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Obesity In Health Care Essay

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Obesity results from excessive calorie intake that the body doesn’t need. Genetic, Environmental and behavioral factors have been linked to the onset of obesity. Moreover, the high body fat to lean body mass ratio makes obesity a major contributor to chronic illnesses. Obesity is caused by many factors, two of which are a sedentary lifestyle and poor diet. Obesity is on the rise and is reaching epidemic proportion. About 70 million Americans are obese-more than 1 in 3 of all adults and 1 in 5 children.[3] The 1999-2000 combined prevalence of overweight (Body mass Index [BMI] 25-29.9 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI>=30 kg/m2) was 64.5%, of which 30.5% were obese.(Flegal, Carroll et al. 2002) Since 1980 obesity rates for adults have doubled and …show more content…

The Healthy People 2010 initiative identified overweight and obesity as one of the leading health indicators to be addressed to improve the quality of life for Americans [6]. Pharmacists, being the most accessible health care professional can be a huge asset in addressing this concern. Due to their interaction with many patients, they are in the unique position of identifying and developing patient-centered care plans aim at facilitating medication optimization, weight loss and a healthy life style. Pharmacists can help reinforce lifestyle changes and provide education to these patients. A diet and weight management service (DWMS) should be offered to these patients. Pharmacists can identify 5 –10 obese patients based on their BMI (>=30) and whether they show one of the risk factors for obesity: such as hypertension or hyperlipidemia. The patient will be encouraged and empowered to take part in the wellness process. After identification and patient consent, assessment appointments are setup. Meeting can either be in the Pharmacy or at patient’s home. Patient’s home is preferable because it give Pharmacist the opportunity to develop trust with patient and meet family members. In the first assessment, the aim of care is explained to patient, patient is allowed to set reasonable expectations and discuss motivations as well as obstacles that may contribute to or hinder the achievement of the

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