BSc Applied Food and Nutrition: Obesity Prevention and Treatment

This presentation provides an overview of obesity, defining it as a global public health issue with increasing prevalence, particularly in developed and developing nations. It outlines the impacts of obesity, including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and type II diabetes. The presentation then discusses various strategies for prevention and treatment, such as policy actions, influencing eating behaviors, supporting health services, and offering health education. The presentation emphasizes the importance of healthy eating habits and physical activity for both individuals and the community. The content also references key research and data from sources like the World Health Organization and various scientific publications to support its claims. This presentation is a valuable resource for understanding the complexities of obesity and its management.

Introduction
• Nutrition is referred to as the science that explains the relation of
nutrients and other substances in meals to maintain progress,
reproduction sickness and health.
• Defiency related illnesses are caused by unhealthy diet in humans.
• Unhealthy nutrition can lead to threatening diseases such as obesity
and metabolic syndrome.

Cont.
• Obesity is a public health issue which is epidemic globally.
• Research has indicated that overweight and obesity are the main
causes of co-morbidities encompassing type II diabetes ,
cardiovascular diseases , cancers and other health issues that can
cause death (Uyamasi, Zheng and Strasser 2018 ).
• The healthcare costs are substantial hence there is need to develop
methods for the prevention of gaining excess weight and obesity.
• However, public health recommendation strategies have had least
benefits in dealing with the prevalence of obesity which is increasing
(Archer, Pavela and Lavie 2015, pp. 911-926 ).

Cont.
• Obesity refers to when a person is so overweight that it poses a threat
regarding their health.
• Research has indicated that the sum of overweight individuals rivals
the sum of underweight individuals for the first time in history of
humans.
• The overweight population has grown quickly in current decades.
• In united states, 55% of adults are overweight by international
standards (Hales, Fryar, Carroll, Freedman and Ogden 2018, pp.1723-
1725).

Cont.

Cont.
• 23% of American adults are considered as obese and it is also affecting
children with one in five American children are considered obese.
• Overweight and obesity are increasing on a high note in the developing
world while 80% of the worlds hungry kids live in nations with food
surpluses (Rosenthal, pp.1643-1650).
• According to World Health Organization(2005) , estimated 1.6 billion
adults (15years+) were overweight.
• At least 400 million adults were suffering from obesity.
• At least 20 million children under the age of 5 years are overweight
worldwide (Hales et al. pp.1723-1725)

Cont.
• Although developed nations such as United Kingdom and Germany
have had a drop in the prevalence rate of obesity in the previous
decade, obesity prevalence continues to rise in many parts of the
globe particularly in the Asia Pacific region (GBD 2015 Obesity
Collaborators, 2017, pp.13-27 ).
• For instance, the combined prevalence of overweight and obesity
increased by 46% in Japan from 16.7% in 1976-1980 to 24.0%in 2000,
and by 41.4% in China from 3.7% in 1982 to 19.0 in 2002 (Bleich,
Vercammen, Zatz, Frelier, Ebbeling and Peeters 2018,pp.332-346).

Cont.
• Obesity affects the rich as well as the poor due to unhealthy foods
marketing.
• In addition, many low and middle-income nations are affected by the
burden of obesity on a double basis (Uyamasi et al., 2018).
• While they try to deal with the issues regarding infectious illness and under-
nutrition, they are going through a quick upsurge in chronic sickness risk
elements like overweight and obesity especially in town areas.
• This double burden is brought about by lack of enough pre-natal, infant and
young child nutrition followed by high exposure of fats, energy dense,
micronutrient-poor meals and inadequate physical action (Bleich et al. 2018,
pp.332-346).

Impacts of obesity
• Cardiovascular diseases
• Different cancers
• Diabetes type II

Strategies for prevention and
treatment of obesity.
• Policy actions in terms of food surroundings such that healthy choices
are easy to make, physical activities by changing the physical actions
surrounding to ensure higher levels of physical actions to minimize
sedentary lifestyle and socioeconomic surroundings (Archer, Pavela
and Lavie 2015, pp. 911-926).
• Influencing eating and physical actions and activity behaviors.
• Supporting health services and clinical recommendations (Wadden,
and Bray, 2018).

Cont.
• Offering health education to individuals in the community.
• Parents are encouraged to be a role model to their children by eating
healthy meals (Flegal, Kruszon-Moran, Carroll, Fryar and Ogden 2016,
pp.2284-2291).
• Encourage the children to only eat when they are hungry and eat
with moderation (Bray, Frühbeck, Ryan and Wilding 2016, pp.1947-
1956 ).
• Food should not be used as a sign of reward or a punishment.
• Weighing is recommended regularly (Wadden and Bray, 2018).