Preventing Overweight and Obesity through Physical Activity and Healthy Nutrition

1. B) Problem description

The St. Lucie district or county is situated on the eastern coastline of Florida. The county comprises, Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie Village towns, and Fort Pierce. Being the most advancing county in the USA, the district covers a region of about 572 square miles. In respect to the county’s rapid development, the district has more than 291,000 inhabitants. The geographical location of the county along the coastline or shore of Florida permits the district to experience subtropical climate. The composition of the county comprised low income, minority group, and medically underserved populace. The varied population of the county comprises African American, Whites, Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians. Despite efforts of various health organizations in combating effects of chronic illnesses, overweight and obesity have resulted in the loss of lives in numerous parts of the USA. Both child and adult obesity contribute to 16.1% and 30% health concern in the St. Lucie County respectively. Selling of fast foodstuffs and restaurants are the mostly conducted business activity in the county. Various business operations are centrally conducted in the Port St. Lucie as opposed to other regions such as Fort Pierce. Even though most business activities are performed in the Port St. Lucie, numerous homesteads are situated next to the region. Some of the surrounding homesteads are singled families located on a small piece of land, while other homes are situated on a large tract of land. Though the homesteads are located on different size of land in Port St. Lucie, some homesteads have well-maintained yards, however, the Fort Pierce has non-distinguished neighborhoods.

1. C) The connection between overweight and obesity to health disparity within the population of St. Lucie County.

1) Kotelchuck index on health disparity in the county

Even though the challenges of obesity and overweight affect both children and elderly persons, the exacerbation of the problem can be attributed to health disparity among the population that constitutes the St. Lucie County. The health inequality among the population can be linked to income discrepancies among the Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians in the county. The inhabitants of the Fort Pierce are majorly blacks. They form the large portion of the low-income population in the county as opposed to the White population that receives higher incomes. The Fort Pierce has limited number of playgrounds and stores dealing in retail food as compared to the Port St. Lucie. Generally, low-income families have minimal access to healthy foodstuffs and opportunities to participate in physical activities. In addition, the higher life expectancy of the White population in relation to the Blacks depicts the existing health disparity in various parts of the county. According to Meyer, Johnston, Crocker, and Heil (2015), the Kotelchuck index shows that approximately 22.9% of children born in the county received intermediate or inadequate parental care. Additionally, 44.7% of the children delivered in the year 2015, were born of obese or overweight mothers.

2) Major prevention and community resources utilized in addressing obesity and overweight challenges in the county.

Firstly, the St. Lucie County has a well-designed gym program aimed at assisting the adults who have attained the age of 65 years and above to address chronic challenges, especially those that are associated with obesity and overweight. The silver sneak program is offered through the partnership with the LA fitness club, YMCA, and the Civic Center of Port St. Lucie. Despite the intention of the program to assist the elderly persons in the county, several county members including the youths have accepted the program. The accessibility of the program has been facilitated through the insurance qualifications of young adults, particularly, those who are considered physical challenged or has chronic disorders. Though the program assists in reducing instances of overweight and obesity in the target population, several attendees receive a better forum for socializing.

Secondly, the St. Lucie County has different resources used in addressing overweight and obesity in the elderly and young population. School forms a major factor in addressing challenges of obesity and overweight among the young population. In ascertaining instances of overweight and obesity in the youth, performing Body Mass Index (BMI) plays a significant role. According to Ogden, Carroll, Kit, and Flegal (2012), children who are obese have a BMI which is larger than or equivalent to specific sex and age highlighted in the 95th percentile growth chart of the center of disease control (CDC) in 2000.The higher the Body Mass Index, the higher the danger of suffering from chronic disorders like diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary health illnesses, sleep apnea, some types of cancer, and gallbladder illnesses. Approximately, 17% of children between the ages of 2 to 19 years in the USA are categorized as obese (Ogden et al., 2012).

