Arguments for Taking a Public Health Approach to Obesity

This essay discusses the arguments for taking a public health approach to obesity rather than addressing it on an individual level. It explores the impact of obesity on health, the reasons for its prevalence, and the benefits of public health strategies. The essay also highlights the importance of surveillance, risk analysis, intervention development, and implementation in addressing obesity.

Contemporary
Debates

Topic: What are the arguments for taking a public health approach to obesity rather than
addressing the problem as it arrives for individuals? Discuss relevant research to support
answer.
INTRODUCTION
Obesity is complex disease which includes an excessive amount of body fat.
Although, obesity is not cosmetic concern as well as it is medical problem which result in
increasing risk of other diseases and health issues like diabetes, heart diseases, certain cancers
as well as high blood pressure. In addition to this, there are numerous reasons that few people
have difficulty or issues in avoiding obesity. Generally, obesity result from combination of
inherited factors that are combination of environment and personal diet as well as exercise
choices (Chooi, Ding and Magkos, 2019). This essay is based on topic: “Arguments for
taking a public health approach to obesity rather than addressing the problem as it arrives
for individuals.” For better understanding of entire topic in effective manner essay will
include numerous topic related to obesity which results in developing effectual understanding
related to topic.
MAIN BODY
Obesity and overweight are explained as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation
which present risk to individual health. In addition to this, BMI (Body Mass Index) over 25 is
considered as overweight and over 30 is obese. Issues has grown to epidemic proportions
with more than 4 million people who are dying every year due to obese or overweight in
2017 as per the research of global burden of disease. Along with this, at present rate of
obesity as well as overweight is finding more in adults and children now a days. Furthermore,
from 1975 to 2016 the prevalence of obese or overweight children as well as adolescent aged
5 to 19 years which enhanced more than four-fold from 4% to 18% at worldwide level
(Obesity, 2020). Apart from this, obesity is one side of double burden of malnutrition as well
as at present most of the people are obese in comparison of underweight within every region
except sub-Sahrana Africa and Asia (Arroyo-Johnson and Mincey, 2016). Once considered a
problem only in high-income countries, overweight and obesity are now dramatically on the
rise in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings. The vast majority of
overweight or obese children live in developing countries, where the rate of increase has been
more than 30% higher than that of developed countries.

Obesity is one of the complex disease that includes excessive amount of body fat.
Obesity is not consider as just cosmetic concern but it is medical problem. There are various
health issues and risk due to increase in obesity problems. Individual who have obesity issues
lead to increase the risk of health factors that consist of heart problems, high blood pressure
as well as cancer problems. There are certain population of individual who tend to have high
rates to obesity. Individual who are above age 60 as well as rural population will have higher
risk of obesity (Bray and et.al., 2017). People with high blood glucose that is sugar or
diabetes people have high chances of obesity. High blood pressure or hypertension, high
blood cholesterol, heart attack due to coronary heart disease, stroke and so on. Because of
obesity individual will face various issues and problems that have direct impact on health of a
person. It has been determined that individual needs to consider public health approaches to
obesity rather than addressing the problems as it arrives for individual. It is essential to
consider public health approaches in order to take correct and accurate decision for overcome
the problems of obesity. Public health approaches is refer as the practices that is significant
for maximum the benefits to large number of people in better manner. This will provide
accurate guidance and direction to individual with the motive of maintaining accurate health
as well as living correctly. Public health approaches involves defining as well as measuring
the problems, analysing various risk factor as well as cause of problems. Through this
individual will be able to determine various ways and techniques in order to successfully
prevent the problems or implement effective strategies on a large scale. Approaches of public
health is crucial for determining and analysing best ways for increasing health awareness of
the person and overcoming with the issues in most significant manner.
There are different components of public health and according to this health practices
and activities will be conducted by individual. This includes health, population, society wider
concerns, vulnerable population (Hales and et.al.., 2020). It is important to analyse and
evaluate each component of public health with the motive of successfully overcoming with
the problems as well as maintaining accurate health. In the case of obesity problem it is
crucial that individual is consider the approaches of public health rather then addressing the
problems as it arrives for individual. There are different types of obesity which can be
classified into six clusters. This includes young health females who were obese, heavy
drinking males who have higher alcohol intake, unhappy and anxious middle age people who
have poor mental health and well being, affluent and health elderly have higher intake of
alcohol and high blood pressure, physically sick but happy elderly includes people who have

