Childhood Obesity in Turner County

Mobilize Childhood obesity in Turner County, GA is topic for concern, especially in the age ranges of 6-11. County data shows the adult diabetes rate for Turner County is higher than the rate in the state at 3.1% of difference (City-Data, 2016). The adult obesity rate is also higher at 4.8% difference. While evidence from recent sources reveal childhood obesity rates going down in Georgia, the diabetes and obesity data could signal a red flag.

Assess Overall the county seems like it has adequate daycare facilities and a high degree of cohesiveness, with an adequate number of quality recreational areas like parks. This shows there are enough areas for children to go exercise and socialize. However, the number of restaurants and the low number of walkers as a means of transportation to work shows a lack or desire to participate in cardiovascular exercise or activities. Most people in the county drive or carpool.

Plan Therefore, since there are recreational areas and parks in the county, as well as adequate cohesiveness with 'town meetings' and so forth, there needs to be public events that will help the children of Turner County engage in physical activities that will help them get exercise as well as learn about the importance of nutrition and diet. Scheduled town meetings could include weekly planning of recreational events for youth and pot luck dinners where people can bring healthy food options.

Implement The people of Turner County can take the health of their children into their own hands and truly create a place of fun and learning where health and nutrition take center stage. Since many residents are church-going, they can create activities centered around the church. Track Tracking progress could come from weekly town meetings and since many people in the county carpool, they can engage in discussion through daily carpools. Phase 4 Turner County has a fairly high percentage of black residents.

Blacks and Hispanics in America often face a higher degree of obesity than their white counterparts. "In Georgia, non-Hispanic black children and Hispanic children were more likely to have high BMI than non-Hispanic white children, and other non-Hispanics were less likely" (Davila-Payan, DeGuzman, Johnson, Ser-ban, & Swann, 2015, p. 3). Some of it has to do with culture, some of it also has to do with differences in income and diet. Two central moral concepts guiding community as client perspective are justice and utilitarianism.

"Utilitarianism means doing the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Distributive justice means treating people fairly, and distributing resources and burdens equitably. Social justice means ensuring that vulnerable groups are included in equitable distribution of resources" (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2015, p. 399). When certain populations of children do not have the same level of health access as other populations of children, things must be done in order to create a balance and redistribute resources accordingly. One such important aspect to health is exercise.

"Exercise is efficacious for reducing percent body fat in overweight and obese children and adolescents. Insufficient evidence exists to suggest that exercise reduces other measures of adiposity" (Kelley & Kelley, 2013, p. 1). Exercise is not a main activity in many of the families of Turner County. One family called the Johnson family, is comprised of a mother, father, and son. Their names are Eloise Johnson, Michael Johnson, and their son William Johnson. They are Evangelical, black, and nuclear with no grandparents, uncles, aunts, or cousins residing in the county.

They are church goers regularly attending service on Sundays. Their son is 9 years old and is 150 lbs. at 4'10." His BMI is 31.2 and is considered obese. Recreational activities consist of playing video games and going to barbecues or church activities with his parents. Both parents were born and raised in Georgia although both parents did not grow up in Turner County. Eloise was obese in her childhood and Michael does not exercise often, watching television when he gets home from work. Both parents have a history of high blood pressure.

The home is in a nice neighborhood with a close community of mainly church goers. Because most people in Turner County use cars as their main source of transportation, any time William wants to go somewhere, he is taken by his mother in the family car. The family does not communicate often, only during dinner time when they eat together. Most family meals consist of a protein, some vegetable, and a starch. However, most of the meals are prepared with a lot of salt and fat. Since Michael does not.