of social inequalities on health has become a public health priority in the new millennium. Social, political, and economic factors now are acknowledged to be "fundamental" causes of disease that affect behavior, beliefs, and biology.” (Goodman, 2003)  In the United States today, obesity has become an enormous problem. In the last 3 decades, the number of people overweight has increased dramatically. Obesity has not always been seen as a medical

During the past 20 years, there has been a substantial increase in obesity in the United States and rates remain high. More than one-third of U.S.

Obesity in America is real and profoundly alarming when you look at the major impact it has on our communities. Major health concerns like diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure cases are at an all time high. Specifically, the disparity between low-income urban inner cities in regards to obesity as compared to more upper class wealthier communities makes you take pause. This relates to my professional goals of going back into my community as an activist and organizer of issues related to my environment, like health and education.

One of the more serious problems that the Southeast Queens Community is facing is obesity. Obesity has led to many other health concerns in this community such as Type 2 diabetes , heart disease, stroke, and even certain cancers. This presentation looks into who is at risk, and why? And what can be done to help this community.

“Obesity is a disease that affects more than one-third of the U.S adult population (approximately 78.6 million Americans). The number of Americans with obesity had steadily increase since 1960, a trend that has slowed down in recent years but show no sign of reversing”.

Twenty one point seven percent of Mississippi’s ten to seventeen year old population is currently obese. Obesity in any area, regarding age, is a problem. Childhood obesity needs to be addressed first, because reducing the amount of obese residence in Mississippi would subtract from the adult obese rate. Obesity causes so many health problems that children should not be experiencing at a young age (“State of Obesity”). Childhood obesity has been casting a dark shadow over Mississippi for a very long time; taking lives and causing diagnoses every day, therefore childhood obesity is a problem that needs to be fixed.

This paper will explore a community health concern from a population focused nursing perspective. The health concern will be a relevant and validated health concern for the community indicated. The relevancy was determined by the Health People 2020 (HP2020) health indicators and the validation of the concern was compared to past objectives being met and current objectives working forward, and the gap in satisfying the target goals set forth ("2020 Topics & Objectives – Objectives A-Z | Healthy People 2020," 2015). A major force in the community of concern is the Kern County Public Health

Obesity is an expensive and extremely common public health issue that affects more than one-third of the United States population including 17 percent

Obese- is becoming an “epidemic!” We have 44.3 million people that are either obese or over weight. In 1986, the numbers were at 1 in 2000, and they became 1 in 400 by the year 2000. Even our high school age students are at an all time high of 16% overweight and 10% obese. As that number keeps increasing, future projections for covering healthcare expenditures must figure in the obese-related

Obesity has become increasingly more prominent in American society. The Unites States has even been termed an overweight nation. Some twenty to thirty percent of American adults are now considered obese (Hwang 1999 and Hirsch et al 1997). With this in mind, Americans constantly look around themselves determining their weight status as well as that of those around them. While some Americans do fit the healthy category, others enter the underweight, overweight, and even obese categories, all of which can be unhealthy.

In an effort to promote the health needs within a community, a successful community health nurse (CHN) must focus on the entire population. In order to accomplish this task, the CHN utilizes a scientific approach to determine the priority population focused health needs for the community. According to Nies & McEwen (2011), a population focus involving an assessment of the community is a primary tool utilized in order to develop planning, interventions, and evaluations for the community at large. The purpose of this paper is to determine a priority

Public health nurses "play a strategic role in helping reduce environmental and lifestyle-related health hazards by promoting a positive lifestyle, including exercise, stress management, accident prevention, weight maintenance, and nutrition education that is sensitive to socio-economic status and cultural beliefs” ("Obesity's Impact on Public Health Nursing," n.d.). Nurses can help by involving themselves in policy development by being active participants in the policy process as it closely resembles the nursing process. Through community assessments, public health nurses can determine health factors by assessing the socioeconomic, environmental, and behavioral factors of the population to determine interventions

Obesity is a growing disease within our ever quickening, largely sedentary society. The American Obesity Treatment Organization reported the current obesity problem in the US as 72 million people dealing with this disease and associated risk factors. Obesity is a disease that affects both adults and children. The CDC lists related risk factors of this disease as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, Type-2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and stroke ("Adult Obesity Facts"). Obesity is highly prevalent in Florida with rates as high as 25-30% (“Obesity Prevalence Maps”). As a nation, the goal set by Healthy People 2020 is to reduce the rate of obesity to less than 15% and as the data and statistics clearly show Florida is nowhere

Overweight and obesity are serious problems in America today. Over 37 percent of adults are considered to be