In addition, 31% of children who are below 18 years in the county have higher chances of becoming obese and gaining excess body mass. According to Ogden, Carroll, Kit, and Flegal (2012), about 6% to 50% of children who are suffering from obesity and overweight are likely to experience the challenge even during their adulthood. The St. Lucie County school has discouraged consumption juice and snacks while promoting the drinking of water. Besides, the school promotes regular participation in physical education. The cafeteria of Floresta Elementary school situated in Port St. Lucie offers a variety of health foodstuffs to the students. The cafeteria provides vegetable patties, wide types of fruits, baked chicken, water, and 1% milk products. Both teachers of the elementary school and parents are working jointly to address challenges of obesity and overweight among the students. Teachers are responsible for encouraging students to consume vegetables and fruits. Parents of the students have restriction responsibility for the consumption of unhealthy snacks through the administration of the elementary school. Healthy nutrition entails consuming vegetables and fruits daily. Consequently, obesity and overweight among the youths can be addressed through promoting proper nutrition and active involvement in sporting activities.

Apart from the schools, the county has various nutrition options necessary for encouraging healthy consumption habits among the youths and the elderly persons. The St. Lucie County has many farmers’ markets. These markets avail vegetables and fruits to the county’s populace at affordable prices in comparison to the available grocery stores. The district has about 36 food banks which offer fresh vegetables and fruits to the buyers daily (Lewis, Jones, Horner, & Sugai, 2010). The availability of cheap fruits and vegetables permits members of the district to have access to a variety of healthy nutrition options. Besides farmers’ markets, the county has several food pantries offering fresh vegetables, beans, grains, and fruits cheaply to the consumers. Therefore, the challenges of obesity and overweight among the youths can be addressed through promotion of healthy nutrition and regular participation in physical exercises or activities.

Lastly, the administration of the county has joined the struggle to address effects of obesity and overweight among the residents. The regime has established women infant and children nutrition program to enhanced well-being of pregnant, postpartum, and lactating women. The program aimed at advancing the health of infants, children between the age of zero to five years through the promotion of nutritious food and nutritious counseling. The program has contributed to the significant enhancement of children’s well-being through improved diet (Ogden et al., 2012). The program has encouraged women to purchase fruits, grains, canned fish, vegetables, cheese, milk, baby meat, and beans.   

3) Underlying causes of obesity and overweight among the youths

It is evident that obesity is a major issue in the contemporary society whose causes are widely known. Environment plays a significant role in the inhibition of obesity and excess body mass in children. In that, the contemporariness today is a major drive to the issue not only because the living standards have changed but also because most people ignore the need for healthy living.  Ensuring healthy consumption requires an environment which promotes healthy habits among the inhabitants (Lewis, Jones, Horner, & Sugai, 2010). Overweight and obesity among the youths and adults in the county or district can be associated with poor healthy food selections and lack of participation in physical activities. Places like schools, child maintenance or care centers, and communities affects children’s diet and activities. The foodstuffs and drinks which these institutions offer to children influence their well-being. Besides drinks and foodstuffs, the opportunities offered to children to participate in physical activities assist in addressing challenges connected to obesity and overweight. Subsequently, vigorous involvement in sporting activities and proper recommended nutrition is useful in obesity and overweight prevention among the children in the county.

Furthermore, social assistance, peers, affordability of nutritious foodstuffs, policies, promotion, and marketing determines the St. Lucie County arrangement, thereby affects physical activities and diet of the inhabitants. Based on series of interviews with cafeteria operators, teachers, students, and family practitioners in the county, overweight and obesity are caused by unhealthy eating behavior or habits among the students. Behaviors that result in an excess mass gain in both children and adults entail consumption of products rich in high-calorie, low-nutrient beverages, and food. Excess mass gain can be through lack of physical exercise and active participation in sedentary or inactive activities like watching television (Ogden et al., 2012). Several youths suffering from obesity and overweight are engaged in the consumption of unhealthy snacks. They irregularly participate in physical activities or exercises, especially during their leisure time.

By contrast, the challenges of obesity and overweight in the youths can be resolved through consumption of healthy diet and actively participating in physical activities in school. Maintaining equilibrium state of calories or energy obtained from foodstuffs and beverages requires active participation in physical activities. Calories or energy balance prevents excess mass gain in both children and adults. Additionally, consumption of healthy food and active physical participation has health benefits such as prevention of cancer, heart illnesses, and diabetes.

