Miller's Motivational Interviewing Model

The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change (TTM) was created by Prochaska and DiClemente. It is based on “(1) the stages of change, (2) the decisional balance scale, (3) the strong and weak principle, (4) self-efficacy, and (5) the processes of change” (Kelly, 2008, p. 149). A person’s progression through the stages depends on their perception of the advantages of adopting a healthy lifestyle (Kelly, 2008).

America has been faced with the growing obesity epidemic. This is becoming very wide spread among all races and class levels due in part to the abundance of inexpensive food available and how easily people are becoming persuaded to but things they do not need. David Zinczenko published article “Don’t Blame the Eater”, Zinczenko argues that fast-food industries are not doing their job to provide clear enough nutritional information for hazardous food.

Obesity remains an extremely serious problem worldwide. Once considered a problem for wealthier counties, overweight and obesity are now rapidly increasing in low and middle income countries (WHO, 2011). In American, the rates of obesity continues to rise. NIH (2012) recognizes obesity as a risk factor for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other health problems. According IFT over two-thirds of the US are overweight or obese, and over one-third are obese (Fast food restaurants ‘not to blame’ for American obesity 2012). IFT.org (2012) in September it was predicated that 75% of Americans would be overweight in 2020. The problem is thought to cause Americans $150-170 billion in annual medical costs. Many people argue that the

Motivational interviewing is a counseling approach that was studied and understood as an applicable theory of practice that would be beneficial in the environment where I currently work which is an alcohol treatment facility. Whereas, it is understood that clinical and applied aspects of Motivational Interviewing (MI) have shown effective as a relatively brief intervention (Levensky, Cavasos, & Brooks, 2008), especially those dealing with an alcohol dependency. According to Miller and Roderick, MI, has been defined mostly as a directive, client centered counseling approach for eliciting behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence. In addition, with its goal-orientated approach it can help break down resistance to change (Corey, 2013, pp. 191-194). This theoretical approach is the most favored for the environment in my profession of choice, in addition, integrating it with the practice of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) which is already in use.

“On the agenda was one item: the emerging obesity epidemic and how to deal with it” (471). An executive at Pillsbury and the vice president of Kraft, Michael Mudd, both thought it would be worth the attempt to invite the C.E.O.s and Presidents of the country’s food giants to meet and discuss the ways they could trim down the country’s fat. Michael Mudd of Kraft started the event by giving a slideshow presentation, presenting the executives with facts and labeling the rising obesity rates as a national

In 1970, only 5-7% of U.S. children were obese; today, over 17% of U.S. children and adolescents are obese (Johnson, 2012). One out of every three American children are either obese or overweight (Center for Disease Control [CDC], 2016; American Heart Association, 2017; & Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion [ODPHP], 2017). More importantly, obese children grow up to become obese adults, resulting in numerous preventable chronic diseases and increased mortality and morbidity (Johnson, 2012; ODPHP, 2017). Furthermore, childhood obesity creates is a financial catastrophe with over 21% of the United States’ health care spent on obesity, totaling over 14 billion dollars of the United States’ annual health care expenses (National League of Cities,

Throughout the United States of America obesity is an ongoing problem for people among different socioeconomic statuses. The government, pharmaceutical, agricultural and food production companies are the leading cause of obesity, resulting in many health issues among Americans. The government wants people to be unhealthy to increase their income from the healthcare industry and Americans are falsely educated on the topic of their health and diet.

For years cartoons have depicted obese kids rolling down streets; however, this may become an unfortunate truth. The obesity epidemic in America has become an enormous issue. Obesity, which is the accurate term to describe being above overweight on the body mass index (bmi), is an epidemic with many causes that can have staggering effects. Industries have found ways to market their food products in order to gain money, uncaring of the trouble and harm they may be causing to others. The obesity epidemic has become a very controversial political topic being discussed nationwide. Despite how bad things have gotten, there are ways to fix this growing crisis.

When I just started the Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology program, I was a bit nervous and anxiety provoked by the overwhelming writing demands. This of course, was partly attributable to the fact that I have always lacked confidence in my ability to write well organized and coherent essays due to previous struggles and confusion with subject/verb agreements. Accordingly, when I was expected to complete my first assignment for this program, I remembered questioning myself consistently “is this the right word choice?” while pensively thinking “what’s Dr. Michael’s feedback going to be?”. With constructive feedback after each submitted assignment however, I was able to build on my confidence and felt the need to bombard myself with uncertainty

Obesity has rapidly emerged as a serious health issue in America. The cause of obesity results from America’s social injustices. Today, food advertisements are in all places promoting an unhealthy lifestyle. Considering the great expense of healthy foods, low income families can barely afford fruits and vegetables. These two factors contribute to the increasing obesity rate in the United States. Unfortunately, it has taken an excessive amount of Americans to become obese for America to become aware of the issue and take action. Although obesity is still an increasing problem, America is fighting to reduce the number of obese citizens. As a result of low income and the media advertising unhealthy lifestyles, America is in the midst of an obesity epidemic.

Why are not more people worried about obesity in the United States? Obesity is a major issue in today’s society and people seem to be ignoring it. The government should regulate each person’s diet because the U.S. obesity would decrease, American’s health would improve, and people would eat healthier.

“If and when the public chooses to use government power to offset the factors that promote obesity, we can do so. A day may come when we decide to limit advertising of unhealthy food, strengthen lifestyle teaching in schools, and create stronger financial incentives to adhere to lifestyle recommendations. The more eager we the people are to fight the obesogenic environment, the more responsive and effective our governments will become” (Medscape General Medicine, vol. 9, no. 4, 2007).

I am very compassionate and i look forward to using my role as a Family Physician in preventing obesity and chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension. In addition to providing patients with the knowledge, I also want to provide them motivation to encourage compliance for making healthier lifestyle changes to significantly reduce their chances of acquiring such preventable

Health provider’s education and counseling. Increasing awareness about obesity and the health risk associated to this condition can trigger a behavior change and patients can be more willing to engage in activities that leads to a positive outcome. Furthermore, learning about the etiology and patient’s perception can assist the health care to identify barriers that can hinder a medical plan to achieve weight loss goals.

Hutch’s Skinny Eats is a company who provides nutritional information and guidance to interested consumers. As the years continue to go by, it seems that the percentage of obesity is increasing along with it. According to stateofobesity.org, the rate of obesity throughout the United States has increased to over 35 percent in four states with Louisiana being the highest adult obesity rate of 36.2 percent (Obesity Rates & Trends, 2016). In twenty-five states, the percentage is 30 percent and 20 percent within all of the states (Obesity Rates & Trends, 2016). That means throughout all of the states there is at least a 20 percent obesity rate. As these rates and obesity are certainly undesirable, that’s where my company comes into