Research of sport
Sports fitness topic: Health and nutrition
Introduction
Overweight and obese are a matter of concern since they cause chronic diseases to both children and adult. Recent research and studies have confirmed that social and environmental factors contribute to overweight and obesity Physical activities can promote good health and help one lose weight but it is also important to focus on a healthy diet such as fruits and vegetable, whole grains, among other healthy diete. The research paper finds that the reason as to why overweight and obesity are public health threats is that westernization and urbanization have brought lifestyle changes. Today, people have shifted from healthy diets to unhealthy diets or in other words, people like consuming food high in fat and sugar. They have reduced the consumption of traditional diets such as food high in carbohydrates and fiber. As a result, an unhealthy diet has increased the rate of obesity and has also increased the prevalence of diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary heart diseases, gall bladder disease, cancer, among other diseases. It is also important to understand that the direct and indirect health costs for obesity account for a higher percentage. Direct health costs occur from diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and indirect healthy cost occur from premature mortality, workdays lost, among other factors. Recent research and studies have found that people who are overweight and obese can manage weight through various methods but the recommended methods are physical activity and a low-calorie diet. The main point is that the overweight population need lifestyle modification and this research paper focus on losing weight through dieting. Lifestyle modifications which entail the consumption of healthy food are effective in helping overweight and obese individuals achieve weight loss.
There is a higher risk in obesity prevalence in the world's population though the prevalence varies within countries. For example, U.S prevalence increased from 12% to 20% over the past 30 years. In the UK, the prevalence increased from 7% to 16% in a span of 15 years (Swinbur et al, 2004). Other countries like Asia, China, New Zealand, and the Netherlands have also experienced the obesity epidemic over time in different patterns. An important point to note is that obesity is common in both high and low-income countries. In developing countries, people who have a higher social-economic status have higher cases of obesity. In high-income countries, people whose social-economic status is lower have higher cases of obesity (Swinbur et al, 2004). In both countries, middle-aged women have higher cases of obesity compared to men. Carlisle & Hanlon (2014) add that the level of obesity in the UK is very high and in response to this issue, the UK governments have developed interventions that would help individuals, and the entire population. However, the big challenge is that there is a lack of scientific knowledge toward behavior change and healthy weight maintenance. The authors assert that the issue of obesity needs a multi-disciplinary approach so that there can be positive changes.
Nutrition plays a critical role in the human body by supporting good health. Note that good health and fitness will not only be attained from engaging in physical activity but individuals should consume a healthy diet rich in nutrients. Ismail et al (2018) assert that overweight obesity is caused by an energy imbalance. In other words, the intake of high-fat food and failure to engage in physical activity cause this adverse condition. Unless individuals achieve weight loss through physical activity and a healthy diet, they will continue to suffer from obesity-related morbidities such as cardiovascular diseases. Ismael at el (2018) conducted qualitative research and participants were individuals whose BMI was 8 kg/m2 and above. A formal group discussion was used and participants presented their perception of weight loss using dieting method. The result showed that the majority of the participants dieting contributed to overweight and obesity. They testified that they engaged in physical exercise like cycling but they did not reduce weight. The reason as to why they did not achieve their goals is because they had misconceptions of dieting to reduce weight as majority thought that weight is cut through skipping meals, reducing food intake, among other methods (Ismail et al, 2018). This report shows that a high number of overweight population is trying to lose weight but their attempt leads to overweight and obesity since they do not have the right strategies for weight reduction. However, the research shows that dietary strategies are associated with weight loss but the right intervention should entail the provision of weight loss strategies so that the overweight population can achieve positive outcomes (Ismail et al, 2018). Note that individuals have a misunderstanding on the dieting and for this reason, there should be an intervention program that will bring long-term change and help the individuals gain the appropriate concepts.
Lee et al (2014) assert that dairy products such as calcium reduce the risk of obesity. The authors used qualitative research to gain knowledge related to health behaviors of the Korean population and after an extensive interview with the participants, the results showed that participants who consumed dairy products such as milk and yogurt reduced the risk of obesity. The article concludes that the consumption of low-fat milk may prevent people from being overweight whereas high-fat milk increases the chances of being overweight. Thus, it is advisable to consume dairy products in a small amount in order to achieve positive results. Bleich & Wolfson (2015) also reviews the weight loss strategies used by individuals to lose weight and assert that since the federal movement mandates the food industry to provide labeling on the packaged foods, the consumer now uses the nutrition labels to make food choices. They believe that food with nutrition labels are healthier and when making food choices, they have different buying behaviors since some consumer purchase food with high calories whereas others purchase food with fewer calories (Bleich & Wolfson, 2015). This means that individuals who are working on their weight are guided by food labels and this strategy may bring negative results in that adults are influenced by the commercial programs to consume packaged food and thus they lack self-directed efforts. Focusing on intervention, Bleich & Wolfson (2015) propose that there should be an educational program that should focus on obesity. Individuals especially those who have a higher risk of being obese should learn more about the food nutritional information so that consumers can make healthy choices while making the purchase. Note that not all consumers understand the information in the packaged food especially the calorie information and this means that they may end up adding weight rather than losing weight.
