To What Extent Should Health Care Professionals Practice What They Preach

Patient education: The importance of dieting and exercise is crucial, especially in the modern age we are living in. Staying healthy in America is becoming a serious challenge to most people; cutting down on some fat and going for a weekly physical activities to the gym could make a substantial difference in one’s life. Dieting is so important, considering the amount of carbs and calories the average American consumes each day.

As per Healthy People 2020 most Americans do not consume healthy diets and are not physically active at levels needed to maintain proper health. As a result of these behaviors the nation has experienced a dramatic increase in obesity in the U.S with 1 in 3 adults (34.0%) and 1 and 6 children and adolescents (16.2%) are obese. In addition to grave health consequences of being overweight and obese. It significantly raises medical cost and causes a great burden on the U.S medical care delivery system ("Healthy People 2020," 2014, p. 1).

Awareness of what health threats I might be susceptible to, and information I learned in this course about health behavior change has led me to take primary and secondary prevention actions (Straub, 2014, pp. 204). Knowing that I have a predisposition to breast cancer, ovarian cancer, hypertension, and heart problems has motivated me to exercise and improve my physical fitness, and visit the doctor more regularly to stay as healthy as possible and keep myself from getting sick. I don’t do drugs or drink alcohol because such behaviors can cause short-term and especially long-term health consequences. These are examples of primary prevention. At a recent visit to the doctor, I was informed that I have high cholesterol,

About 40 to 50% of adults in America are at risk for diseases such as stroke, kidney failure, heart attack, heart failure and obesity. Most of these diseases are brought on by hypertension which is brought on by unhealthy eating choices, poor diet and little to no exercise which has devastating effects on the body. Approximately 7 out of 10 Americans is prescribed or takes a prescription pill daily, half of those are diet related illnesses such a diabetes and one third of those individuals is obese. Two trillion medical-care costs are because of chronic diseases most of which are lifestyle habits/choices. Obesity in America costs about taxpayers about $123 billion via Medicare and Medicaid. Now that obesity has risen at an alarming rate, in some cases obesity is considered a disability for those that are physically or mentally impaired by it. Debatably a preventable disease with proper education on food, diet and exercise

A philosophy of an organization helps differentiate themselves from their competitors and set a foundation for future success. It also helps shape an organization by presenting the goals they want to accomplish with specific activities. To improve this, many organizations understand the important of sharing values and goals and realize employee recognition. This helps staff from moving forward toward success of the organizations. Chapter 4 introduces “Codes of Ethics in Health Services.” Code of ethics is a guideline for healthcare professionals to accomplish and serve as a member of a society. Similar to other professions, managers have their own code of ethics in maintaining their duties and responsibilities. They also use the codes for ethical decision-making in dealing with ethical issues. Chapter 5 deals with “Organizational Responses to Ethical Issues.” It provides assistance for managers and organizations in their decision making. It is manager’s duty to figure out the problem and resolve it (Darr, 2011,

Improving the health conditions of the American population ensures the increased quality of life. People eat for various reasons with the fundamental reason being for survival purposes. However, the issue of eating to live and living to eat affects people in different manners as most people develop poor eating habits that affect the body’s nutritional intake and affects their health. Being healthy involves careful considerations of what one is eating and engaging in activities that contribute to better healthy lives that do not imply daily prescriptions or

As previously determined, multiple risk factors contribute to a person developing cardiovascular disease. For further discussion, obesity will be the primary risk factor discussed due to the high obesity rate in the county I currently reside in. Guernsey County, Ohio, boasts an alarming high rate of residents who lack sufficient physical activity at 83.3%. This is an alarming finding but one that arguably contributes to the obesity rate of Guernsey County’s population at 30.2% which is just above the national percentage of 28.1% in America (city-data.com, 2014).

Within the last half century, the obesity rate in America has increased by twenty one percent from thirteen percent to thirty four percent of adults; while the percent of the population considered overweight has remained stagnate at thirty-four percent. Unfortunately, the increase in the obese population poses a large threat to the health and well-being of United States citizens. Obesity is not only an accumulation of fat mass, but has been linked to many diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. The strain that each of these respective diseases contributes onto the United States healthcare system is great, but how exactly does obesity contribute to the occurrence of these three diseases? What health factors are affected by obesity and lead to the development of chronic illness?