1. D) Evidence-based activities linked to obesity and overweight prevention in the St. Lucie County

Effective results of evidence-based practices in the communal health require capacity building and proper training of nurses. This plays a significant role in ensuring effective application of evidence-based practices in their daily operations to deliver better health outcomes in the St. Lucie County. Prevention of obesity and overweight in children and adults requires an effective application of Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS). The PBIS is based on examination strategy designed to improve the ability of learning institutions to train learners effectively (Lewis, Jones, Horner, & Sugai, 2010). The strategy aimed at preventing unpleasant behaviors among students. Integration of the PBIS in health practices in the community has a vital role in enhancing social behaviors and academic performance of all students. Some behaviors are connected to chronic disorders such as diseases that result from obesity and overweight. The strategy provides baseline data necessary for combating impacts of obesity and overweight among the youth population of the St. Lucie County (Abdul-Rasoul, 2012). Besides the provision of baseline data, the strategy assists in redirecting the behavior of youths positively. The Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS) is not only effective in preventing the rise of obesity but also seeks to create awareness and familiarity of the issue among the public. It is evidently argued that most individuals fall to unhealthy eating alternatives for the lack of knowledge which is particularly true. However, the program is aimed at eliminating the lack of knowledge while rampantly reducing obesity among both children and adults.

1. E) Community health nursing social media campaign approach in conveying and addressing obesity and overweight

“Active Sporting and Fresh Food Consumption.” The campaign strategy considers lack of active participation in physical activities and unhealthy food consumption as the causes of obesity and overweight among the adults and youths. The approach assists in creating awareness of the effects of obesity and overweight among the adults and the youths. Apart from creating awareness, the social media campaign strategy aims at promoting behavioral change among the students through active participation in physical activities and consumption of healthy food.

• Objective of the social media campaign approach

The objectives of the “Active Sporting and Healthy Food Consumption” social media campaign in relation to adolescents or youths and children from the county are:

• To create awareness and familiarity of the obesity issue, its effects, causes and prevention measures.
• To minimize the percentage of youths and children with age range of two to nine years old who are obese and overweight to a portion less than 16.1% within the next five years.
• Promote universal accessibility to retail shops selling a variety of healthy foodstuffs within the St. Lucie County in the USA. The accessibility plays a crucial role in encouraging healthy diet among the inhabitants.
• Promote the contribution of vegetables, grains, and fruits to children and youths’ diet in the St. Lucie County.
• Increase the number of learning institutions that provide healthy foodstuffs and beverages to the students.
• Minimize the consumption of sodium and saturated fats among the children and youths in the St. Lucie County.
• Improve the students’ involvement in physical education or activities both at the learning institution or at home.
• To promote healthy eating habits and practices to deter overweight cases among the youths and children in the county and the entire USA.
• Population-Focused Social Marketing Intervention To Advance The Health Message

Population-focused social marketing campaigns are significant in organizing meaningful involvements to improve communal awareness concerning certain health-related problems. The communal awareness promotes better comprehension, modifies transformational agenda, and influences attitudes resulting in voluntary behavioral change, hence encouraging positive food consumption habits among members of a given community: communal welfare improvement. Social marketing conveys various information to the target groups. For instance, the theme of obesity and overweight can encompass sub-campaigns aiming complete physical activities, total energy, and fat consumption in sequence information. Fit-4-life and Physical activity, nutrition, and obesity (PANO) are some of the Social Marketing Interventions that may play significant function in enhancing the conveyance of obesity and overweight prevention among the youths and children in the St. Lucie County. This interventions will be effective in ensuring that the states social networking campaigns goals are achieved without fail thus leading to healthy living and reduced obesity cases in the county and national wide.

Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Obesity (PANO)

Lack of participation in physical activities and unhealthy consumption of foodstuffs results in substantial mortality and morbidity across all ages. Inactive participation in physical activities and unhealthy nutrition contributes to obesity, overweight, and energy imbalance in the human body. Regarding health challenges in the St. Lucie County, PANO has a mission to offer strategies and goals for communities, governments, media, health care providers, worksites, and learning institutions to minimize obesity and overweight among the youths and children (CDC, 2013). The intervention assists in preventing obesity and overweight through acknowledgment of various economic, behavior, social, and environment aspects that influence human health. The health marketing intervention utilizes population-focused strategy in addressing the function of nutrition and physical exercise in enhancing and preventing obesity and overweight among the youths and children in the county. PANO plays a vital role in addressing overweight and obesity through promoting system alterations, programs execution, policies, and approaches in enhancing healthy consumption habits, active participation in physical activities among the youths and children in the county.

