Caring for Population Assessment and Diagnosis

Caring for the Population: Assessment and Diagnosis

Caring for Population

With the introduction of machines and new technology in our lives we as Americans, have become very lazy and heavily dependent on the software driven machines which in turn has reduced the total amount of physical activity undertaken throughout the day. The concept of earning more and more money while we totally avoid giving time to ourselves through exercises, gyms, aerobics and yoga has in turn, made us into the fattest nation of the world. And due to obesity and tension our pancreases stop working and condition arises that is known as diabetes. Obesity can create many problems on an individual level and on a community level. Obesity hinders the functional level of organism and can cause loss in terms of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) or GNP (Gross National Product). It is obvious that a slow and unproductive organism wouldn't perform well in the society and will cause problems for others as well and will seek shortcuts in practical life to gain success and it gets its work done. In this paper I will be highlighting problems regarding obesity in the state of Florida and possible solutions for this problem of extreme importance.

Community:

The community that I will be discussing about in this paper is the community of Okaloosa County, Florida, where the vast majority of the population is obese and diabetic. Here people are eating while sitting in their cars and behind-the-desk culture is very prevalent here. Drive-through, fast food joints are ever more popular here and this reflects how people have become lazy that they are not energetic enough to go into the restaurant.

Demographic and Epidemiological Data:

The official obesity rate of Okaloosa County, Florida is 20.7% (Public Broadcasting Service). This means that out of every 100 people, approximately 21 individuals are obese. There are other reports that suggest that this rate is much higher than stated and is near to 30%. But as compared to other constituencies of the United States, this rate is much lower and people here are healthier than any other area. Estimated adult obesity-attributable percentages and expenditures by the state on Florida give a figure of USD 3,987; this is much higher than the rest of the country. Okaloosa county people are healthier but overall Florida is affected by obesity and its cost is higher than other states of America. According to a website, Belly Fat Health News, 26.1% of adults are obese in Florida (Florida Obesity Statistics). In Okaloosa County, this figures stands at 20.7% of the entire populace. The overall obesity percentage is 62.8% of the overall population of 18,801,310 (United States Census, 2010). Out of these 62.86% there are 12 million people with life threatening issues related to obesity that includes heart diseases, lung problems and liver issues.

Racial and ethnic categories of Florida show a 38.8% obesity rate among Blacks, 28.7% among Latinos and 24.1% among Whites (America's Health Rankings). The rate for diabetes is 9.9% and 29% of the population have hypertension. So it is safe to say that we can conclude that Florida is counted among the fattest states of the nation but the County under discussion has a lower rate of obesity and is doing well. We can see that diabetic rate is lesser in the people than obesity this is due to the fact that there are very good health centers and awareness programs in Okaloosa County.

Windshield Survey:

There is widespread distribution of people and houses here in Okaloosa. People lie at the two extremes on the income line; this means that there is a huge rich-poor gap. Houses examined by me were very big and had humongous dining tables. They had sprawling lawns with small dining tables and almost every house had a garage which presumably had an automobile inside it. There are residential communities, gated communities, high schools, elementary schools, different categories of churches such as the Methodist, Catholic, Episcopal and Baptist. The environmental hazards would be hurricanes and the safety hazards could be lack of road access during tourist season, dense traffic and road rage. Hospitals and health care centers are located on very approachable distances and that is the reason that there are very low death rates than in the past. One thing that was alarming was the presence of a fast food outlet at every corner where the meal size is continually getting bigger and bigger every single day. People here are habitual of eating lots of junk food; this is in sharp contrast to other states where people also enjoy tropical fruits fresh from the gardens.

Problem:

After the analysis of the data and research done, I have concluded that the problem obesity in our society is due to unhealthy eating habits and heavy reliability on automation. Intense dependence on machines reflects that we as a race have also become less active physically which in turn has led us to become weak. We can be less obese and more active if and only if we do our regular work with mindful eating. We for the sake of saving time choose fast food that includes burgers, sandwiches, cakes, cokes and they do save our time but we are killing ourselves in turn. In Healthy People 2020, a domain is dedicated to nutrition and weight status that explains the importance of mindful eating. This is a problem in our community due to increase in competition. Everybody is in indirect competition with his or her colleague. And to get ahead of the other, time has to be saved and invested in work. In this struggle, our nerves are tested to their maximum and undue stress is placed upon both the mind and body. Combined, these problems lead us to the problem known as diabetes. People who are obese also have a greater likelihood of getting diabetes (LSU Health New Orleans). High use of sugar leads to diabetes as well. It is an entirely separate domain in the Healthy People, 2020 objectives and consequently of extreme importance since it can lower life expectancy up to 15 years. The only way to survive with this disease is to take enormous care, consume less sugar and exercise regularly (Healthy People, 2020).

Historical Significance: