Population Health Issue Essay

Population Health Issue Essay Paper

The purpose of this assignment is to explore a health issue and reflect on populations affected as well as interventions to improve health outcomes. Research a health issue and the population affected. Write a 900-1,200 word paper that includes the following: I want the public health issue to be childhood obesity. Identify and describe a health issue of your choice. Identify and describe the population affected by the health issue. Identify two or three interventions used to improve health outcomes of children or adults in case management for your selected health issue. Locate the sources of data for determinants of health for this population. Using analysis and benchmarking strategies, compare disparities of health for this population. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required. This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion. You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance. Population Health Issue Essay Paper

Population Health Issue: Childhood Obesity

Health Issue

Childhood obesity is steadily gaining prominence as a major public health issue in the United States (US) and globally. Over the last three decades, the growth in childhood obesity and overweight has received the attention of scholars, health policymakers, institutions and the general public (Williams & Greene, 2018). According to recent findings, obese and overweight children are highly vulnerable to the problem of obesity in adulthood, making it important to adopt, comprehensive, holistic and multi-sectorial interventions and programs aimed at managing, preventing and responding to this particular health issue.Notably, childhood obesity is recorded in children and teenagers with a Body Mass Index (BMI) that is at or above the 95th percentile for their respective age, height, weight and gender(Yusuf et al 2020). Population Health Issue Essay Paper. Precisely, the BMI is a representation of the ratio of weight (in kilograms) to height (in metres). As a complex and serious public health problem in the United States and beyond, obesity in young childrenand adolescents is attributed to a myriad of causal factors including lack of access to healthy food options, absence of regular physical activity, regular exposure to unhealthy food adverts, poor food choices, hereditary and environmental factors(Kumar & Kelly, 2017). As a result, the problem of childhood obesity as experienced in the modern American society can be attributed to the physical environment, genetics and ecologicalaspects including the family, lifestyles, school and the community. Although obesity is a persistent health issue affecting all population demographics in the country, childhood obesity is a complex public health issue with additional consequences due to the high vulnerability of the affected populace (NASEM, 2016). Population Health Issue Essay Paper. According to Donahue (2018), severe obesity in children and adolescents is associated with enhanced risk of poor health outcomes, with the most notable health conditions being cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma, sleep problems, musculoskeletal problems and others. Reduced health-related quality of life, peer stigmatisation and discrimination, social and psychological problems associated with childhood obesity could lead to low self-esteem and negative self-image, alongside an increased risk of adulthood obesity(Kumar & Kelly, 2017). Equally, childhood obesity contributes to increased economic costs to healthcare infrastructure, with the projected obesity-related medical costs and lost employment wages placed at $1.5 billion and $9 billion to national healthcare costs inthe year 2030 (Donahue, 2018). Population Health Issue Essay Paper

Prevalence

Currently, it is estimated that close to a third of U.S. children and adolescents aged 2 and 15 years are obese or overweight, representing more than 25 million youths.Estimates indicate that nearly 17% of American children and teenagers aged between 2 and 19 years were obese, for the year 2016-2018 (Williams & Greene, 2018). Equally, incidences and prevalence of obesity in children is said to be growing with advancing age: 23% of pre-school children (2-5 years); 34.4% of school-aged children (6-11 years) and 35% of adolescents (12-19) are afflicted with the persistent problem of obesity. Further estimates indicate that 8.3% of pre-school children (2-5 years); 18% of school-aged children (6-11 years) and 21% of adolescents in the United States have been diagnosed with obesity(Kumar & Kelly, 2017). Other empirical findings revealed that childhood obesity is a common health problem among Hispanics, American Indians, African Americans and other ethnic minority groups as well as in low-income and lowly educated populations. Although the prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States is reported in both girls and boys, adolescent girls and school-aged boys had an increased prevalence of obesity (Donahue, 2018). Population Health Issue Essay Paper