Letter to Governor Cuomo: Obesity, Essay Example

My name is ________. I am a constituent and long-time denizen of Inwood, New York and also a registered nurse. I am a nursing student continuing my education for BSN who is greatly concerned about the quality of life in my community, which is in Inwood, Manhattan. As you are probably aware, there is a preponderance of evidence in the corpus of scholarly research literature that obesity—especially childhood obesity—is a major health problem and a significant risk factor for health problems in the future. Risk factors correlated to obesity, especially childhood obesity, directly threaten the health of the public in New York. Indeed, obesity has escalated to epidemic proportions across New York in the same way that it has proliferated across the country. While most epidemics can be eradicated by a vaccine or a pill, reversing or preventing obesity calls for behavioral changes in addition to education on and access to nutritious foods and opportunities for physical activities in locales where individuals eat, play, work, shop, and reside.

Overweight and obesity currently comprise the second leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. and threatens to overtake smoking and tobacco as the leading cause of preventable deaths. As such, failing to defeat the battle against obesity will result in debilitating disability and premature death for an increasingly large segment of denizens residing in New York. The percentage of adults in the state of New York who are obese or overweight increased from 42% in 1997 to over 60% in the year 2013. The percentage of obese adults in the state of New York increased from 16% in 1997 to over 25% in 2013. Obesity among children and young adults has also tripled over the past thirty years. A third of the child population is currently overweight or obese.

Obesity has been directly linked to serious health problems, including heart disease, type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, stroke, osteoarthritis, and various forms of cancer. Many of these diseases and illnesses had previously only been associated with adults, but now have increasingly been detected in overweight and obese children and adolescents. In addition to the risks for chronic diseases that threaten to shorten the lives of those afflicted, being overweight or obese in a society that stigmatizes such conditions exacerbates mental health problems linked with depression, low self-esteem, and shame.

Expert nurses have the ability to lead change at the community, family, and individual level. Effective leadership at the community level require nurses to take a special approach because participants within the community are needed in order to assess health issues, understand how certain health issues affect the community, and plan various strategies that community members will accept and be enthusiastic about in order to address the issue of obesity. It is of paramount important that nurses take approaches for the prevention of childhood obesity to take into consideration a variety of factors. Changing conditions to better health is difficult, so nurses must assess the type and level of prevention that is most fitting for a child, family, environment, socio-economic status, and language, in addition to other factors. Prevention intervention for obesity should a be a component of a health promotion strategy for health-enhancing actions in order for behavioral changes to take place at the micro and macro levels. An example of such a strategy would be the increase of physical activity in children by enrolling them in after-school sports programs. Another approach is a protection strategy in which poor health actions are avoided at the individual and community level. An example of this strategy would be signing an ordinance that strictly bans restaurants from using trans fat when preparing foods.

Governments need to adopt a comprehensive approach to reversing obesity rates, which should include a range of measures such as banning unhealthy foods and beverages such as high-sugary drinks and trans fats.  Schools should have more campaigns to promote healthy eating and physical exercise. In conclusion, my community would greatly benefit should these matters be addressed. I hope that the few ideas provided have created more interest in the matter.

References

Chou, S., Rashad. I, and Grossman, Grossman, M. (2008). Fast-food restaurant advertising on television and its influence on childhood obesity. Journal and Law and Economics, 51(4), 599-618.

Eat right: Media guide. (2013). Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Accessed September 22,  2015 from http://www.eatright.org.

Root, W.L. & Rochemont, R. (1976). Eating in America: a history. New York: Morrow