Obesity can be defined as a condition where a person body has accumulated abnormal or an unhealthy amount of fat tissue. Cause a negative effect on the person health . A person is consider to be obese when their body weight is 20% higher than it is supposed to be. The importance of a healthy […]
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Get startedFighting America’s obesity crisis has been a constant battle for many years. This has cause a major affect on the cost for healthcare. Most U.S. health care dollars are spent on obesity-related expenses. The obesity crisis poses a large threat to our nation’s future as it plays a major role with the cause of death and disability. Nearly two-thirds of American adults are either overweight or obese, along with the obesity rate tripling in the youth generation. Being obese can cause many medical issues like High blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, cancers, arthritis and stroke. Research has shown that an astonishing number can decrease these chronic illnesses if the factors for obesity are addressed. The best way to address obesity crisis and avoid these complications is with diet, health education and exercise solutions.
The obesity crisis is something that is preventable and modifiable if we as a nation will step up our effort at prevention. In fact, anyone living with a disease has personal responsibility to best manage their condition (Sharma, 2018). When living with obesity you have a personal responsibility to do your exercise, go to your doctor visits, and follow a well balanced diet. Supportive plans have been set up from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to contain the battle starting with childhood and adolescent obesity. If we can educate and teach parents about a health diet and discourage the consumption of fast food; thus cutting the cost of healthcare and disease prevention due to obesity.
These observations emphasize that efforts to engage adolescents and your adults in the preventions of obesity and the development of cost-effective scalable strategies to treat the severe obesity will be necessary to make further progress in the control of obesity in the United States (Dietz, 2017). Programs such as Special Supplemental Nutrition for Women, Infants and Children reports the decline in obesity amongst children aged 2 to 5 years of age decrease in numbers between the years 2003-2004 at 19.9% to 9.4% in 2013-2014.
The healthfulness of food contributed to this process (Dietz, 2017). Even with the participants of children healthy eating the concentration of physical activity among both adults and adolescents that struggle with obesity need to have a plan implemented as well. Approximately 69% of adults in the United States over the age 20 are considered overweight, and 38% are considered obese (Cotter, Kelly, 2018). Some studies have shown the population’s lifestyle has quite a big influence on obesity regardless of your socioeconomic class, education, gender or race. Social economic financial improvement studies have continuously shown that people in lower socio economic society have much more problems with maintain health and eating healthy. Most food and restaurant in most poor community areas offer dollar meu which are all high in fats. No access to gyms, lack of education and healthcare. Some studies sight genetic ethnicity which cannot be changed overnight.
Obesity affects many different parts of the body and causes immediate and long term health problems. An obese patient is at risk for many different comorbidities that can eventually lead to premature mortality. Some immediate health risks are cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, prediabetes, bone and joint problems, and psychological problems. The long-term health risks for an obese patient include heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and an increased risk for stroke and certain types of cancer (CDC, 2015). These conditions can lead to an increase in illness and hospitalization for the patient, and can eventually lead to premature mortality.
The rising rates of obesity is also affecting nurses and the quality of care they are able to provide. There has been an increase in obesity associated hospitalizations, causing there to be a lack of available nurses able to care for them. A patient of larger physical size can also complicate nursing interventions. “Skin care, respiratory challenges, assessment and resuscitation measures, altered drug absorption, intravenous access, and immobility can pose nursing concerns,” (Gallagher Camden, 2009). An obese patient is more at risk for pressure ulcers and poses a challenge in maintaining skin integrity. This occurs because the patients are harder to perform regular turns on, causing there to be increased pressure in certain areas for a prolonged length of time.
These patients have excess body fat which, depending on the medication, alters drug absorption. This can pose a problem for nurses because some medication dosages are calculated using the ideal body weight, which would result in the obese patient getting too little. It is also more difficult to gain intravenous access on a patient with excess adipose tissue covering the veins (Gallagher Camden, 2009). Many hospitals do not have policies for safe handling of obese patients, which makes quality of care difficult for many nurses (Trasande, Lui, & Weitzman, 2009).