Fit-4-life

According to Gombosi, Olasin, and Bittle (2007), the fit for life is a social marketing intervention functions as a comprehensive initiative aimed at primary prevention of obesity and overweight through utilization of school-based health lessons. The initiative uses computer-generated wellness club and communal well-being affairs to encourage active participation in physical activities and healthy nutrition.

• Appropriate social media platform for obesity and overweight prevention

Social networks play a significant role in addressing obesity and overweight among children and youths through connecting them with their peers. Approximately all youths and children in the USA have access to Internet-enabled cell phones. The accelerating utilization of social networking in tweeting and texting (Facebook), the platforms has an important function in combating overweight and obesity among the youths. The utilization of tweeter and Facebook offer appropriate platforms for internet-based campaigns to encourage active participation in physical activities, loss of weight, and healthy consumption of foodstuffs among the youths (Lakerveld, Brug, Bot, Teixeira, Rutter, Woodward, and Robertson, 2012). The effective effort to address obesity and overweight among the youths and children through social networking in the county requires the active involvement of parents, peers, school administration.

1. Advantages of Facebook in preventing obesity and overweight among the children and youths in the county

Facebook acts as an appropriate social media platform in the effort to address obesity and overweight among the youths. The platform is free, user-friendly in preventing overweight and obesity among the youths. Depending on its large coverage, Facebook connects a great number of peers, therefore, can positively assist in preventing overweight and obesity (Huhman, Potter, Nolin, Piesse, Judkins, Banspach, and Wong, 2010). Like other social media platforms, Facebook can display various sub-campaigns topics aimed at discouraging unhealthy consumption and promoting active involvement in physical exercise among children and youths in the county. Subsequently, Facebook continues to play significant function in aiding current and future nurses’ practices through providing education forum (health recommendations) for both youths and adult: significance in preventing excess body mass via physical and healthy consumption. Facebook is advantageous given that it enables the spreading of information within the shortest period thus reaching the widest population. This platform is effective in creating awareness and facilitating debates among youths regarding the most effective healthy measures that will in turn support the objective of reduced obesity rate among children and adults in America.

Benefits of tweeter in preventing obesity and overweight among the children and youths in the county

Tweeter plays a significant role in addressing obesity and overweight among the youths and children. Tweeter connects a great number of parents, teachers, health practitioners, and peers. Health practitioners may post best health practices aimed at preventing excessive body mass gain and obesity across all age (Huhman et al., 2010). Parents, teachers, and youths may decide to implement the practices, thereby discouraging unhealthy consumption, and promoting active involvement in physical exercise among children and youths in the county, therefore, preventing overweight and obesity.

1. F) Significance of preventing obesity and overweight among the youths and children through physical activities and healthy consumption

Involvement in active physical exercises and healthy consumption of foodstuff assist children to grow and maintain healthy body mass throughout their childhood. Active participation in physical activities helps in ensuring a proper balance of calories or body energy obtained from beverages and food. Burning off calories through active play helps youths and children to maintain healthy body weight (Mohanan, Tapp, McWilliams, and Dulin, 2014). In addition, active participation in physical activities and healthy food consumption results in health advantages such as prevention of chronic disorders like hypertension, high cholesterol which causes cardiovascular disorders, cancers, sleep apnea and asthma (breathing challenges), depression and anxiety (psychological illness), low individual-esteem, diabetes, and stigma in children and youths. Furthermore, physical exercises and healthy diet prevent future obesity in obese children.

1. H) Social media campaign execution arrangement

Effective participation of the appropriate stakeholders in the implementation of social media campaign promotes overweight and obesity prevention among the youths. Numerous actors such as local and national regime, sports organizations, teachers-parents’ association, and media are important in obesity and overweight prevention (McPherson, Mirkin, Heatherley, and Homer, 2012). The stakeholders can ensure effective message conveyance through financial contribution used in compensating the paid media in discouraging inactive participation in physical exercises and unhealthy consumption of foodstuffs among the youths and children in the St. Lucie County.

