Early Care and Education Policy, Essay Example

The rising number of obese children in the United States has specifically alarmed authorities of healthcare as they try to identify particular programs that would provide the best option of resolving the said issue. Legal sanctions serve as practical guidelines in defining the path towards the promotion of a much healthier society. In relation to the aspect of obesity and its rising challenge to the government, the National Policy and Legal Analysis Network to Prevent Childhood Obesity or the NPLAN has been established to create a distinct impact on how resolutions to child obesity are handled by the governed and applied towards the distinct direction of the society in the aim of promoting healthier culture of eating. This policy is further spear headed and promoted by the PHLP Or the Public Health Law and Policy, which is a non-government organization that intends to inform the public about the most crucial data they need to know with regards health and the legal sanctions that protects them in relation to how they handle their health needs accordingly. This groups tries to see that the administration is able to give attention to the most compelling health problems in the society while it also provides protective measures that allow the public to become more aware and more alert on how they are going to take care of their health [as members of a free and protected society].

According to reports, the US administration spends at least $147 billion dollars just to be able to support healthcare needs of the people. This staggering cost is often lost to illnesses that could have actually been prevented, had there been any specific policy that guides he people on realizing what is right and what is not, especially when it comes to their health. One of the said ailments is that of child obesity. Relatively, the need to reshape legal sanctions to make sure that the people are directed well becomes a necessity, a matter that all authorities are expected to give attention to.

Under the NPLAN is the principle-application of the Model Local Obesity Prevention Resolution. This particular guideline provides a distinct presentation on how step-by-step option of dealing with obesity among children could be handled by the local governments. This particular model primarily involves the need of businessmen to become more aware of their responsibility to inform the consumers especially in consideration with the health benefits of the products that they sell in the market for public consumption. There is currently an undeniably overflow of food products in the market; some of them easy-to-prepare, and some others are instant [ready-to-eat] packed in several containers for longer shelf-life. These produced food choices often contain preservatives, increased level of sugar and other ingredients that specifically endanger the health of children specifically towards developing obesity.

As the term itself suggests, NPLAN’s program provides a general model to be followed. Some of its particular clauses have been left blank to allow local directors to put in the data that would fit their community’s health needs. Relatively, such option allows the administrators to have better control of the situation, thus allowing them to become more aware of their people’s needs, thus enabling them to address the problem personally.

One of the provisions of this Model program [which is stipulated to be a general requirement for all communities that are to use it for implementing health programs] impose the need to educate the community about obesity, its causes, its impending effect on the sufferer and the relative cost that it leaves among its sufferers in later stages of the ailment. This is very important as some do not see obesity as an ailment but simply the resulting factor of overeating or undisciplined health culture among members of the society. Because of this, when a child becomes obese, some of the parents even think it is ‘cute’. Some develop a connotation that ‘fat is healthy’ when it comes to children. Feeding them everything that they want and everything they demand for has become a regular practice among some parents, which is a huge step forward to acquiring obesity among the youngsters. Without the realization and acceptance of obesity as an ailment, raising awareness in the society might not be possible. Hence, the first step involves educating the people about the problem. The second step involves allowing them to see the options of resolutions that they could use to help the young ones deal with the matter.

Parents are the ones standing at the front line. Being the ones who are in direct connection with the children, they should be taught about what proper diet is about. Children have specific dietary requirements depending on their age. Notably, not following such dietary allowances result to several points of indicative problems specifically giving way to the development of health issues like obesity. Teachers, who are considered as the second parents of the children, are also in need of being educated properly as to what role they take in making sure that the children’s health is considered as high point of priority as part of the educational curriculum presented to the children. Teaching the young ones about the proper culture of eating and allowing them to understand the basic issues that relate to the development of obesity among themselves ought to awaken their senses and make the change become more personal than enforced, this way, they become more aware of the good and bad habits of eating which they will carry into account as they grow into maturity.

It is believed through this model program that when the right people are given the chance to have control over the situation, they are given the chance to take their roles and position in helping out in the process of alleviating the problem at hand. With the collaboration of all members of the society who are involved in the problem, it is envisioned that the application of NPLAN’s suggestive model for dealing with the matter would best provide the proper condition of distinguishing the most effective ways of handling problems of obesity among local governments.

The concept of starting early among the children is expected to have a long time impact on the minds of the younger generations. This would ensure a better and healthier future generations that would take over in the future. This way, the cost for healthcare provisions and directives could be lessened, giving the future generations a chance to further their capacity to create other programs that would ensure the decrease of number of obese members of the society. Involving the business owners into the system makes the model more socially-defined.

Getting them to accomplish particular guideline achievements that could define whether or not they are able to follow through the process suggested by NPLAN would make it easier for the administrators to see their place in line with the mission that the model tries to achieve. Making sure that the children would be able to grasp the lesson on proper eating culture at an early age ensures the society with a better future, a better sense of recognizing the right role of food among people. Although it could be realized that the model program is quite weak when it comes to stipulating certain rules that would push administrators to follow what is noted in each clause of the program, it is the same aspect of the program that strengthens its application among local governments attending to local residents. The specific needs of the people need to be researched upon. They should be given the chance to develop a first-hand knowledge on what they should be able to do in relation to enriching the health integrity of the people they tend to guide. Notably, with such condition of direction, administrators would be able to take on the challenge of educating parents, teachers and hopefully the children with regards the most progressive approach they could use in defining their role towards developing a much healthier society, a lesser number of obese individuals and a higher rate of economic budget dedicated to other public needs other than healthcare alone.

Works Cited

NPLAN. Public Health Law and Policy. Model Local Obesity Prevention Resolution. Developed by the National Policy & Legal Analysis Network to Prevent Childhood Obesity (NPLAN). http://changelabsolutions.org/sites/phlpnet.org/files/Obesity_Prevention_Resolution_FINAL_2010_0105.pdf. (Retrieved on November 25, 2013) .

Shah, A. (2010). Global Issues: Obesity. http://www.globalissues.org/article/558/obesity. (Retrieved on November 25, 2013) .

National Conference of State Legislatures. Childhood Obesity (2011). Update report. http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/childhood-obesity-2011.aspx. (Retrieved on November 25, 2013) .

World Health Organization.(2007). Child Obesity Prevention. http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/childhood/WHO_new_childhoodobesity_PREVENTION_27nov_HR_PRINT_OK.pdf. (Retrieved on November 25, 2013).