Obesity as a Priority Public Health Condition

This essay focuses on obesity as a priority public health condition, discussing its impact on individuals and the measures taken by the government to control it.

Running Head: NURSING ASSIGNMENT
Nursing Assignment

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Public health basically aims at bringing improvement in the quality of life with the help of
prevention and treatment of disease, including mental health. The analysis of the health of the
population along with the threats associated with it forms the basis of public health. Priority
public health conditions are the conditions which are widely affecting the people all around the
world and have become a matter of concern. This essay will focus on obesity as the priority
public health conditions. Obesity can be defined as a medical condition which leads to the
accumulation of excess fat to an extent which may result in the negative impact on the health of
an individual. The reason behind selecting obesity as the topic for this assignment because it has
become a common problem in United Kingdom where obesity is affecting around 1 in every 4
adults and 1 in around every 5 children between the age of 10 and 11 (National Health Service,
2018).
Public health can be defined as the science of ensuring the protection of safety along with
improving the health of the communities with the help of policy making, education and research
for disease and injury prevention. Well- being is a term which indicates the state of being
healthy, comfortable or happy. Disability is an impairment which can be intellectual,
developmental, cognitive, sensory, physical, mental or a combination of these. It has a great
impact on the life activities of a person and may be present from the birth of an individual or
occur during the lifetime of a person. The problem of obesity is related with public health, well-
being and disability (Sines, Saunders and Forbes- Burford, 2013). The public health is severely
affected as a result of obesity as it results in a number of diseases such as cardio- vascular
disorder, certain types of cancers, Type II diabetes and infertility. Obesity has been regarded as
the public health issue because it is leading to a number of health inequalities in individuals.
Public health, therefore, aims at creating awareness relating to the reduction of the health
inequalities by way of providing equal opportunities for health to everyone (Donoso et. al. 2015).
Furthermore, the problem of obesity is also associated with the physical, emotional and
psychological well- being on an individual. It also affects the well- being of children by leading
them towards depression and low self- esteem. Obesity is even more problematic for the people
living with impairments as compared to the non- disabled population.
The determinants of health include physical environment, the social and economic environment
and the characteristics and behaviors of an individual. Mostly, the current health inequalities are

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linked with the social determinants of health. Social determinants of health provide the social
circumstances in which the people live which have a powerful influence on their chances of
being healthy. These factors include stress from trauma or financial stress, marriage problems,
lack of sleep, and lack of health related to type of food choices or heath. On the other hand, the
physical determinants leads to the problem of obesity in United Kingdom due to the factors like
lack of physical activity, worksite settings or transportation. The health inequalities which result
from the physical environment are due to injurious elements such as proximity to toxic sites, air
pollution and access to various health related resources such as medical care, recreational
resources and healthy and unhealthy foods (Hoyt, Burnette, and Auster- Gussman, 2014).
Physical environment is also responsible for the purpose of shaping the behaviors of young
people related to obesity. The consumption of unhealthy food products are increasing day by day
among the children and young people which, in turn, is leading them towards obesity. With the
passage of time, the lifestyle of the individuals has also changed and these types of behaviors are
increasing the health inequalities in UK. From the national perspective, the improvement of the
health and well- being of the nation is the concern for providing benefits to the poor for Public
Health England (University College London, 2013). The local perspective provides for the
reduction of the ethnic health inequalities along with complying with the Equality Act 2010
(Institute of Health Equity, 2018).
A number of national public health policies have been taken into account by the government of
United Kingdom. Recently, the government has introduced Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) in
March 2016. ‘Childhood obesity: a plan for action’ was launched by UK government as a part of
their childhood obesity strategy along with the launching of the reformulation programme for the
reduction of the amount of sugar in products. This policy aimed at the significant reduction of
childhood obesity by way of supporting healthier choices. It will further ban the sale of energy
drinks to children along with emphasizing the primary school children to run a mile every day.
The policy will also aim at bringing restrictions on the advertising of junk food as a part of the
childhood obesity plan. They also initiated a calorie reduction programme for the purpose of
reducing the saturated fat from products (The Association of Directors of Public Health, 2017).
The government has also provided recommendations in the form of The Eatwell Guide on
healthy eating and the achievement of a balanced diet. Obesity and healthy eating policy of the
government encouraged and assisted people in eating and drinking healthy stuff and being more

