Practicum Assignments

Carrie E Baines

     Within the community I live in and work in we see a lot of health issues related to obesity. We are in the south and partake in southern style cooking. When speaking to people working in the community, they assured me that obesity is a huge concern. Being obese can cause cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders, and some cancers (World Health Organization, 2013). Some of these diagnosis is irreversible and will increase costs for the individual and health care system. Nationally 41.9 % of adults suffer from obesity (Trust for America’s Health, 2022). African American adults rank 49.9%, Hispanic adults rank 45.6%, Caucasian adults rank 41.4, and Asian adults ranked 16.1% (Trust for America’s Health, 2022). It was also reported that rural areas of the country were higher than suburban areas. I would be within this rural country classification. These numbers could be decreased, and issues caused by obesity reduced with education.  

     There are several determinants that influence obesity rates such as poverty, housing stability, lack of access to healthcare, and discrimination to name a few (Trust for America’s Health, 2022). When thinking about poverty, the individuals feel the need to use their income for other means than health. I feel like some may put this to the wayside or feel it is unimportant. This is where we fail. Early education on nutrition and wellness should increase. This can also go along with lack of education or housing stability. It just is not a focus and therefore our youth is not taught it is important.  

     To decrease these numbers, I feel like we need to educate our youth. They need to be educated on how obesity can affect them later in life. Sometimes maybe sooner than later. It appears minorities and poverty will predispose youth to the risk of obesity. The statistics listed above were for adults but I am looking at preventing and decreasing these numbers. This will hopefully decrease those increased health effects obesity can cause.  

 

References  

Trust for America's Health. (2022).  State of Obesity 2022: Better Policies for a Healthier America. Tfah.  https://www.tfah.org/report-details/state-of-obesity-2022/#:~:text=Nationally%2C%2041.9%20percent%20of%20adultsLinks to an external site.  

 

World Health Organization. (2013, March 14).  Obesity: Health consequences of being overweight.  Www.who.intLinks to an external site. .  https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/obesity-health-consequences-of-being-overweight#:~:text=Carrying%20extra%20fat%20leads%20toLinks to an external site.