Foundations of Public Health: Childhood Obesity Project Outline

This project outline, developed for the SOFH311 Foundations of Public Health course, addresses the escalating public health issue of childhood obesity in Australia. The project proposes a complementary medicine (CM) intervention using herbal medicine, specifically Xin-Ju-Xiao-Gao-Fang (XJXGF), to reduce obesity rates among children and adolescents. The outline includes background information on obesity, the target population (overweight/obese children and adolescents), and the rationale for selecting herbal medicine as the CM intervention. The project intervention involves recruiting overweight/obese children from schools, obtaining informed consent, administering the herbal formulation for 28 weeks, and conducting monthly evaluations. The outline also provides a fishbone diagram illustrating factors contributing to childhood obesity and references supporting the proposed interventions. The goal is to secure funding for implementing this CM-based approach to combat childhood obesity.

Running head: PART B
SOFH311 Foundations of Public Health
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1PART B
Executive summary
Childhood obesity is a condition that creates a negative effect on the healthy due to excess accumulation of body fat. Due to the increasing
prevalence of childhood obesity, the adverse impacts of the condition have been recognized as a threatening public health issue. The proposal
focused on the implementation of herbal medicines, as a type of CM intervention, for reducing the rates of childhood obesity among children
and adolescents.

2PART B
Table of Contents
1. Background.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
2. Target population............................................................................................................................................................................................ 3
3. CM intervention and rationale......................................................................................................................................................................... 3
4. Project intervention......................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
5. Fishbone diagram........................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
6. References........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6

3PART B
1. Background
Obesity refers to the clinical condition that is characterised by excess accumulation of body fat to an extent that creates a negative
impact on the health and wellbeing of the affected people. Obesity is manifested by the presence of body mass index (BMI) higher than
30 kg/m2 (Ogden et al., 2015). It has been identified as a global epidemic by the WHO and the rates of severe obesity are increasing at an
alarming rate in Australia, the United States and Canada (WHO, 2018). In addition, an estimated 28% Australian adults were found to obese in
2014-2015 (AIHW, 2018). The proposal will focus on implementation of a CM intervention for the effective prevention and management of
obesity.
2. Target population
Reports collected form the National Health Survey conducted in 2014-2015 suggested that roughly 63% adults had been diagnosed
with obesity in Australia, of them children and adolescents formed 27% of the population. In addition, the government reports also indicated that
1 in 4 children were affected by obesity (AIHW, 2018). Childhood obesity is a major concern owing to the fact that it results in the onset of
several comorbid disorders among the children in the long run such as, increased cholesterol, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus (Sahoo et
al., 2015). In addition, childhood obesity has also been associated with depression and poor self-esteem. Thus, obese children and
adolescents will form the target population.

4PART B
3. CM intervention and rationale
The complementary medicine that has been selected as the intervention for management of obesity in the target population is herbal
medicine. Herbal medicine contrasts from conventional medicine in the usage of complete plants, in the form of un-purified extracts, for
treatment of chronic conditions and improvement of wellbeing (Micozzi, 2018). It is typically claimed by the practitioners of this form of
complementary medicine that use of plant extracts works synergistically and increases the effect of the constituents, besides reducing toxicity,
which might emerge while using purified active ingredients.
There is mounting evidence for the fact that Chinese herbal medicines are effective in controlling obesity. Findings from a randomised
trial indicated that Chinese herbal medicines brought about significant reductions in the body weight of patients, without any notable side effects
(Zhou et al., 2014). In addition, co-administration of herbal medicine with probiotics have also demonstrated an impact on energy metabolism
rates, which subsequently brought about body weight reduction (Lee et al., 2014). Use of Cambodia hoodia, Citrus aurantium, green tea, green
tea, green tea, and guar gum have also proved their efficacy in obesity phytotherapy by increasing oxidation and metabolic rate in the body
(Bahmani et al., 2014). Taking into consideration the fact that children and adolescents are susceptible to the consumption of foods and drinks
that contain a high sugar content, subjecting them to herbal medicine therapy might help in lowering the alarming rates of childhood obesity.
4. Project intervention
Following collection of data on BMI of children and adolescents, across five different schools located in the district, those who are
identified to be overweight and/or obese will be recruited. After taking informed consent, the children will be subjected to herbal formulation of

5PART B
Xin-Ju-Xiao-Gao-Fang (XJXGF), consisting of semen cassia, coptis, rhubarb, and Citrus Aurantium for 28 weeks, in addition to conducting
monthly evaluation of their body parameters.

6PART B
5. Fishbone diagram
Increased screen
time
No physical
exercise
Too much sitting
Infant-formula
Poor quality food
Increased
access to fast
Socio-economic
status
Increased price
of healthy food
Advertisements
Congenital leptin
deficiency
MOMO
syndrome
Prader-Willi
syndrome
Sedentary lifestyle Family practice
Genetics Social policies
Childhood
obesity

7PART B
6. References
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2018). Overweight & Obesity. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-data/behaviours-risk-
factors/overweight-obesity/overview
Bahmani, M., Eftekhari, Z., Saki, K., Fazeli-Moghadam, E., Jelodari, M., &Rafieian-Kopaei, M. (2016). Obesity phytotherapy: Review of native
herbs used in traditional medicine for obesity. Journal of evidence-based complementary & alternative medicine, 21(3), 228-234.
Lee, S. J., Bose, S., Seo, J. G., Chung, W. S., Lim, C. Y., & Kim, H. (2014). The effects of co-administration of probiotics with herbal medicine
on obesity, metabolic endotoxemia and dysbiosis: a randomized double-blind controlled clinical trial. Clinical nutrition, 33(6), 973-981.
Micozzi, M. S. (2018). Fundamentals of Complementary, Alternative, and Integrative Medicine-E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Fryar, C. D., &Flegal, K. M. (2015). Prevalence of obesity among adults and youth: United States, 2011–2014.
Sahoo, K., Sahoo, B., Choudhury, A. K., Sofi, N. Y., Kumar, R., &Bhadoria, A. S. (2015). Childhood obesity: causes and
consequences. Journal of family medicine and primary care, 4(2), 187.
World Health Organization. (2018). Obesity and overweight. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-
overweight
Zhou, Q., Chang, B., Chen, X. Y., Zhou, S. P., Zhen, Z., Zhang, L. L., ... &Xu, Y. (2014). Chinese herbal medicine for obesity: a randomized,
double-blinded, multicenter, prospective trial. The American journal of Chinese medicine, 42(06), 1345-1356.