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active in their day to day life. This is being ensured by advising people on a healthy diet and
physical activity with the help of Change4Life programme. Moreover, he labels on foods and
drinks are being improved for assisting them in making healthier choices. The guidance relating
to the requirement of physical activity on day to day basis were also being conveyed to the
people along with encouraging the businesses to include calorie related information on the
menus for allowing the people to make healthier choices (Williams, et. al. 2015).
The reaction of the local public in response to the childhood obesity strategy of the government
is largely negative. Divergent views were there regarding the causes of obesity along with the
required level of government intervention in this regard. A suspicion relationship was
demonstrated between the government and the food industry along with distrust on the grounds
of profit making which placed the interests of the industry before public health (Salas,
2015).This may be due to the fact that there is lack of understanding of the health behaviors in
order to ensure the well- being. The proper understanding of the health behaviors is necessary it
is an important element of the health and well- being of an individual. With the passage of time,
a number of advancements have taken place in the field of medicines and the sanitation has also
improved. Earlier, there were various diseases which cannot be cured due to lack of medicinal
advancements, can now be successfully treated and prevented. This, in turn, had made health-
related behavior an important component of public health.
The role of behavior of an individual is very important in every leading cause of death including
the chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease and stroke. If people will have an
understanding of the heath behaviors, they will be able to effectively manage obesity and other
severe health conditions. It is essential because of the fact that increased importance has been
placed on freedom of the individuals and capacity of self- regulation of their own health. Obesity
and the reduction of overweight have been regarded as the key public health challenges. For
example, as a part of the local initiative, National Heart Forum have developed Obesity Learning
Center with the support of the Department of Health and Department for Education. It is
responsible for strengthening and supporting the local capacity and capabilities for treating
overweight in adults and children (Public Heath England, 2018).
After considering the public health role of a nurse with regard to bringing improvement in the
health of the population, it can be concluded that the nurses are in a position to encourage

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healthy lifestyle arrangements that can effectively decrease the dangers of being obese or
overweight (Ekkekakis, et. al. 2016). The areas where assistance can be provided by the nurses
in include regular meals and nutrition, physical activity, breast feeding, and weight counselling.
They must also show a positive attitude towards nutrition support (Lazarou and Kouta, 2010).
The NMC code provides the professional standards which are required to be upheld by the
nurses, nursing associates and midwives for the purpose of being registered to practice in UK.
The NMC code requires the nurses to prioritize people and respect the contribution that people
make towards their own health and well- being. They should also pay special attention to the
prevention of ill- health along with taking steps to meet the changing health care needs during all
stages of life of the disable people (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2018).
According to Eric Erickson, personality plays an important role in the development of an
individual. The determination of the process of development is based on the contact of body,
mind and cultural influences. He believed that there is great effect of culture and external world
on the personality of an individual. The first stage of the psychosocial development is trust vs
mistrust (0-12 months). At this stage, trust is developed by the child towards their caregiver. The
successful development of the trust provides confidence to the child, on the other hand,
unsuccessful development of trust leads the child to develop insecurity. The next stage is
autonomy vs shame and doubt (1- 3 years). This stage assists the child to progress towards
independence by walking away from their mothers, eating on their own, etc. If support and
encouragement is provided to the child for their independence, then they gain self- esteem and
confidence. On the other hand, controlling the child from their independence makes them
dependent on others thereby resulting in low self- esteem (Bee, 2013).
Third stage of the psychosocial development is initiative vs guilt which takes place between the
ages of 3 – 6 years of the child. At this stage, the child becomes capable of planning activities
and plan for hanging out with other kids. If encouragement is provided to them, they start feeling
secured regarding decision making and leading others. On the contrary, if they are not
encouraged, they may become the followers. Industry vs inferiority is the next stage of the
psychosocial development which takes place between the ages of 6 to puberty. This stage leads
to a feeling of pride in the child for the accomplishments and they feel confident for the
achievement of goals while if they are discouraged, they start doubting their own abilities. The

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stage during adolescence is identity vs role confusion, in which the person either become
independent or gets confused about their identity. During the young adulthood stage, the
individual either leads to intimacy by exploring relationships or avoids intimacy and become
isolated. The stage of middle adulthood leads a people either to generativity or stagnation. The
last stage which continues from late adulthood to childhood provides the option of ego integrity
or despair (Glasper, Coad, Richardson, 2015).
Therefore, it can be concluded that public health aims at bringing improvement in the quality of
life with the help of prevention and treatment of disease, including mental health. This essay
focused on the topic obesity as the priority public health conditions. Obesity is the medical
condition which leads to the accumulation of excess fat to an extent which may result in the
negative impact on the health of an individual. The government has initiated a number of policies
for the purpose of controlling obesity among people.

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