Email communication and conclusion in May

Conclusion

Obesity has become a global epidemic, “a complex condition, one with serious social and psychological dimensions, that affects virtually all age and socioeconomic groups and threatens to overwhelm both developed and developing countries,” (WHO, 2018). Because many, if not most, cases of obesity can be prevented and the resulting health problems mitigated, it is important to raise awareness and have a comprehensive public health intervention plan. This research contributes to the growing body of evidence on the importance of public health interventions and especially for preventative care.

Health literacy and other preventative methods can be applied in culturally appropriate ways to tackle the problem of obesity. To be culturally appropriate, public health interventions also need to take into account variables like gender, ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic class: all of which have an influence on how health information is communicated but also on diet and lifestyle norms.

An integrated model has been shown to be effective because it is comprehensive and multifaceted in its approach to obesity. Integrating health literacy, public policy, urban planning and design, and clinical interventions will help prevent and mitigate the problems of obesity. Obesity prevention can also be framed from a financial standpoint, as the epidemic is excessively costly. Even when proposed interventions require initial investments, the long-term benefits will be to reduce overall health spending on a preventative problem.

This study uses the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) data, a large cohort consisting of fourteen thousand prenatal females. A longitudinal approach also helps the researcher to identify risk factors at the prenatal and perinatal stages, taking into account family history as an additional variable. Therefore, this study is both unique and important in that it is comprehensive and generalizable, applicable to multiple populations and adaptable to different populations.

Life course theory also shows that public health strategies need to focus on early childhood as well as prenatal and postnatal care. The results of this study highlight the importance of various parental care factors, helping to improve health outreach and advocacy. The physiological pathways of obesity begin as early as the fetal stage, with maternal dietary and lifestyle choices impacting the development of the fetus. The mother’s dietary and lifestyle choices also impact the infant’s feeding and later, the child’s overall nutritional and exercise regime. The results of this study show that it is not just behaviorism and modeling that can influence children; the physiological responses of a child will vary depending on parental feeding and lifestyle habits.

Genetic factors may also predispose some children for obesity, making it essential that parents are aware of what they can do to prevent their children from becoming overweight. Once a child becomes obese, it may be difficult if not impossible to adjust the metabolism to enable the individual to maintain an ideal healthy weight. Public health policies that target the obesity epidemic do not need to use stigma or shaming, but simply to raise awareness and empower individuals to make choices that improve their overall wellbeing. In fact, this study eliminates stigma by showcasing the multitude of variables that intersect to create pathways to obesity versus wellness.

When structural and institutional variables like socioeconomic class, community organization, infrastructure, and access to diverse food sources are all taken into account, local, regional, and federal governments can work together to create comprehensive and evidence-based interventions, ““to integrate all these efforts into a sustainable and coherent prevention plan that truly changes the unhealthy aspects of our living environment,” (Cabellero, 2007, p. 1). Addressing the needs of parents and parents-to-be will help reduce overall health spending, liberating funds in healthcare budgets and helping families also to reap the rewards. When genetics, lifestyle, and structural-institutional variables are all taken into account, obesity prevention programs become far more effective, realistic, and results-driven.







References

Caballero, B. (2007). The global epidemic of obesity. Epidemiological Reviews 29(1): 1-5.

WHO (2018). Controlling the global obesity epidemic. http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/obesity/en/