Health Promotion Project: Addressing Obesity in Teenagers in Sydney

This project focuses on addressing the growing issue of obesity among teenagers, highlighting the importance of dietary modifications, increased physical activity, and reduced screen time. The assignment begins with an introduction to the current global health crisis, emphasizing the rising rates of obesity and its associated health risks, particularly among adolescents. The project outlines the causes of obesity, including sedentary lifestyles, poor dietary choices, and social determinants, and emphasizes the need for a multifaceted approach to prevention and intervention. The core recommendations include maintaining a balanced diet with a focus on protein intake, limiting calorie consumption from carbohydrates and fats, avoiding sugary beverages, and increasing the intake of fiber-rich foods. The project also stresses the importance of regular physical exercise, suggesting a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate activity at least five days a week, as well as reducing screen time and promoting alternative activities. The project also includes figures and statistics regarding obesity in teenagers, including the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Australia, and concludes by emphasizing the multifaceted nature of obesity and the need for a comprehensive approach to address it through behavioral counseling, healthcare screening programs, and lifestyle changes. The references include a list of relevant sources, including research articles and reports from health organizations.

Teens, Fight
Obesity!!!
Obesity
Individuals are typically considered obese under circumstances
when their body mass index is more than 30 kg/m2 With BMI
between 25-30kg/m2 being considered overweight (Baskota, Li,
Dhakal, Liu & Tian, 2015).
Change your diet
•Maintain the intake of protein (Bray, G. A., Frühbeck, Ryan &
Wilding, 2016).
•Limit the consumption of calories from both carbohydrates and
fats
•Consume a low-fat and low-carbohydrate diet. It will help in
decreasing body weight, thus proving beneficial in management of
obesity.
•Avoid consumption of sweet and beverages such as iced tea,
energy drinks, fruit drinks, and soft drinks (CantoraL et al., 2016).
•Consume food products that are rich in fiber content such as,
fresh fruits, whole grains, and vegetables.
Perform exercise
•Muscles consume energy that is derived from both glycogen and
fat
•Participation in cycling running walking will act most effective
means of physical exercise for reducing excess body fat and will
create an impact on macronutrient balance
•Perform moderate physical exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes
at least five days each week (Foster, Moore, Singletary & Skelton,
2018)
•Physical exercise alone can result in in less significant reduction
of body fat
•When combined with dietary modification it will lead to substantial
weight loss over a short period of time
•Usage of stairs and outdoor play activities will also prove
beneficial
•Participate in geocaching activities, rock climbing, and yard work
(Siegel & Fryer, 2017)
Causes
•Sedentary Lifestyle- Participation in physically demanding work,
use of mechanized transportation, reduction in physical activity,
and more screen time increase obesity risks (Kurdaningsih,
Sudargo & Lusmilasari, 2017).
• Diet- Poor dietary choice and increasing reliance on
consumption of big portion, energy-dense, and fast food means

Teens, Fight
Obesity!!!
References
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2017). A Picture of overweight and obesity in Australia. Retrieved from
https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/172fba28-785e-4a08-ab37-2da3bbae40b8/aihw-phe-216.pdf.aspx?inline=true
Baskota, A., Li, S., Dhakal, N., Liu, G., & Tian, H. (2015). Bariatric surgery for type 2 diabetes mellitus in patients with BMI< 30
kg/m2: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS one, 10(7), e0132335.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0132335
Bray, G. A., Frühbeck, G., Ryan, D. H., & Wilding, J. P. (2016). Management of obesity. The Lancet, 387(10031), 1947-1956.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00271-3
Cantoral, A., Téllez Rojo, M. M., Ettinger, A. S., Hu, H., Hernández Ávila, M., & Peterson, K. (2016). Early‐ ‐ introduction and
cumulative consumption of sugar sweetened beverages during the pre school period and‐ ‐ risk of obesity at 8–14
years of age. Pediatric obesity, 11(1), 68-74. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.12023
Dietician connection. (2016). Shocking stats on dietary habits of Australian adolescents. Retrieved from
https://dietitianconnection.com/archived/dairy-australia-interview-with-associate-professor-lynn-moore/
Express.co.uk. (2018).Obesity warning: Teens more at risk if they remember seeing a junk food advert every day. Retrieved
from https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/931790/Obesity-teenagers-more-risk-junk-food-adverts-every-day-health-illness
Foster, C., Moore, J. B., Singletary, C. R., & Skelton, J. A. (2018). Physical activity and family based obesity treatment: a review of expert‐
recommendations on physical activity in youth. Clinical obesity, 8(1), 68-79. https
://doi.org/10.1111/cob.12230
Kurdaningsih, S. V., Sudargo, T., & Lusmilasari, L. (2017). Physical activity and sedentary lifestyle towards teenagers’
overweight/obesity status. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, 3(3), 630-635.
http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20160623
Minges, K. E., Owen, N., Salmon, J., Chao, A., Dunstan, D. W., & Whittemore, R. (2015). Reducing youth screen time: qualitative
metasynthesis of findings on barriers and facilitators. Health Psychology, 34(4), 381.
https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/hea0000172
Siegel, S. R., & Fryer, S. M. (2017). Rock climbing for promoting physical activity in youth. American journal of lifestyle
medicine, 11(3), 243-251. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1559827615592345
The Conversation. (2019). More than one in four Aussie kids are overweight or obese: we’re failing them, and we need a plan.
Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/more-than-one-in-four-aussie-kids-are-
overweight-or-obese-were-failing-them-and-we-need-a-plan-114005
Xu, S., & Xue, Y. (2016). Pediatric obesity: Causes, symptoms, prevention and treatment. Experimental and therapeutic
medicine, 11(1), 15-20. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2015.2853