more chronic diseases such as osteoarthritis and poorest healthy that includes individual with
economically deprived and had more chronic diseases.
There are different reasons that could cause obesity and overweight. It is essential to
determine and analyse different factors and elements that play crucial role in weight gain.
Common reason for gaining weight is diet, genetic, elements of person's environment as well
as lack of exercises. It is essential to analyse and evaluate different elements which causes
obesity as well as impact over the health of person. Food and activity is one of the common
reason that causes obesity or overweight. As per this factor it has been determined that
people who eat more calories than they burn through any activities. They will gain weight
because of imbalance between the need of food as well as consumption of the needs. This
imbalance is the major contributor to gain weight and in appropriate weight as per the needed
requirement (Srivastava and Apovian, 2018). Environment is one of the other aspects which
will lead to influence the weight as well as difficulty for individual to maintain healthy
weight. This includes the individual do not have parks area, side walks as well as affordable
gyms in near by area which will make its hard for individual to engage in more physical
exercise. Individual who are living in the environment that does not have market area which
sell healthy products such as fruits and vegetables at affordable price. Creative and
advertising of food will lead to encourages people to buy unhealthy food. Due to this people
will in take snacks with high fat as well as sugar drinks. Genetics is another reason of obesity
and it will lead to have direct impact on health and well being of the person. Genes play
crucial role in obesity and it lead to contribution to susceptibility to weight gain. So genes
will contribute to persons susceptibility for gaining weight. Health conditions and
medications will lead to have significant impact over gaining weight and increase the chances
of obesity. People with underactive thyroid, polycystic ovary syndromes will lead to increase
the chances of gaining weight or obesity (Richter and et.al.., 2020). It has been analysed that
individual with stress, lack of sleep and emotional factors is one of the major reason for
gaining weight. It has been determined that people eat more when they get bored, upset,
angry or stressed. Due to this, they will increase more weight because sleep control appetite.
It is important for every individual to manage obesity because this may result in
several other health issues (Busch and et.al., 2020). There are several major steps which
individual person have to take for managing or reducing obesity as well as it is important for
healthy life. In addition to this, it is essential to limiting unhealthy foods as well as beverages
such as sweets, potatoes, read meat, processed meat, sugar drinks and many more. Because

these results in increasing weight and over consumption of such eatable items also impact on
digestive system of human beings. Moreover, there are several physical activities such as
running, walk, yoga and many more which individual have to involve in their daily life
because this will provide assistance in reducing overweight that individual have. If person is
not overweight then also he/she have to involve physical activities in their daily life because
this will provide assistance in better and healthy life. Furthermore, they have to reduce sitting
rime which individual gives to television, screen activity and several others. If individual is
involved in any activity then it will results in reducing overweight as well as chances of
obesity. Along with this, there requirement of 6 to 8 hours sleeping time for particular person
which is necessary if they don't take this much rest then started feeling laze and not going to
be involve in any activity (Liu and et.al.., 2020). Although, proper sleep results in reducing
stress level which help in feeling fresh as well as active for taking participation in several
physical activities. Thus, in simple term it can be said that it is essential to implement all
these strategies or practices in life of individual for gaining positive outcomes as well as
reducing chances of obesity and providing healthy life style to particular person.
There are different steps of public health approaches which is significant for
providing direction to other for successfully and effectively maintain accurate health. This is
more effective way for handling or preventing obesity as compare to addressing of problems
as it arrives for individuals. Through approaches proper direction and guidance to maintain
health can be determined. In this public health approach is refer as surveillance as in this
actual problem will be determined. Through this approach individual will be able to identify
the actual reason for obesity (O'Callaghan-Gordo and et.al., 2020). Once the problem has
been identified it is crucial to analyse the risk factors as well as protective factors which is
significant to causes problem. Through this various factors has been determined which
affect obesity of individual. Next step in public health approach is to develop and evaluate
intervention. In this step health care provider will determine significant steps in order to take
correct decision for successfully overcoming with the issues. This approach will includes
designing, implementing as well as evaluating the intervention in effective manner with the
motive of gaining desired results (Michalakis and Ilias, 2020). In this, last stage is
implementation and in this health care provider will scale up the effective policies and
programmes in most significant manner. This is helpful in evaluating the impact as well as
taking intervention that is cost effective. So through these approaches, it has been determined

that public health approaches and assist individual in overcoming and dealing with the issues
in more significant manner.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that public health approaches are more
effective and efficient in order to successfully deal with the issues. There are various reason
that cause obesity and due to this individual health and well being of the person. Obesity is
because of lack of sleep, genetic problems, lack of exercises and various other factors. Public
health approaches is significant for providing correct direction to individual as well as taking
correct intervention in order to successfully deal with the problems. It is essential for health
care provider to take accurate steps in order to deal with the issues.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Chooi, Y.C., Ding, C. and Magkos, F., 2019. The epidemiology of obesity. Metabolism, 92,
pp.6-10.
Arroyo-Johnson, C. and Mincey, K. D., 2016. Obesity epidemiology
worldwide. Gastroenterology Clinics, 45(4), pp.571-579.
Bray, G.A. and et.al., 2017. Obesity: a chronic relapsing progressive disease process. A
position statement of the World Obesity Federation. Obesity Reviews, 18(7), pp.715-723.
Hales, C.M., and et.al.., 2020. Prevalence of obesity and severe obesity among adults: United
States, 2017–2018.
Srivastava, G. and Apovian, C.M., 2018. Current pharmacotherapy for obesity. Nature
Reviews Endocrinology, 14(1), pp.12-24.
Richter, L.R., and et.al.., 2020. Targeted delivery of notch inhibitor attenuates obesity-
induced glucose intolerance and liver fibrosis. ACS nano, 14(6), pp.6878-6886.
O'Callaghan-Gordo, C., and et.al., 2020. Green spaces, excess weight and obesity in
Spain. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 223(1), pp.45-55.
Busch, A.S., and et.al., 2020. Obesity is associated with earlier pubertal onset in boys. The
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 105(4), pp.e1667-e1672.
Liu, Z., Wu, and et.al.., 2020. The role of adipose tissue senescence in obesity-and ageing-
related metabolic disorders. Clinical Science, 134(2), pp.315-330.
Michalakis, K. and Ilias, I., 2020. SARS-CoV-2 infection and obesity: Common
inflammatory and metabolic aspects. Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research &
Reviews.
Online
Obesity, 2020.[Online].Available through<
https://www.who.int/health-topics/obesity#tab=tab_1>