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Diet/Nutrition/Obesity/Food Insecurity

Health professionals are bestowed with the sole responsibility of ensuring that their assigned patients receive the best quality of care. Obesity is one of the most popular health issues affecting individuals across the globe. Diet and nutrition therapy has been fundamental in aiding the obese to adopt healthier eating habits and lifestyles.

The patient claims that she ate a high-fat breakfast consisting of a cup of yogurt, bacon, and four whole eggs. Before she took her lunch, she consumed over five bars of chocolate candy and had an 8 oz glass of milk. During lunch time, she ordered ultra-processed foods; 2 slices of pizza and a burger. At dinner, she took wine and enjoyed eating steak and potatoes. Over the previous 24 hours, she took five glasses of mineral water to remain hydrated a day.

The patient was a 46-year-old non-Hispanic black female with a body mass index (BMI) of 30. According to the assessment, it was discovered that she had hypertension and was diabetic. She maintains that she leads a sedentary lifestyle and does not engage in vigorous physical activities. It is important to note that a lot is missing in the patient's diet. Following research, starch and protein are pivotal in the morning (Lesser et al., 2015). The patient should regulate her intake of high-fat proteins like yogurt and replace them with a piece of fruit like banana, apple, or orange, depending on her preferences. At lunch and dinner time, she mostly consumes ultra-processed foods that are less filling as well as raise a person’s blood sugar tremendously. In my opinion, the patient required a workable nutritional program to help manage her weight.

The patient's diet primarily lacks vitamins and starch. Noteworthy, the over-consumption of processed food could have caused the development of her diabetes. For the client to achieve weight loss, she must shift to dried or fresh unsweetened whole fruits like those mentioned above. She also needed to embrace cooking whole foods rich in essential nutrients (Lesser et al., 2015). I would first encourage the patient to engage in physical activities like walking or jogging multiple times a week regarding her overall lifestyle. Following National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Editors (n.d), physical activity helps improve body composition boosting the patient’s overall health and well-being. Moreover, I would support the patient by aiding her in coming up with a workable weight management program that would guide her appropriately in the future.

Several socio-economic factors affect access to healthy foods, fostering health disparities in different populations. The first factor is poverty. In my experience working with overweight patients, the majority came from low-income households. The majority of these individuals develop the propensity to consume ultra-processed or junk foods as they are cheap and accessible. Another critical factor is a lack of awareness or knowledge about the importance of taking healthy meals. To my knowledge, only a tiny percentage of black women are knowledgeable about the effects of their eating habits on their weight and overall health. This population is noted to be at higher risk of developing weight-related health problems such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke, and heart disease, to mention but a few.

Noteworthy, obesity is a crucial health problem impacting many people across different continents. Dietitians and nutritionists are responsible for helping vulnerable individuals adopt healthy eating habits and take the appropriate steps to change their overall lifestyles. It is worth noting that weight management is a complex process that requires care providers to be available to their patients.

References

Lesser, L., Carol, M., & Lucan, S. (2015). Nutrition myths and healthy dietary advice in clinical practice. American Family Physician. https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2015/0501/p634.html#healthy-dietary-advice

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Editors. (n.d). Aim for a healthy weight. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/recommen.htm