Apart from healthcare issue, the country has adopted the fast-moving life style, which has pushed most of our citizens to succumb to obesity as a result of fast foods. In fact, a recent report by the UN has ranked the United States as the most obese country in the world. Parramore (2012) outlines that, “Obesity is currently being considered as a national crisis in the United States and that it contributes 100,000 to 400,000 deaths per year. Statistics at the CDC and Prevention in 2010 indicate that 35.7% of the American adult is obese.” Many input trends exist in the American society, “First and foremost, people are highly used to fried foods, sugary drinks, and processed meats among others. There is also the sedentary lifestyle that has been adopted by many,” (Huffington Post, 2013). In fact, most of us love relaxing without exercise and too much television watching. These are some of the factors that contribute to obesity. The result is health complications problems such as diabetes, stroke, and heart disease just to mention but a few. These affect the longevity of life.

According to Mason et al., chronic conditions are the number one cause of death in the United States (Mason et al., 2016 p. 275). These chronic illnesses include pulmonary disease, arthritis, kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurological disease, alcoholism, mental health disorders, gastroenterology conditions, lupus, liver disease, cancers, and many more. While some conditions have uncontrollable risk factors such as age, genetics, gender, and race, society has a large contribution to these poor health conditions as well. Tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use, physical and emotional stress, lack of exercise, sleep deprivation, and poor dietary choices all increase the chance of developing a chronic illness.

AZARI, R and BERTAKIS, K, D (2006) The Influence of Obesity, Alcohol Abuse, and Smoking on Utilisation of Health Care Services. Family Medical - Health Services Research [Online] Vol. 38; No. 6; June 2006: Ph 427-434

Americans are being diagnosed with chronic diseases as a result of smoking and obesity. Smoking and obesity place great amounts of stress on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. The article titled Trust for America’s Health reveals that “Obesity costs the country $147 billion and tobacco use $96 billion in direct healthcare costs each year” (1). In 1980, a Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial was conducted using a random sample of 12,866 men. The men were separated into groups and, according to David M.

Chronic diseases are an epidemic that must be stopped. Chronic diseases are responsible for 7 of 10 deaths each year. By 2025, 49% of Americans will be affected by a chronic disease. Our country is running rampant with chronic disease that can not only be better controlled but prevented. Per the partnership to fight Chronic Disease, “These diseases are often preventable, and frequently manageable through early detection, improved diet, exercise, and treatment therapy.” (the growing crisis of chronic disease in the United States). In fact, a common misconception is that as a society what we fail to comprehend, that by eliminating or reducing the causes associated with the disease, we would then be eliminating the

We need to communicate that a change in lifestyle is the biggest proponent of weight. In fact, studies have shown that “interventions that promote lifestyle changes…have shown better weight [loss and] maintenance than interventions that do not” (LeCheminant 348). Since ads will continue to showcase the opposite and provide examples, it falls to healthcare providers to amplify this message. Dieticians and nutritionists and even primary care physicians need to focus on explaining that putting in work is the only way for a person to lose weight in a healthy way. However, they cannot just preach this message and expect their patients to immediately comply. Doctors also need to have a background understanding of what a patient’s life includes, and meet them where they are. For example, a poor person who lives in a food desert and buys cheap, unhealthy food is going to have a harder time losing weight than a person who shops exclusively at whole foods. Miscommunication comes when there is no understanding of the everyday hardships a person faces that would prevent them for implementing healthy lifestyle changes a doctor

There are many serious health issues today in society. A few of them are anorexia nervosa, bulimia, diabetes, and obesity. Today, obesity is one of the most popular diseases around the world. Obesity typically means having a body mass index of thirty kilograms or more. If taken in more calories than burned, it leads to being overweight, and eventually obesity. Since the 1960s, people in the United States and other industrialized countries have become heavier on average. Excess weight is the cause of more illness than virtually any other medical condition. Most people still do not practice healthy behaviors that can prevent obesity. Obesity is mostly caused by poor eating habits. People do not eat healthy foods, have larger portions than