Implementation timeline of the project

Though health messages through social media are conveyed quickly, however, the platform requires a perfectly draft ed message to result in effective health outcomes among the youths. “Active sporting and healthy consumption,” strategy may require approximately 3 months and above to affect the present and future generation on the importance of healthy food consumption and engagement in active physical sporting in school and at home.

Topic: causes, effects, and prevention of obesity in the St. Lucie County

Date	Practice/Activity	Contact and Location	Timeframe	Significance to subject
10th/01/ 2018	Physical activity analysis	St. Lucie County	10 hours	Evaluation of youth engagement in physical exercises both at school and home to enhance obesity prevention.
30th/03/2018	Food consumption survey	St. Lucie County	8 hours	Analysis of youth education in healthy food intake within the county.

 

Since the campaign is based on social networking, evaluation of its effectiveness requires numerical consideration of the viewers and comments (Huhman et al., 2010). The greater the number of viewers, the greater the message coverage and consequently the massive positive health impact it might cause among the youths, children, and adults in the county. Depending on the period required for the campaign to result in positive health outcomes among the target group, the initial stage will require about $50 million dollars with a reduced subsequent donation from the local regime, national administration, parents, corporates, and school administrations.

1. Importance of obesity and overweight prevention through physical activities and healthy consumption to the community and future nursing practices.

Generally, the intervention will ensure implementation of practices and policies aimed at promoting consumption of healthy beverages and foods in child welfare facilities, recreation centers, schools, and to limit the accessibility to high-calorie products, unhealthy food nutrients in the community.

Influence of PANO on future nursing practices

Furthermore, the initiative will promote nurses’ empowerment and capacity building to comprehend application of evidence-based approaches in addressing obesity and overweight among the community members. This plays a significant function in guaranteeing effective utilization of evidence-based practices in nurses’ daily operations aimed at delivering better healthcare services to the St. Lucie County. Consequently, PANO will assist nurses’ future practices targeting in establishment of a healthy community and individuals across various initiatives through capacity building to execute evidence-based strategies, infrastructural and environmental transformation.

References

Abdul-Rasoul, M. M. (2012). Obesity in children and adolescents in Gulf countries: facts and solutions. Avances en diabetologia, 28(3), 64-69.

Centers for Disease Control. (2013). Make a difference at your school.

Gombosi, R. L., Olasin, R. M., & Bittle, J. L. (2007). Tioga County Fit for Life: a primary obesity prevention project. Clinical pediatrics, 46(7), 592-600.

Huhman, M., L. Potter, M. Nolin, A. Piesse, D. Judkins, S. Banspach, and F. Wong., (2010). The influence of the VERB campaign on children’s physical activity in 2002 to 2006. American Journal of Public Health 100(4):638-645.

Lakerveld, J., Brug, J., Bot, S., Teixeira, P. J., Rutter, H., Woodward, E. ... & Robertson, A. (2012). Sustainable prevention of obesity through integrated strategies: The SPOTLIGHT project’s conceptual framework and design. BMC public health, 12(1), 793.

Lewis, T. J., Jones, S. E., Horner, R. H., & Sugai, G. (2010). School-wide positive behavior support and students with emotional/behavioral disorders: Implications for prevention, identification, and intervention. Exceptionality, 18(2), 82-93.

McPherson, M. E., Mirkin, R., Heatherley, P. N., & Homer, C. J. (2012). Educating health care professionals in advocacy for childhood obesity prevention in their communities: integrating public health and primary care in the Be Our Voice project. American journal of public health, 102(8), e37-e43.

Meyer, M. C., Johnston, A. M., Crocker, A. M., & Heil, S. H. (2015). Methadone and buprenorphine for opioid dependence during pregnancy: a retrospective cohort study. Journal of addiction medicine, 9(2), 81.
Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K., & Flegal, K. M. (2012). Prevalence of obesity in the United States, 2009-2012. CDC: NCHS Data Brief, No. 82, January 2012. Retrieved from9/23/2012 from: www.cdc.gov/nchs/data.databriefs/db82.pdf

Mohanan, S., Tapp, H., McWilliams, A., & Dulin, M. (2014). Obesity and asthma: pathophysiology and implications for diagnosis and management in primary care. Experimental Biology and Medicine, 239(11), 1531-1540.