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Desklib is an online library for study material with solved assignments, essays, dissertations, and more. This article discusses the importance of diet, nutrition, and the associated risk of obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and sexual health. It also covers statistical data for prevalence, government policies, and burden on life expectancy and economy. The article provides a comprehensive overview of each topic and highlights the UK government's initiatives to address these health concerns.

Running head: NURSING ASSIGNMENT
NURSING ASSIGNMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Table of Contents
DIET, NUTRITION AND OBESITY.................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................2
Statistical data for prevalence..........................................................................................2
Risk of obesity.................................................................................................................3
Government’s policies for obesity...................................................................................3
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................4
CANCER.............................................................................................................................4
Definition and Types.......................................................................................................4
Statistical data for prevalence..........................................................................................4
Cancer and other prevalent issues........................................................................................5
Burden on life expectancy and economy.............................................................................5
Policies of government........................................................................................................6
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................6
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE.......................................................................................6
Introduction......................................................................................................................6
Statistics...........................................................................................................................7
Prevalence of CVD..............................................................................................................7
Government Policies........................................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................8

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SEXUAL HEALTH.............................................................................................................9
Introduction......................................................................................................................9
Statistics...........................................................................................................................9
Risks..............................................................................................................................10
Government intervention...............................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................11
Reference.......................................................................................................................12

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DIET, NUTRITION AND OBESITY
Introduction
Nutrition is one of the important aspect of healthy life. Good diet and nutrition can
improve the health by building immunity, maintaining the macro and micronutrients of body and
providing the diving cells proper amount of food for division and growth. Poor eating habit are
associated with over or under eating, in which the body does not get proper amount of nutrition
is should get. Such unhealthy diet and nutritional habit can lead to several disorders such as
obesity, malnutrition and so on (Spaeth, dinges and Goel 2013). This is the reason the United
Kingdom government has the clearly defined health and diet policy. This assignment is going to
discuss the diet, nutrition and the associated risk of obesity. Further, prevalence of this risk and
government’s policies are also going to be discussed.
Statistical data for prevalence
According to the statistical data of the United Kingdom, people are not that much active
in the case of physical activity, healthy diet, and nutritional importance for development and
growth. Obesity and overweight has become the primary healthcare problem, occurring in UK.
People are mostly unaware of the health outcomes of the unhealthy diet and the health risks.
According to the statistical data of UK, in 2014, 58 percent of women and 65 percent of the men
were affected with obesity and the overall rate of obesity has been increased to 26 percent in
2014 form 15 percent in 1993 (Department of Health UK 2017). The statistics also depicted that
rate of bariatric surgery was 60 percent and within that, 76 percent of the patients were female.
Furthermore, people bought 519,000 products associated with obesity in England only and in the
entire population, 26 percent of the adults were inactive (National Institute for Health and Care
Excellence 2017).

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Risk of obesity
Imbalance of diet and nutrition can lead to several health complications, and obesity is
one of them. This health problem can be genetic or people can acquire it due to unhealthy
lifestyle, inactivity and diet preferences. Obesity can lead to disorders such as heart diseases,
cancer and diabetes, high blood pressure, fatty liver disease, kidney related problem, sleep apnea,
osteoporosis and many more (Malik, Willettand Hu2013). If happens in women, obesity can lead
to complication in pregnancy and increases the risk of cesarean delivery as well. Heavy weight
also lead to the development of chronic diseases such as dyslipidemia, osteoarthritis and
increases the rate of mortality of the affected population. Other than this, if the nutritional
demand of the body is not being fulfilled, then neural and skeletal problems can also be emerged.
Government’s policies for obesity
The government of UK is so keen to amend the health related problems in their
population and for obesity; they have healthcare policies to regulate the rate of obesity in the
population. In England only, most of the people, adults and children are affected with obesity. 70
percent of adults and 28 percent of children are suffering from obesity and its risk factors
(Gov.UK 2017). The policies that the UK government has implemented includes awareness and
advertisement of the harmful effect of unhealthy food habits. The government is advertising
about healthy diet sand effect of physical activities through health promotional programs. The
government also focused on improving the labels and tags of food products so that people can
get aware of the healthy and unhealthy food products. The government has asked the food
manufacturers to display the caloric information on the label so that people can buy those
accordingly (Adams et al. 2012).

