NURS-6050N22
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Walden University *
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6050A
Subject
Health Science
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
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Obesity is one of the most important health problems in America. "The U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) reports that the average American ate almost 20% more calories
in the year 2000 than they did in 1983, thanks, in part, to a boom in meat consumption.
Today, each American puts away an average of 195lbs of meat every year, compared to
just 138lbs in the 1950's"(Writers, 2023). There are many social determinants that play a
role in leading to obesity, but one of the biggest determinants is socioeconomic status.
Research has shown that low income driven areas have a higher risk of obesity due to
not having access to healthier foods, stressors, and lack of education and resources.
"Low SES neighborhoods expose residents to more psychosocial stressors and higher
risk of depression. Depressed individuals, compared with non-depressed, are more
likely to adopt an unhealthy lifestyle, like unhealthy dietary practice and inadequate
physical exercise, which might result in a higher risk of obesity" (Mohammed et al.,
2019). Two presidents that have tried to tackle this issue have been President Obama
and President Biden.
President Obama and his wife Michelle created the Let's Move campaign to target
obesity and stop it at its tracks. There were four pillars that were needed overall. The
first one was to encourage parents to make healthy food choices as a family. "By
working with different food industries, Sher said, the Task Force on Childhood Obesity is
trying to improve product labeling regulations to make it easier to read food
labels"(National Academies Press (US), 2012). In order to make healthier choices, it is
imperative to read labels. The second pillar in the campaign was to serve healthier
foods in schools. This step was important because over 31 million children participate in
the lunch program, and more than 11 million participate in the breakfast program
(National Academies Press (US), 2012). The third pillar involved was to increase access
to healthier foods, such as in grocery stores in poverty areas by investing financially for
that type of access. The last pillar as part of the campaign was to increase physical
activity by building more gyms in low socioeconomic areas and making it safe for the
community.
President Biden is also an advocate for tackling obesity in America. "President Biden
announced a goal of ending hunger and increasing healthy eating and physical activity
by 2030 so fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases
—
while reducing related
health disparities"(House, 2022). He wants to improve food access and affordability,
integrate nutrition and health by working with Congress by providing coverage using
Medicaid, empowering all consumers to have access to healthy choices, supporting
physical activity for all, and enhancing food security research.
Both presidents have targeted this health issue in a strategic way and have already seen
some changes due to their plan. The only thing that I would do differently would be to
raise more awareness of the issue by broadcasting ads across television around the
world during basketball games and Superbowl because that is when the most viewers
tune in. I would also encourage more documentaries on the issue as well such as on
Netflix.
References:
House, W. (2022). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Biden-Harris Administration National
Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.
The White
House
. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-
releases/2022/09/27/executive-summary-biden-harris-administration-national-strategy-
on-hunger-nutrition-and-health/
Mohammed, S. H., Habtewold, T. D., Birhanu, M. M., Sissay, T. A., Tegegne, B. S.,
Abuzerr, S., & Esmaillzadeh, A. (2019). Neighbourhood socioeconomic status and
overweight/obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiological
studies.
BMJ Open
,
9
(11), e028238. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028238
National Academies Press (US). (2012).
Promising Practices in Addressing Social
Determinants: Obesity Prevention
. How Far Have We Come in Reducing Health
Disparities? - NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK114231/
Writers, S. (2023). Why are Americans Obese? |
PublicHealth.org.
PublicHealth.org
. https://www.publichealth.org/public-
awareness/obesity/
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