Pinho et al (2013) provides intervention for obesity and assert that obesity is an epidemic and a serious issue that affect the public health. To prevent and treat overweight and obese patients, the primary care staffs should be at the forefront. For them to effectively offer quality primary care, they should have adequate knowledge and ability. Note that their primary role is to provide the obese children and adults with guidance and assistance so that they lead a healthy lifestyle. They should provide them with dietary counseling but they cannot be in a position to do so unless they receive appropriate training, use effective tools, work in an organized system, and work together with qualified dieticians (Pinho et al, 2013). Thus, the authors recommend that in order to help patients manage and prevent obesity, the primary care practitioners should not only evaluate obesity but they also train patients on how to live a healthier life. It is also important to understand that primary care practitioners need tools to assess obesity and overweight but the tools are scarce. However, the care providers should adhere to the available studies and training programs so that they can gain knowledge of nutritional counseling. Aboueid, Bourgeault & Giroux (2018) also put an emphasis on the role of primary care practitioners. The authors assert that patients who are overweight and obese need primary care. Thus, primary care practitioners should provide multicomponent interventions or rather interventions related to diet and exercise. There should be individualized medical nutrition so that patients can receive nutritional counseling and knowledge on how to manage weight (Aboueid, Bourgeault & Giroux, 2018). However, many patients do not receive nutritional counseling due to a shortage of registered dietitians. To address this issue, there should be multidisciplinary clinics so that health care practitioners such as dietitians may provide special health care to patients with chronic diseases. The multidisciplinary initiates such as the Family Health Teams and Community Health Centers should work toward a common goal of providing nutritional care.
Grondhuis & Aman (2014) also supports the individualized medical nutrition by asserting that in order to help overweight and obese adults and children reduce weight, they should be assessed individually. If an individual would not engage in the program on his or her own, the caregiver should act as the role model and help the patients reduce weight. The care provider should help the patients on behavior modification and dietary adjustment as a result, the patents will work hard to accomplish the goals. Carlisle & Hanlon, (2014) adds that elevated weight contributes to morbidity and mortality. In addition, elevated weight reduce life expectancy and bring health problems to both adults and children. Obesity can cause illnesses such as asthma, sleep apnoea, orthopedic complications, fatty liver disease, hypertension, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, among other illnesses. Therefore, apart from the above intervention options, other options include pharmacotherapy which can be used to patients with severe health complications.
Another important thing to note concerning weight loss is that the aging process is affected by various factors such as poor nutrition. For example, during aging, the aging cells require cell replacement and the lost cells can be replaced by adequate nutrition that is; vitamins and minerals (Chernoff, 2016). A healthy diet is made of nutrient-rich foods, vegetables, plenty of fluid, and fruits. Thus, it is important to consume essential nutrients in order to stay free from acute and chronic illnesses. Klinkmann & Vienken (2008) introduced the concept of ‘health is wealth' and ‘wealth is health' and asserts that current demographic analysis has reported an increase in life expectancy in the world. The world is also experiencing a healthy economy in that the GDPs is high and the population of the elderly generation is high. The reason as to why life expectancy has increased is the improvement in hygiene and nutrition. Thus, to maintain these options, there should be an improvement of the public programs to maintain the good health status of the working and elderly population.
Conclusion
Today, people have shifted to unhealthy personal behaviors which have contributed to overweight and obesity. Overweight and obesity have affected both developing and developed nations and thus it has become a global epidemic. Almost all nations are experiencing the risk of co-morbidities such as insulin resistance, hypertension, coronary heart disease, among other chronic diseases. The paper has conducted research on how lifestyle modification can reduce overweight and obese and it has found that there are various lifestyle modification method and one them is nutrition. Various authors have recommended that people should make healthy choices such as consumption of fruits and vegetables to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and other illnesses. In addition, authors have proposed that the government should protect the public by ensuring that the primary care practitioners have adequate training on healthy nutrition so that they can have the ability to help the patients change behaviors and live a better life.
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