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Conclusion
This discussion focused on the importance of healthy diet and nutrition and unmet needs
of these can lead to several health complications. The UK government is concerned about the
rate of obesity as has taken several steps such as setting policies for food retail, manufacture and
labelling so that people buy food after getting the complete calorie present.
CANCER
Definition and Types
Cancer is the abnormal proliferation of cells that grows in a way that the nearby cells
become infected to it. Such uncontrolled growth can occur in any organ of the body and spread
to other tissues in different forms. Many organs can lead to cancer and the cancer types are as
follows:
 lung cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer,
 breast cancer, brain cancer
 melanoma
 Bladder cancer and so on (Von Minckwitz et al. 2012)
Statistical data for prevalence
According to the data of UK government, in 2014, there were 357,000 cases of cancer in
UK and almost 980 diseases are diagnosed every day. The ratio in females was less that than that
of the men. Therefore, according to the data, the increase in the rate of cancer was 12 percent and
half of the detection was done in the last stage. This rate is of big concern for the UK
government as too many underdeveloped countries have lower rate of cancer than that of the UK.
Within cancers, breast, prostate and bowel cancers were accounted for 54 percent and thyroid

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and liver cancer has shown fastest increases in recent years. Hence, the UK government has
created a set of policies for cancer and its associated risk factors (Cancer Research UK 2017).
Cancer and other prevalent issues
The rate of cancer has increased tremendously in recent years. The UK government is
concerned about the issue because people are least concerned about their diet and food
preferences, lifestyle and habits, which in turn is affecting their own health. The prime reason for
bowel cancer is usage of red meat and processed food in higher amount. Lung cancer is
associated with pollution and smoking. Obesity is one of the reasons people are acquiring
cancers. Young women are screened as breast cancer patients and this is because they are leading
an unhealthy and inactive lifestyle. Usage of alcohol and other addictive drinks are making
people reluctant about their wellbeing and acquiring diseases that can lead to cancer (Füzéry et
al. 2013).
Burden on life expectancy and economy
Among the 28 countries present in the European Union, in 2015 UK was on the tenth
spot for male life expectancy and 17th for female life expectancy. More than 80 percent of the
burden of premature death was due to non-communicable disease such as cancers and
cardiovascular disorders. The rate of male cancer patients were less than that of the other
European Union men (GOV.UK 2017).
On the other hand, economically, according to the study from Oxford University, the cost
on the UK government is £15.8bn. For lung cancer is £2.4bn each year and £1.6bn for breast
cancer and £1.5bn for prostate cancer. Bowel cancer needs £1.6bn und and a total of £7.6bn are

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used for unpaid care, nurses and other health facilities in UK every year (University of Oxford
2017).
Policies of government
People are being affected cancer as the modern day lifestyle has distance people from
activity and exercise. Everyday 250,000 people are diagnosed with cancer in England and within
them 130,000 die due to cancer. The annual cost to the UK government is £5 billion and the loss
of productivity is £18.3 billion. Therefore, to increase the rate of survival, the government has
taken few policies. Government is spreading awareness about relation of smoking to cancer. The
government is making sure that people are aware of the signs of the symptoms so that they can
get early screening and diagnosis. Further, the government policy includes improving access to
cancer services and improved treatment. Different government associations such as public health
England, NHS England and various cancer research institutes are helping the government to
meet the goal as they are close to different cancer patients.
Conclusion
This assignment provided all the necessary information about cancer in UK. The type of
cancer effecting the people of UK has been mentioned and further the cost to the government and
burdens associated has been mentioned. The policies has also been mentioned which the
government is using for awareness and healthcare.
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
Introduction
Cardiovascular diseases are the diseases associated with the blood vessels and heart
disorders. Cardiovascular diseases include a wide range of other diseases which include

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cerebrovascular disease, coronary heart disease, congenital heart disease, peripheral arterial
disease, pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis (Nichols et al. 2014). Strokes and heart
attacks are also considered as the acute form of cardiovascular disease which is generally caused
due to blockage in the blood flow through the blood vessels. Cardiovascular disease is a public
concern because according to World Health Organization (2017) cardiovascular diseases (CVD)
are the main contributor to deaths globally, a large number of people die from CVD than any
other diseases.
Cardiovascular diseases are a public health issue because majority of the CVDs can be
prevented by controlling the risk factors that are associated with the life style. The risk factors
like unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, obesity, unhealthy diet, tobacco use, alcohol addiction
can be largely controlled by putting emphasis on the right health strategy. In United Kingdom,
the people who belong from the ethnic communities of Caribbean, South Asian and African
background experience more incidence of CVD and type 2 diabetes (Perk et al. 2012).
Statistics
According to Bhf.org.uk (2017), Statistics show that men are affected by cardiovascular
diseases than the women which is 27.4% and 25.2% respectively. Even the deaths due to CVD
under the age of 75 is comparatively higher in men compared to men which is 24.5% and 17.2%
respectively. Studies conducted from year 1969 to 2015 reveal that likeliness of yearly deaths
due to CVD has lowered, while it still hovers around 400 deaths per 100,000. While the
premature death under the age of 75 has also lowered and it is around 120 deaths per 100,000.

