Critical Reflection on Global Public Health

This critical reflection explores the impact of social determinants of health on obesity and the importance of healthy behaviors in global public health.

Critical Reflection on global public health
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Obesity is a condition in which there is accumulation of excess fats within the body. According
to the World Health Organization, this condition is not only a concern to cosmetics but to health
as well since it is a risk factor to diverse medical conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and
diabetes mellitus(Williams, Mesidor, Winters, Dubbert, & Wyatt, 2015, p. 365) . It is widely
believed that obesity is as a result of lifestyle. Several studies have linked obesity to a sedentary
lifestyle where individuals eat junk or energy dense unhealthy food and do not take part in
physical activities (Bhadoria et al., 2015). Having learnt about social determinants of health, I
can confidently agree to the fact that obesity is as a result of an individual’s eating habits.
In this module, I have learnt that the social determinants of health are conditions where an
individual is born, works, learns or lives. Examples of social determinants of health include
Income and social status, employment, education, childhood experiences, healthy behaviors and
access to healthcare (Adler, Glymour, & Fielding, 2016). Healthy behaviors includes healthy
eating habits to avoid obesity and that is why I agree with the above saying that individuals are
victims of their own eating habits.
Social status is the prestige or honor attached to ones position in the society. If for example an
individual in a society is respected such as a doctor, he/she should take that advantage and
educate communities about healthy behaviors since they will listen to him/her keenly. Such
activities are likely to shape the health status of individuals.
Previously, I was aware that the health status of an individual is as a result of their surroundings
and that Individuals should have self-control or exercise responsibility about their health.
Therefore, my views have not changed at all after this module.

However, there are new concepts that I would wish to explore in future. This is the difference
between social and economic determinants of health. In this unit, income and employment are
included under social determinants yet I believe that they should be more or less of economic
factors or determinants. I would therefore wish to categorically distinguish the two.
In conclusion, the key messages that I have taken home form this module is that individuals are
victims of their surroundings otherwise known as social determinants of health. If an individual
choses and pursues beneficial habits or surroundings, he/she is likely to have better health as
opposed to those who do not. Furthermore, individuals should have self-control over the choices
they make.

References
Adler, N. E., Glymour, M. M., & Fielding, J. (2016). Addressing Social Determinants of Health
and Health Inequalities. JAMA, 316(16), 1641. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.14058
Bhadoria, A., Sahoo, K., Sahoo, B., Choudhury, A., Sufi, N., & Kumar, R. (2015). Childhood
obesity: Causes and consequences. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 4(2), 187.
doi:10.4103/2249-4863.154628
Williams, E. P., Mesidor, M., Winters, K., Dubbert, P. M., & Wyatt, S. B. (2015). Overweight
and Obesity: Prevalence, Consequences, and Causes of a Growing Public Health Problem.
Current Obesity Reports, 4(3), 363-370. doi:10.1007/s13679-015-0169-4