Rationale and Treatment: Obesity and Its Causes

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Rationale of Obesity
Definition of Obesity and Its Causes
The Consequences of Obesity for People Suffering from It
The Role of Disease in Implementing Care Delivery
Team-based Models of Obesity Treatment and Interprofessional Practice
Conclusion
Reference List

Introduction

A person’s health largely depends on many aspects of life, including behavior, social conditions, environment, geographical areas, and even culture and traditions. Apart from biological peculiarities and genetics, a person’s weight is also predetermined with above-mentioned factors. The influence of social environment is, therefore, the most dangerous factor increasing the ratio of obese people. Obesity has become a serious problem since this disease causes a bulk of other related disorders like high blood pressure, diabetes, and risk of heart attack. This is why obesity presents the biggest threat to public health situation, and a problem to a health care system that seeks specific team based approaches to cope with this disorder and to eliminate its preconditions. Hence, health care professionals and nursing staff in particular should be more aware of disease causality thus directing their activities at devising efficient prevention programs, since bariatric patients require a more delicate approach for treatment.

Rationale of Obesity

According to Bray and Bouchard (2004), the dominance of obesity in Australia together with New Zealand is about 10-15 %. The prevalence of obesity among aboriginals can be much higher or lower as compared with general population of Australia, depending on the level of their accommodation to the western culture. This percentage of prevalence is significant, as it counts mostly one forth of Australian population. Of course, the obesity prevalence in Australia is twice lower than in the US (about 30 % both for males and for females), but still the process of westernization has integrated the country thus contributing to fast-growing ratio of obese people (Acs et al., 2007, p. 83).

The problem of obesity almost equally refers both to men and to women (about 42 % for males and 52 %). But as per the age category, the most suffered one is between 50-59 years (Bray and Bouchard, 2004, p. 135). Therefore, group is characterized by the prevalence of excessive weight and the exceeded BMI (Body Mass Index). The studies have also revealed that there is an inherent connection between age and weight, which is explained by biological and genetic issues (Bray and Bouchard, 2004, p.136).

The above estimation shows that obesity has regarded as an extremely prevalent disorder among all layers of populations, including children and adolescences as well. Therefore, the evaluation of the severity of the disease among children and elderly, and complications it provokes is crucial. In particular, the degree of overweight among adults and children is identified in accordance with certain peculiar characteristics like physical development, cardiovascular risk factors, and other consequences (Eckel, 2003). Pertaining to physical characteristics, the obese children are more inclined to be taller, to have a progressive bone age, and to mature faster as compared with children with normal BMI (Eckel, 2003, p. 98). The cardiovascular constraints consist in high blood pressure and other heart related diseases, like hyperlipidemia, hyperinsulinemia, and sleep apnea (Eckel, 2003, p. 99).

When obese people acquire the status of bariatric patients, a plethora of nuances should be tackled by the nursing staff for proposing effective programs for treatment. A number of problems and challenges presented in this situation trigger the nurse to devise specific strategies and appropriate health services for providing an efficient treatment. Patients with obese problems, thus, experience peculiar health conditions and services. Very often, they are reluctant to seek for health care thus postponing it until the necessity is crucial. This resistance to accept medical aid may contribute to further complications. In this regard, the nurse staff faces numerous medical and ethical problems while treating bariatric patients.

Definition of Obesity and Its Causes

According to Hardman and Stensel (2003), “[o]verweight denotes an excess of weight/fat but to the point where health is impaired” (p. 115). There is a vigorous debate, however, concerning to the acceptable limit of weight for a person which does not influence a person’s health. The problem is that BMI levels indicating obesity and provoking serious physical deviation vary among overweight people. In this regard, the obesity identification with the help of BMI calculation covers only height and weight matters but not fatness and muscular indices. In addition to this, BMI cannot be validated when addressing different ethnical groups (Hardman and Stensel, 2003, p. 115).

Apart from BMI method of body fatness measurement, such method as skinfold measurement exists enabling to predict the skin thickness. However, it presents limitations for ethnical groups as well. In this regard, hydrostatic weighing and dual-energy X-ray asborpriometry are more effective and accurate but still they are rather time-consuming and expensive. While linking body fatness to the obesity identification, there are no generally accepted guidelines, since there are still no universal norms established for body fat ratio (Hardman and Stensel, 2003, p. 116). It is also important to stress that fat located around the abdomen can do harm to the entire organism thus rising the risk of many weight related diseases.

The final area that should be addressed is the definition of obesity among children. At this point, the major problem is that obesity identification is discomfited by the biological changes predetermined by growth and maturation. Further, there is a vague connection between a child’s fatness and disease emergence such heart disease and diabetes as compared with adults. Therefore, overweigh problems in children have a different character and there is no any generally acceptable definition for obesity here (Hardman and Stensel, 2003, p. 117).

The Consequences of Obesity for People Suffering from It

The impact of obesity on health varies, rating from the risk of lethal termination to less serious complications having an adverse influence on the quality of life. Overweight problems increase the probability for diabetes and cancer, heart diseases, and even psychological problems. Here the greatest threat constitutes abdominal obesity which is connected with much greater risks to health than peripheral fat location (WHO, 2000, p. 39). Furthermore, obese people have a higher rate of mortality in comparison with individual with normal weight. The excess ration of fat can also lead to cardiovascular system deviation. In particular, the cardiac output had to be increased to nourish the excess of adipose tissues that overloads the heart (Crowley, 2004, p. 682). Then, overweight people are inclined to have high blood pressure thus posing an additional tension on the blood vessels and hear in particular. Finally, lipid ratio of blood is frequently elevated thus contributing to the development of arteriosclerosis.

