Public health nursing focuses on promoting the health of a community. This position requires attention to measures such as conducting community assessments, identifying vulnerable populations, ethical practices, community education, epidemiology, and more. One such issue addressed by public health nursing is childhood obesity. Obesity has been, and continues to be, a major global health concern. As a public health nurse, identifying populations, assessing risks, and educating a community all contribute to finding a system that helps address this concern. With rates increasing, especially in adolescents and children, this health issue is a serious epidemic effecting the world. Obesity is defined as excess body fat and is commonly measured by comparing weight and height. This process is not perfect and does not distinguish between fat and muscle. Measuring obesity in children is even less specific than for adults. Additionally, there are no set guidelines for defining severe obesity in children (Ogden, 2011). For children up to age 19 height and weight are plotted on a sex specific graph call the BMI-for-age 2000 CDC growth charts shown in the image to the right. Children between the 85th and 95th percentile are considered overweight while children above the 95th are obese. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2011), obesity among children and teens has tripled in the United States in the last generation to 12.5 million or 16.9% of the population ages 2-19 years old. For adults the rates are double those of children and adolescents at 73 million or 33.8%. According to Trugilo-Londrigan & Leweson (2011), a fundamental element of public health nursing is the ability to understand the epide... ... middle of paper ... ...Public Health, 94(9), 1555-1559. doi:10.2015/AJPH.94.9.1555. Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture. Access to affordable and nutritious food. Measuring and understanding food deserts and their consequences: report to Congress. Washington, DC: US Department of Agriculture; 2009. Retrieved from: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/ap/ap036 . Ogden, C.L., Carroll, M.D., Curtin, L.R., Lamb, M.M., Flegal, K.M. Prevalence of high body mass index in US children and adolescents, 2007--2008. JAMA 2010;303:242--9. Singh, G., Siahpush, M., & Kogan, M. (2010). Rising social inequalities in US childhood obesity, 2003-2007. Annals of Epidemiology, 20(1), 40-52. doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2009.09.008 Truglio-Londrigan, M., & Leweson, S., (2011). Public health nursing: practicing population-based care. Second Ed. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Ploeg, M. ver; Breneman, V.; Farrigan, T.; Hamrick, K.; Hopkins, D.;Kaufman, P.; Lin, B. H.; Nord, M.; Smith, T.; Williams, R.; Kinnison, Access to affordable and nutritious food measuring and understanding food deserts and their consequences : report to Congress ([Rev. Sept. 3, 2009] ed.). (2009). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
Ploeg, M. ver; Breneman, V.; Farrigan, T.; Hamrick, K.; Hopkins, D.;Kaufman, P.; Lin, B. H.; Nord, M.; Smith, T.; Williams, R.; Kinnison, Access to affordable and nutritious food measuring and understanding food deserts and their consequences : report to Congress ([Rev. Sept. 3, 2009] ed.). (2009). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
Viner, Russell M and Tim J Cole. “Adult Socioeconomic, Educational, Social, and Psychological Outcomes of Childhood Obesity: A National Birth Cohort Study.” British Medical Journal 330. 1354. Web. 30, August 2011.
The educator role of the APHN and NP includes health education within a nursing framework and professional nurse educator roles. The APHN analyzes groups at risk within a community and implements health education interventions. The APHN and NP boost wellness and contribute to conserving and advocating health by teaching the importance of a healthy lifestyle, stress management, physical exercise, and good nutrition. They educate about disease processes and the importance of following treatment systems. In addition, they provide guidance and educate clients on the use of birth control methods, diet, medications, and other therapeutic procedures. They also counsel groups, families, clients, and the community on the importance of assuming responsibility for their own
Obesity in the United States continues growing alarmingly. Approximately 66 % of adults and 33 % of children and teenagers in the US are overweight. Obesity is the result of fat accumulated over time due to the lack of a balanced diet and exercise. An adult with a BMI (body mass index) higher than thirty percent is considered obese (Whitney & Rolfes, 2011, pg. 271).
Childhood onset overweight and obesity and its’ associated health consequences are quickly becoming major significant public health issues facing America today. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define overweight as a body mass index (BMI) between the 85th and 95th percentile while obese is defined as BMI above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex . The prevalence of overweight children, defined based on 2009 CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics data, has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Between 1980 and 2006, the incidence of overweight among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% to 17.0% while overweight levels for adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 17.6% . Not only has prevalence of child and adolescent overweight and obesity increased dramatically over the last several decades, but being an overweight or obese child puts one at a heightened risk for adult overweight and obesity .
Over 60 million people are obese in the world today. The socioeconomic statuses of the Americans play a major part in the obesity rates across the country. People with higher incomes are less likely to be obese than people with lower incomes. One in every seven preschool-aged children living in lower income areas are obese (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). A 2008 study showed that obesity is highest among American Indian and Alaska Native (21.2 percent) and Hispanic Americans (18.5 percent) children, and it is lowest among white (12.6 percent), Asian or Pacific Islander (12.3 percent), and black (11.8 percent) children (Get America Fit).
According to Allender, Rector, and Warner (2014), public health is a combination of both an art and a science (2014). The mission of public health nursing is to promote health, prevent disease and ultimately prolong life (Allender et al., 2014). In order for this to occur an assessment must take place. An aggregate or community assessment begins with a collection of data. This includes: the community’s health needs, risks, environmental conditions, financial resources through local census data, and a windshield survey (Allender et al., 2014). Through public health nursing, communities can collectively come together to help promote an overall better health standing.
Harkness, G. A. & Demarco, R. (2012). Community and public health nursing. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Forty years ago in America childhood obesity was rarely a topic of conversation. A survey done in the early 1970s showed that 6.1% of children between the ages 12 and 19 were overweight. Eight years later the same survey was done and 17.4% were considered overweight (Iannelli). “Childhood obesity epidemic in America is now a confirmed fact since the number of overweight or obese children has more than tripled during the last 30 years” (Childhood Obesity Epidemic). “Over the last 20 years, the prevalence of obesity in children aged 6 to 11 years has tripled from 6.5% to 19.6%” (Childhood Obesity Epidemic). As a nation statistics should be alarming. Why are American children today so obese?
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) about “17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2-19 years are obese” (Moreno et al., 2013 P.157). “Surveys administered in 1976-1980 and 2007-2008 show that the prevalence of obesity has changed from 6.5% to 19.6% among children 6-11 years old age and from 5.0% to 18.1% for those aged 12-19 years (Moreno et al., 2013 P.157).
Institute of Medicine. (n.d.). Retrieved Jan 10, 2011, from Childhood Obesity Prevention Actions for Local Government: www.iom.edu/Activities/Childhood/LocalObesPrevention.asp
Nies, M. A., & McEwen, M. (2011). Community/public health nursing: Promoting the health of populations (5th ed.). St.Louis, MO: Saunders.
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2012). Population-Based Public Health Nursing Practice: The Intervention Wheel. In Public Health Nursing: Population-Center Health Care in the Community (8th ed.). Maryland Height, MO: Elsevier Mosby
Clark, M. J. (2008). Community Health Nursing: Advocacy for Population Health, Fifth Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.