Obesity and Social Issues among the Aboriginals

Community Health Studies Assignment 1
OBESITY AND SOCIAL ISSUES AMONG THE ABORIGINALS
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Professor’s Name
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Community Health Studies Assignment 2
Obesity and Social Issues among the Aboriginals
Introduction
Obesity is one of the global health problems. Obesity is related to overweight, which
is contributed by social factors. Overweight and obesity increase the risks of
developing health conditions like cardiac problems, diabetes, and social problems. This paper
succinctly analyses obesity as a health condition that occurs from prolonged over nutrition.
Community nurse and social workers collaborate to promote public health awareness on
obesity on its implication to society. Analysis of the obesity is important in sensitizing
people on the negative effects social and cultural beliefs that may affect their health status.
(Newman et al., 2015, p. 146). From evidenced-based practices, it is clear that obesity is one of
the social issue affecting the health status of the indigenous Australian population. The
Aboriginal community of Australia has the majority of the obese people in the country as
compared to the non-indigenous communities. The increase in the number of obese people
among the Aboriginals is due to their social practices.
The social determinants of health among the aboriginal include the use of drug and
other addictive substances in the community. Drug and substance abuse may also affect the
entire society if majority of the people are addicted to the drug (Fisher et al, 2015, p. 450).
Obesity has caused an increases on both morbidity and mortality rates among the Aboriginal
community of Australia. Body Mass Index is used to determine whether an individual is
normal, overweight, or obese. BMI is higher than 30.0 kg/m2. The increase in BMI is an
indication of obesity among the Aboriginal's population.
Description of Obesity and how it affects People
Evidence-based practices provide relevant and accurate information on the effects of obesity
on the Aboriginals. Research studies have shown that more than forty percent of the

Community Health Studies Assignment 3
Aboriginal population are obese. Obesity is associated with various health conditions
(Newman et al., 2015, p. 14). The majority of obese people are adults because of the social
determinants that cause the prevalence of the problem. Obesity among the Aboriginal is an
age-related social problem because the prevalence of young people to adults is 1:5. Obesity is
associated with a various disease like diabetes, hypertension and cardiac problems (Germov,
2014, p. 556). For example, a large number of obese people among the Aboriginal population
are suffering from type II diabetes. Obesity is affecting the adults and old people, therefore,
resulting to the prevalence of type II diabetes because this type of diabetes normally affects
adults and old people. Obesity has also increase the morbidity of hypertension (Brown et al.,
2015, p. 34). High blood pressure has contributed to the increase in the mortality rates among
the indigenous Aboriginal community. Obese people have higher concentration of fats
deposited in the walls of their blood vessels (World Health Organization, 2013, p. 12). The
deposition of fats increase blood resistance to blood flow and reduces the space of the lumen,
therefore, causing increases blood pressure.
Obesity increases the workload of the cardiac muscle because the heart needs to
perform extra work to ensure that blood reaches all body tissues and cells (Liamputtong, 2016,
p. 68). In this case, the mortality rates increased among the Aboriginals due to obesity-related
heart problems. Review of important literature on the relationship between obesity and
healthcare provision have shown that the prevalence of obesity is higher among the poor and
illiterate Aboriginal communities as compared to the Non-indigenous Australian
communities.
Social Issues and Determinants that lead to Obesity among the Aboriginals
Social determinants are the main components that cause increase the prevalence of
obesity among the Aboriginal community as compared to the non-indigenous communities.