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Prevalence of CVD
According to Bhf.org.uk (2017), cardiovascular deaths causes around 26% of all the
deaths in UK. Approximately, 1 death in every minute, 435 people die every day which makes
up to 160,000 people that die every year. Studies reveal that approximately 42,000 people that
are under 75 years of age die due to CVD every year. Presently a high number of people (around
7 million) live with the cardiovascular diseases among which 3.5 million equally are the females
and males. The increased incidence of early deaths arising due to CVD is normally seen in
central Scotland, northern England and south of Wales. While CVD is comparatively less in
south of England. Health related costs of CVD is estimated to be around 9 billion every year.
The effect of CVD on the UK’s economy is as high as 19 billion every year.
Government Policies
Due to the UK government policy and strategies in several areas, indirectly and directly
influence the incidence of CVD. Like the choosing health sets some goals on the dietary plan,
obesity, tobacco control, physical activity and also nutrition. This plan was aided by the National
health safety stop smoking services. There are other strategies like the strategy for active travel, a
tobacco control strategy which sets a smoke free future. Food 2030 and initiative by the
environment department and rural affairs department (Nice.org.uk, 2017).
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above study it can be concluded that cardiovascular diseases play a
detrimental role into the lives of worldwide people and also the citizens of United Kingdom.
There are several findings that depict that CVD can be prevented by changing the daily life style
and eating habits. While UK government has taken an active initiative but a lot depends on the

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self-awareness UK citizens and active participation into the programs that are framed by the
government.
SEXUAL HEALTH
Introduction
According to Who.int (2017), sexual health is an emotional, social physical and mental
wellbeing in association with sexuality, it just does not mean the complete absence of any
dysfunction or disease. The knowledge of sexual health contributes to the positive understanding
and a clear approach towards the sexual relationships and sexuality. Sexual health also
encompasses having safe and secure sexual experiences that are free violence, discrimination ad
any kind of coercion. For the effective maintenance of sexual health, the sexual rights of the
individuals must be fulfilled, protected and respected.
Sexual health is a public health issue because United Kingdom holds the biggest record
within the Western Europe. Although studies have revealed that teenage pregnancy has reduced
over the years but the incidence of HIV and sexually transmitted infections are on the rise. The
sexually transmitted infection is not the only sexual health concern within UK, there are other
issues like abortion, contraception, fertility control, sexual assault, cervical screening, advice on
pre-conception are also the other major sexual health issue concern among the men and women.
Recently, high rates of sexually transmitted infections are on the rise among the young people,
ethnically minority populations and also among men having sex with other men (French, 2007).
Statistics
In the year 2016, studies reported that 420,000 individuals were affected by sexually
transmitted infections in England and 5920 individuals were reported to be infected with syphilis

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which is largest ever since the year 1949. Genital warts were reported among the 15 and 17 years
old girls. While a greater incidence of sexually transmitted infection is seen among the
heterosexuals aged between 15 and 24, the incidence is more when the black people from the
ethnic minorities, bisexuals and the gay had sex with other men. Among syphilis, chlamydia,
genital herpes and genital, gonorrhea is reported the most among the men having sex with other
men. When the ethnicity is compared the blacks are found to be most affected by the sexually
transmitted diseases, while the least affected are the Asians. And when comparison has been
made within the male and female, the females belonging from the age of 20 to 24 are the most
affected from the sexually transmitted infections (Gov.uk, 2017).
Risks
Sexual health not just means having the proper disease free sexual life. While there are
many health issues associated with the improper practice of sex. The sexually transmitted
infections and the sexually transmitted diseases are the most prevalent when precautions are not
taken before the sex. Sexually transmitted diseases are further categorized into chlamydia,
syphilis, genital warts and genital herpes, and gonorrhea. While the occurrence of gonorrhea is
most among the black bisexuals and the gays. There are also high implications on health
outcomes due to the HIV and AIDS which are both detrimental and fatal for any individual
(Nhs.uk, 2017).
Government intervention
At the population level, the healthcare professionals provide the intervention by
formulating an open culture where the every individual is provided with the sufficient knowledge
to maintain a healthy and successful relationship and have safe sex to reduce the incidence of
HIV. Ensuring that the children receive sex education and be able to develop good relationship at

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home, school and in community, the department of education will assist in the supply of
supplementary advice. Ensuring and promoting the effective testing techniques of sexually
transmitted diseases and HIV and the strategies are effective among the risk prone populations.
Awareness are raised that the free treatment and medication are available to reduce the incidence
of unwanted pregnancy among the young girls (Gov.uk, 2017).
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above disclosure it can be concluded that sexual health is a major
public concern due to the increased incidence of sexually transmitted infections and HIV.
Statistics show that the black bisexuals and gays are the most affected by the ill practice of sex.
While the United Kingdom government has the intervention strategies etched out for citizens at
the population. A lot remains to be seen what initiatives the UK population take to reduce the ill
effects of sexual health.

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