Obesity as a Priority Public Health Condition

Running Head: NURSING ASSIGNMENT
Nursing Assignment

NURSING ASSIGNMENT 1
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

NURSING ASSIGNMENT 2
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