Patients are also adversely affected by obesity. An obese child is likely to grow into an obese adult and develop comorbidities associated with obesity. This will lead to increased hospitalizations to treat these comorbidities, resulting in missed work and school. Childhood obesity is associated with lower academic performance and a lower quality of life for the child (Sahoo, Sahoo, Choudhury, Sofi, Kumar, & Bhadoria, 2015). Childhood obesity can also lead to emotional and psychological issues, as it is one of the most stigmatized conditions. They can be excluded from activities, experience bullying from other children, face discrimination, and have lower self-esteem (Sahoo et al., 2015). Comorbidities associated with obesity can have a devastating effect on the quality of life for the patient, as can the social stigmas and discrimination.
Healthcare facilities are faced with rising costs of care due to the increased hospitalizations related to childhood obesity. An even larger cost is incurred when obese children become obese adults because they will start experiencing the comorbidities and secondary illnesses (Hammond & Levine, 2010). The estimated annual cost of treating obesity-related illness in adults is $147 billion.
In 2008 obesity related illness cost Medicare $19.7 billion and Medicaid $8 billion, which was paid by the general public, whose tax dollars fund these programs (Trasande et al., 2009). This can affect the healthcare system because more resources are being used to combat obesity, which is associated with 36% increase in inpatient and outpatient health care spending and a 77% increase in medication use (Cawley, 2010). Since obesity is just recently being recognized as an illness, the diagnosis does not consistently result in further reimbursement or risk adjustment, causing many hospitals to lose money (Trasande et al., 2009). Overall, obesity is causing an increase in costs for the hospitals, and for the general public funding government insurance.
Prevention is the most important way to improve this issue. This can be done through proper education to the patients and the family. Parents have a huge influence on what their children eat and how much physical activity they get, so education is the first step to progressing to safe and maximum quality of care. Lifestyle changes are very important for the person at risk for becoming obese. Nutrition counseling is an option for these patients, as well as participation in school sports, after school activities, and helping the parents plan different family activities every evening to promote exercise.
When prevention is not an option, there are other ways to treat obesity in the families. Diet and exercise are the first option in treatment, but when conventional action does not work, medications and surgery is available (Cawley, 2010). Orlistat is the only approved drug for childhood obesity; it works by preventing absorption of fat in the intestines. Weight loss surgery is another option for a severely obese patient who cannot lose weight through diet and exercise. There are many potential risks and complications associated with this surgery, so it is only an option when all other treatment attempts have failed (Spear, Barlow, Ervin, Ludwig, Saelens, & Schetzina, 2007).
The American Nurses Association provides professional standards for nurses to follow which provide direction for practice and ensure excellence of care. When discussing obesity, many standards can be applied (American Nurses Association, 2010). Education is always important to provide to our patients and their family so they have a full understanding of their diagnosis and the expected treatment plan. Educating parents with obese children or children at risk could result in lower rates of obesity. Collaboration with all parties involved in treatment of the patient is important to create an individualized plan. It is also important to collaborate with the patient so they feel involved in their treatment. Resource utilization is another standard that can be applied to treating obesity (ANA, 2010). Providing families with information on local resources and those available in the hospital can be beneficial
In conclusion, obesity is a growing problem for many individuals across the United States. Healthcare is the number one cause of bankruptcy in America. The cost hurts the healthcare population with all the illnesses brought on with obesity. Providing our population with the best possible care also helps people not become patients. This issue is affecting nurses, the health of the patient, the healthcare system, and the economy. Nursing theory can be applied to help guide the nurse through treatment and care plan options. Although some contributing factors cannot be fixed, many families can lose weight and achieve a healthier life with simple lifestyle changes. Even though the system is broken a clear path offered to the population can cause a major change. Prevention and education is key to combat the rising rates, and nurses can make an impact by providing guidance and assistance to patients in need.
