Diet and Heart Disease Public

Diet and Heart Disease Public Policy

Identify a current public health policy (at the national/federal or state level) that pertains to your chosen topic.

Over the last several decades, the obesity / overweight epidemic is becoming a major challenge that is affecting two thirds of adults and one in three children. Where, the condition would remain fairly stable during: the 1960's and 1970's. Then, between the 1980's and early to mid-2000's, this number would skyrocket as the amount adults (affected by obesity) would increase from just 13.4% (in 1980) to 34.8% of the population. ("Surgeon General's Vision for a Health and Fit Nation 2010," 2010) This is significant, because such large increases in the number of obese adults and children will mean that: diabetes, heart disease as well as hyper tension are medical conditions, which are becoming increasingly common. Once this occurs, it can mean that the underlying amounts of health care services will increase and it can have an impact on the productivity of the nation. As overweight and obese individuals would miss more work days, because of having to deal with the lingering effects of the condition. In the State of Mississippi these numbers are higher than the national average. Where, obesity has been known to increase the mortality rate in the state for: diabetes, heart disease and other conditions. Evidence of this can be seen by looking no further than, the state's mortality rate in comparison with the rest of the United States. As Mississippi, has been consistently above the national average, by at least 30% (since 2002). ("House Concurrent Resolution Number 6," 2008) This is important, because it shows how on the national and state level, the obesity epidemic is affecting a number of different individuals. Where, the total amount of cases has been consistently increasing at an alarming rate. When you put these two elements together, this highlights how the number of obese adults and children is consistently increasing, despite efforts to reduce the rate by a variety of organizations.

Outline the objectives of the current policy

There are a number of different factors that are contributing to the large number of obesity cases being reported the most notable include: poor diet, a lack of physical exercise, genetic factors, metabolism, culture and behavior. This is important, because one or a combination of these different factors has been contributing to the disease. As a result, various government programs have been introduced to increase awareness and reduce the number of cases. The most notable includes: creating healthy home environments for families / individuals, eliminating unhealthy choices that many individuals will face on daily basis (i.e. soda / candy vending machines in schools), promoting healthy food choices / increased physical activity, creating healthy schools / child care settings, creating healthy work environments, working with the medical establishment / community organizations and limiting the amount of non-physical activity. This is significant, because it highlights how the government is attempting to address the problem by increasing funding and coordination. Yet, given these various efforts the number of cases has continued to climb. As these programs provide general information, but do not specifically indentify what possible outside factors, could be influencing the decision making process of: losing and maintaining healthy weight levels. Evidence of this can be seen with the increasing obesity rate, throughout the 1990's and 2000's when there was a concentrated effort on addressing these issues. However, the fact that an individual must choose to live healthy, has meant that these efforts have been failing. Where, they are obviously missing key aspects that could be affecting why someone is obese. ("Surgeon General's Vision for a Health and Fit Nation 2010," 2010)

Propose a research study (inclusive of study design, hypothesis, methodology and bivariate/multivariate statistical analysis) that would yield results which can be implemented to better address the current needs of the affected/target population.

To determine why various government efforts to address the obesity epidemic are not working, requires examining various internal factors that could influencing individual choices. In the article by Annesi (2010), they seek to determine the role that various psychological factors will play in obesity rates. As they would study the rates of weight loss, by comparing two different groups with one another (obese adults with a BMI index of 30 to 39 and those individuals with a BMI of 40 / above). During the study, they would require all participants to undergo cognitive behavioral counseling in addition to the traditional programs. Once the study was completed researchers would then compare the obesity rate and the levels of reduction in weight with other studies (where psychological factors were not taken into account). The results were that both groups would see a large decrease in the overall amount of weight loss (as a large increase of 14% and 22% was reported). (Annessi, 2010, pg. 593) With researchers noting, that many of individuals who participated in the program would have: greater self-esteem, satisfaction with their body and improved attitudes. This is important, because it shows how the various psychological factors will determine the obesity rate of individual, as this will affect the views that someone will have of themselves. This leads to the hypothesis that government efforts to address obesity will not be effective, until they can begin to tackle the psychological reasons, why people continue to engage in activates that are not healthy. The hypothesis will help to focus the study and concentrate on how the thought process is different in obese adults. As a result, we will be conducting a study, by looking at how psychological factors will be affecting obese adults. The methodology that we will be utilizing is qualitative analysis. This where, you are analyzing a number of pieces of data, to correlate the underlying results with other information. To determine the various effects, we will be using multivariate statistical analysis. This is where; you are looking a number of different variables, to determine the underlying effects. In this case, we will be surveying obese adults (with a BMI between: 30 to 39) and morbidly obese adults (with a BMI higher than 40). This will allow us to mirror the results of the study that was conducted earlier. At which point, we will corroborate the findings with a survey of non-obese adults. Once this takes place, we will be able to see what specific psychosocial factors are affecting the different views that obese individuals will have about: food, diet and exercise in comparison with non-obese people.