The high frequency of diabetes among obese patients is the outcome of inability to utilize insulin properly. The musculoskeletal system is also damaged because of fat immoderation and causes an enormous pressure on bones and ligaments.

Pertaining to medical practice, people with excess weight are affiliated to the risk group facing more difficulties when an operation is needed. The operative process bears more complications for an obese individual, including specific techniques applied during operation and post-operative wound healing. This is explained by the fact that adipose tissue is poorly supplied by blood and, therefore, it heals much longer and more painfully. Such post-operative morbidity requires a more sophisticated approach for the rehabilitation process as well (Crowley, 2004, p. 682).

The Role of Disease in Implementing Care Delivery

It is important to admit that people with obesity problems are prone to yield to depression and psychological tension due to their non-conformity with social standards and norms. They are less adjustable to new environments and more vulnerable to offences on the apart of others. This is why there should be specific and well-devised approaches for health care treatment and health services delivery. This especially concerns the nursing staff that should possess special skills and abilities required for treating bariatric patients.

The obesity problems have introduced particular changes to the fundamental concepts and skills of the nursery. Hence, nurses must bear in mind that overweight patients require the imposition of weight reduction measures to lessen the incidences of heart disease and hypertension. Before prescribing a medicine, they should also study the proportion of abdominal fat and determine the physical and psychological etiologies for this disorder to implement an individual weight-loss program (Timby, 2008, p. 299). To promote the weight loss program, a nurse should be able to calculate the balance food intake and energy output thus. For example, if a patient wants to lose 1 lb, he/she should shorten caloric intake by nearly 3500 per week, which means 500 per day. The maximum acceptable loss is about 1000 calories per week, which a healthy way of reducing adipose tissue (Timby, 2008, p. 299). The nursing staff should also know how to organize some physical activities for patients fostering their metabolic process and suppressing appetite. A patient should be guaranteed with a well-balanced food intake in accordance with degree of obesity and related diseases presented in particular case.

Based on the above, nurse should be aware that obesity is one the most urgent problems since is influence the health of the entire organism and is connected with many related diseases. Therefore, the role of the nurses in the sphere of public health is explicitly recognized. It is admitted that nurses are quite competent in giving lifestyle advice on physical activities and diet, but there are many health care workers whose recommendation may turn out to be inadequate. Despite the fact that nurse are also concerned with childhood obesity being an essential health issue, the primary care nurses are often dissatisfied with their roles instead claiming that they are overloaded with work. Another fact is that although pediatric and family nursing staff realizes the seriousness of the obesity problem and the necessity to educate parents, they are not prone to use BMI index and age category properly. But those nurses who are aware of the BMI and weight-loss programs are more inclined to provide families with preventive recommendations (Waters et al, 2010, p. 101).

Team-based Models of Obesity Treatment and Interprofessional Practice

As the problem of excess weight is intertwined with numerous aspects of life, including biological, social, and even economic problems and the introduction of interprofessional teamwork is crucial in further defining the reasons of high obesity rate and eliminating its preconditions and consequences. The interprofessional practice is actively applied by numerous organizations to work out a consistent and effective program on obesity prevention and treatment. It can also provide the health care worker with useful information about the reasons of disorders and use this knowledge to insure the bariatric patients with different benefits (Delany and Molloy, 2009, p. 84).

Based on the above the teamwork of interprofessional health care presents numerous advantages. First of all, it can facilitate more efficient and qualitative patients treatment as well as patients benefits, since health care professionals can provide the expertise in accordance with patient’s individual problem. Second, as obesity problem cannot be treated in general terms, interprofessional health care team can insure a diligent care of the patient from different aspects. Third, these team-based models can also contribute to the creative of more effective preventive programs that can include a wide range of issues fostering obesity care. Finally, the nursing teams can also devise more ethically acceptable models of treatment.

Conclusion

Obesity can be considered as one of the most serious problems which is predetermined by numerous biological, social and economic reasons. A great number of people suffering from excess weight have also psychological and even mental disorders since they often experience pressure on the part of the communities that are accommodated to the established standards of normal weight indices. However, obese people, adults and children, lack understanding that excess fatness can lead to more dangerous diseases and disorders thus neglecting the necessity to address health care services. This can aggravate the work of musculoskeletal and cardiovascular system and increase the probability of heart attack and diabetes. Therefore, the nurse disciplines pay a careful attention when investigating the bariatric practices and studying the peculiarities of obesity related disorders. At this point, the role of interprofessional practice is of a significant value, since it enables nurse with necessary experience in treating such patients.

Reference List

Acs, Z. J., and Lyles, A., and Stanton, K. (2007). Obesity, business and public policy. US: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Bray, G. A., and Bouchard, C. (2004). Handbook of obesity: etiology and pathology. NJ: Informa Health Care.

Crowley, L. V. (2004). An introduction to human disease: pathology and pathopsychology correlations. US: Jones and Bartlett Learning.

Delany, C., and Molloy, E. (2009). Clinical Education in the Health Professions. Australia: Elsevier Australia.

Eckel, R. H. (2003). Obesity: mechanisms and clinical management. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Hardman A. E., and Stensel, D. J. (2003). Physical activity and health: the evidence explained. NJ: Routledge.

Timby, B. K. (2008). Fundamental Nursing Skills and Concepts. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Waters, E. W., Seidel, J., Swinburn, B., and Uauy, R. (2010). Preventing Childhood Obesity: Evidence Policy and Practice. US: John Wiley and Sons.

WHO (2000). Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. World Health Organization.

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