Health Care And nutrition Assesment Analysis

RUNNING HEAD: HEALTHCARE 0
Health and nutrition March 9
2020

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Introduction
Human health is a very serious topic. In today's busy lifestyle where no one cares for anyone
older adults health is being neglected. Older adults that are living alone and isolated are facing
many health-related issues that need attention (Nicholson, 2012). This report will discuss
Sara's case. She is 76 years old widow. She lives alone and is retired from a factory worker job.
After a couple of tests, she was told she is underweight and needs doctor's assistance. This report
will highlight the behavioral theories, approaches, and strategies to understand Sara's case better.
Further, this report will discuss lifestyle changes that should be done by Sara to gain weight.
This report will also analyze and inform about the importance of diet in older adults with
physical activity guidelines. In the end, this report will discuss how behavior theories can help
counselors to understand the patient better. Being underweight can cause many difficulties such
as heart diseases, breathing problems, and knee pains, etc. (Argent & Balachandran, 2017).
This report will highlight all the ways on how Sara can gain weight again and live a healthy life.
Nutritional disorder
Underweight
A human is considered under-weight when their body weight is considered too low (Wronka et
al., 2013). Under-weight individuals are advised to gain weight by increasing their calorie
intake or by adding an exercise in their daily routine because muscle hypertrophy increases body
mass (Cibelli et al., 2017). The treatment for weight gain may differ from person to person
because every individual's case is different. Sara is a 76-year-old woman who is told by her GP
that she is underweight. Sara is underweight because of her lifestyle and eating habits. The center
of disease control and prevention recommends people to use body mass index to calculate if the
person is underweight or overweight (Pasco et al., 2014). A person gets underweight because
their body may not be getting sufficient nutrients for a long period. Being underweight can cause
serious health problems (Abarca-Gómez et al., 2017). In older people eating less and eating
wrong is the reason for unintentional weight loss. A person can be underweight due to genetics,
improper metabolism, lack of proper diet, and improper consumption of alcohol (Bender,
2014). Regular Smoking and alcohol consumption can make an individual lose their appetite

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(Nijs et al., 2010). Bodyweight can be increased by nutritional supplements or adding
sufficient vitamins and minerals in the daily diet (Agarwal et al., 2015).
Prevalence
The UK is becoming a nation of excesses, with a growing number of people either severely
underweight or extremely obese (Collaboration, 2016). The number of people that maintain
their health is decreasing and more people are risking their health. According to the figures
collected by the market analyst data, the monitor found that 600,000 men and 700,000 women in
the UK are identified as severely underweight. These people are 2% of the adult population. It is
also estimated that this number may increase in the coming years (the UK, 2013). Weighing
too little can weaken that immune system, fragile bones and make people feel tired (Pawelec,
2010). At a young age, it is easy to lose weight or gain weight (Harvie et al., 2011). Only
minor changes in eating habits and activity levels can help in gaining and losing weight. It is
difficult to gain and lose weight in old adulthood (Sutin & Ferrucci, 2013). Muscle tissues
shrink and lose mass as people age. It becomes difficult for humans to maintain their health
because of tiredness (Kronholm et al., 2015).
Lifestyle changes affect body weight dramatically (Nobili, 2011). For example, retirement may
dramatically reduce the amount of physical activity daily (Demakakos et al., 2012). After
working for throughout life this free time sometimes makes the old generation feel lonely and
alone. Sara who has worked all her life has lost her husband; she lives alone and has only a few
friends. Sara's lifestyle is the main reason for her being underweight. She wakes up early and eats
nothing. She smokes 10-20 cigarettes per day and drinks one large whiskey every day before she
sleeps. She drinks 8 to 10 cups of tea per day. Sara needs to modify her lifestyle completely for
gaining all the weight she has lost. Also, her life seems to be lonely and boring. Loneliness can
mess with eating habits. Loneliness can be a factor in either weight gain or weight loss.
Loneliness can disturb eating habits, a person starts consuming alcohol or starts smoking to
overcome or numb the lonely feelings (Spada, 2012).

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Underweight health risks: Causes and potential consequences
Causes
There can be various reasons that can make a person lose weight to a point that he or she become
underweight. Some causes of being underweight include:
Hereditary
Some people have naturally low BMI due to physical elements that run in family. When low
BMI runs in family it is defined as hereditary (Savona-Ventura & Savona-Ventura, 2015).
High metabolism
A person with high metabolism does not gain much weight even after eating high-energy or high
carbs foods (Hall et al., 2012).
Financial crises
Financial crises also disturb the health of people. Foods those are high on protein that helps the
most in weight gain are expensive as well.
Physical illness or chronic disease
Some type of disease can cause regular nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. It makes difficult for
people to gain weight. Sara is an old adult with a high cholesterol levels. A high cholesterol level
with obesity reduces the stamina. This is one of the reasons Sara’s physical activity speed has
decreased. She has to improve her lifestyle in order to become healthier.
Mental health illness
Poor mental health can affect a person's ability to eat (Terry & Leary, 2011). There can be two
conditions either a person can lose his or her appetite or start eating the double of he or she is
generally eats. Diet of a person determines his or her body weight body weight (Wang et al.,
2017).
Lifestyle
It is the most common reason for weight loss in the people. People's lifestyle affects their health
(Walsh, 2011). Sara lives alone in a single room. She must have felt lonely and isolated that
affected her eating and drinking habits.