Running Head: PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g 1
4-2 Final Project Milestone One: Draft of Public Health Issue
CHE 110
SNHU
September 25,2022
PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g
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The public health issue that has been identified is related to adult obesity in Morris
County in the United States. The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined obesity as an
abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that has the potential to present health risks. A body
mass index (BMI) that is more than 25 is regarded to be overweight (World Health Organization,
2021). The rate of obesity in both adults, as well as children, has been on the rise in recent years.
In the Morris County community, the burden of adult obesity is high, and it has an adverse
implication on the quality of life of individuals. Around 21.7 % of adults aged 20 years or older
in the community setting are regarded to be obese, and around 20.3 % of people lead an inactive
or sedentary lifestyle which increases the complexity and severity of the health condition (Patten
et al., 2019).
Risk factors
A diverse range of factors may come into play that can increase the chances of a person
becoming obese. Some of the common risk factors are lifestyle choices like unhealthy eating
habits, lack of exercise or sedentary lifestyle, genetic factors, use of specific medications, family
history, etc. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2021). In contemporary times,
lifestyle factors such as the consumption of high-calorie and non-nutritional food along with lack
of physical activities are considered to be major risk elements.
In the Morris County community, the chief risk factors that increase the vulnerability of
adults relating to obesity are a sedentary lifestyle and the high availability of fast-food restaurants
that offer unhealthy or junk food. The high fast food restaurant density in the community (.80
restaurants / 1000 population) increases the accessibility to unhealthy food, increasing the obesity
risk among the community's adult population (Collaborative, 2021). According to County Health
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Ratings, in Morris County, 15.2 % of households have issues relating to a lack of kitchen
facilities which increases the dependence on unhealthy convenience food, thereby increasing the
risk of obesity (Collaborative, 2021,p .17).
Impact of the health issue on the community
The high prevalence of obesity is connected to different kinds of health complications,
such as high blood pressure and cardiovascular complexities. The World Health Organization has
identified that excessive body weight can give rise to grave health impacts such as Type 2
diabetes, heart stroke, different kinds of musculoskeletal disorders and several kinds of cancers
like breast cancer, prostate cancer and liver cancer (World Health Organization, 2021). Obesity
can also have an adverse impact on the psychological health conditions of individuals. According
to Menon, there exists a strong association between obesity and depression (Rajan & Menon,
2017). Similarly, Lavallee has also identified the vital link between mental health and obesity.
Obese individuals are likely to face mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, which
can take a toll on their quality of life (Lavallee et al., 2021). In the Morris County community,
obesity acts as a major risk fact for chronic medical conditions like diabetes as well as heart-
related ailments (Collaborative, 2021,p . 3). The instance of liver cancer is also on the rise in the
community setting, which has a vital association with obesity condition in individuals. g
Need to address the health issue
Obesity is a major public health issue in the Morris County community that needs to be
addressed. By addressing the health issue, it is possible to help adults to lead a quality lifestyle
and minimize the risks that they face relating to chronic medical conditions like heart stroke and
diabetes (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2021). According to the Organisation
PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g
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for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), obesity is directly related to different
kinds of chronic diseases which can have a negative impact on societies and the entire economy
(Vuik et al., 2019, p. 3). The life expectancy of a person with obesity is lower compared to
individuals who do not suffer from the obesity condition. In Morris County, the obesity issue
must be tackled so that people can be encouraged to adopt healthy lifestyle practices and their
health status can be improved.
Ways to address the health issue
To address the obesity health issue that is prevalent in Morris County a suitable approach
involves the designing of a community health education program. This program will
fundamentally focus on educating the community members about healthy eating practices and
regular exercise and how these lifestyle choices can minimize obesity risk and help in managing
weight. The program has been designed so that healthy behavior can be encouraged in the
community members so that they can make better lifestyle choices that can minimize their risk of
obesity. By educating the community members and raising their level of awareness on nutritional
food and exercise, they will be empowered to minimize their obesity risk and risk relating to
associated medical conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), to reverse the obesity epidemic, efforts made at the community level can help to support
healthy eating and active living, thereby diminishing obesity risk.
Involvement of stakeholders in addressing the public health issue
Several stakeholders, such as adult community members, policymakers, and healthcare
professionals, including local physicians and nurses, will be involved in the community health
education program so that the public health issue can be addressed at a comprehensive level. The
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local physicians will be responsible for diagnosing adults with obesity in the community setting.
Similarly, the nurses will play a key role in the community health education program to educate
the adults about obesity, its health impact and healthy practices. The policymaker will be
involved as they will be responsible for introducing suitable policies relating to the creation of a
healthy food environment so that the risk of obesity can be reduced.
References
Collaborative, N. J. H. (2021). Fast food restaurant density. North Jersey Health Collaborative ::
Indicators :: Fast Food Restaurant Density :: County : Morris. Retrieved September 24,
2022, from
https://www.njhealthmatters.org/indicators/index/view?indicatorId=242&localeId=1839&c
omparisonId=6781
Lavallee, K. L., Zhang, X. C., Schneider, S., & Margraf, J. (2021). Obesity and mental health: a
longitudinal, cross-cultural examination in Germany and China. Frontiers in Psychology,
12.
Patten, C. A., Albertie, M. L., Chamie, C. A., Brockman, T. A., Gorfine, M., Nicholas, R., ... &
Balls-Berry, J. E. (2019). Addressing community health needs through community
engagement research advisory boards. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 3(2-
3), 125-128.
Rajan, T. M., & Menon, V. (2017). Psychiatric disorders and obesity: a review of association
studies. Journal of postgraduate medicine, 63(3), 182.
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2021). What are overweight and obesity?
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/overweight-and-
obesity#:~:text=Overweight%20and%20obesity%20are%20caused,as%20genetics%20and
%20family%20history.
Vuik, S., Lerouge, A., Guillemette, Y., Feigl, A., & Aldea, A. (2019). The economic burden of
obesity.
World Health Organization. (2021). Obesity. World Health Organization. Retrieved September
24, 2022, from https://www.who.int/health-topics/obesity#tab=tab_1
