Healthy Diet Behavior as a Solution for Obesity Problem

Obesity has become most prevalent in our society today increasing fatality, chronic diseases as well as other relapsing disorders to the people. Existing evidence has indicated that this is not only a problem of the old but is also creeping among the younger generation at an alarming rate. According to a study by Nader et al. (2012), obesity is a problem of overeating and lack of fitness which decreases life expectancy to many people.

It is likely to have serious and chronic illnesses including diabetes and heart diseases in obese people compared to the healthy population. It is now common knowledge that regular physical exercises and healthy diet habit reduce the risk of stroke and heart diseases meaning that obesity is a product of poor diet and lack of fitness levels. Ideally, changes by people towards a healthy diet and increased physical exercise is a remedy to obesity and increase life expectancy. As such, it is a matter of concern to today's physicians to focus on diet and physical exercises as a solution to this common problem to our community today.

This is a solution paper to the problem of obesity in our community. First, the paper will describe the vital steps that need to be taken in swaying the community members towards changing their eating habits despite their low-income status in the society. Next, the paper will give diet recommendations that the community needs to adopt in order to deal with the obesity menace. Last, the paper will also incorporate the different types of diets and lifestyles that are adaptable to help the current population.

Steps towards a Healthy Diet Behavior

The ever-increasing broader body of literature has indicated the vital role nurses or physicians can have around healthy eating habits and healthy lifestyles. According to a study by Davis et al. (2007), there are numerous benefits that arise between physician-patient communication on matters related to obesity and its health-related problems. It does not only improve the health outcome of individuals but also improves their satisfaction with the steps that they will take towards a balanced diet to improve their conditions. The findings of this study are consistent with the findings a 2013 meta-analysis that showed positive impacts of talking to patients about their diet and healthy living styles (Fitzpatrick et al., 2016). The following steps can be very vital in helping the community in changing their eating habits;

Screening individuals

The first vital step to talking to people about their weight and healthy habits starts with screening them and calculating their BMI in order to talk to them about what that means. Knowing the BMI of individuals initiates the discussion around their weight and healthy eating habits in their lives.

Initiating a non-judgmental conversation

The next step would be to start a conversation with the community members in a non-judgmental way. Here the impacted individual should be told about the concern about their weight from blood sugar or cholesterol perspective. This help in approaching the problem from a constructive diet angle.

Initiating motivational interviewing

This step entails engaging the individuals or patients through the behavior change process. Here the physician can help the patient to set their health goals and communicate with them about the possibility of changing their diet behavior.

Learning about Nutrition

It is very vital for a physician also to be well versed with nutrition science. It is impossible to discuss with individuals about healthy eating habits yet one may be blank in this area. This will enable the physician to convey to the clients the nutrition in a very simple language that they understand.

Creating strong working relationships with dietitians

Sometimes it may not be possible to solve every obesity condition. As such, it is necessary to establish a good relationship with dietitians where individuals could be referred for further health care habits.

Being a Role Model

Changing behavior to a greater extent entails following a role model. Research indicates that patients can only embrace ideas from physicians that shows healthy behaviors themselves. By embracing healthy eating habit, one can influence change in society.

Teaching the Community how to cook and foods to eat

It is very vital for a physician to learn how to cook and also to teach the community how to do it. Teaching patients or people how to cook is heart-healthy and tasty incredible. A study by Davis et al. (2007) indicated that learning how to prepare one's own food and consuming vegetables as well as fruits leads to a significant change in diet habit and reduces obesity levels in the community.

Supporting Healthy eating Patterns to all

Essentially everyone has a role they can play in healthy living in the society. As such, promoting healthy habits for everyone creates a healthy eating pattern in multiple settings including schools, community and nationwide.

Recommended Diet Guideline

There is already a Dietary Guideline by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee that the community needs to adopt in order to reduce obesity occurrences. The guideline major outlines the healthy eating patterns that should be embraced in its entirety given the interconnected relationships that exist in each dietary components. According to this well-elaborated guideline individuals should consume a healthy diet that accounts for all foods and beverages within recommended calorie levels (Committee on Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention, 2012). The healthy eating pattern should entail;

• Fruits, specifically whole fruits
• Variety of vegetables from all subgroups including dark green, red, legumes (peas and beans), orange and starch
• Grains which should be a half whole grains
• Variety of proteins including lean meats, seafood, poultry, eggs, nuts, soy products, seeds
• Low-fat or fat-free dairy including yogurt, milk, fortified soy beverages, and cheese
• Oils
• Consumption of less than 10% of calories from both saturated sugar and fats

The healthy eating pattern limits the following;

• Eating of saturated fats added sodium and sugars

Additional Recommendations for Healthy Living

As cited earlier, obesity is also a product of poor fitness in the community. Based on this, a healthy living pattern should be a product of a healthy eating habit and physical exercise. A large volume of research recommends for a combination of physical exercise with healthy eating habits for healthy living (Nader et al., 2012). Regular physical activities help people not only to achieve but also to maintain good health reducing the risk of obesity and its associated diseases including chronic heart diseases.

In order to improve physical activities and fitness levels, people should choose to cycle or walk to work or school instead of taking care. If this is not possible, individuals could walk up stairs instead of taking lifts. Essentially, these easier steps are very vital in improving the level of fitness.

References

1. Committee on Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention. (2012). Accelerating progress in obesity prevention: solving the weight of the nation. National Academies Press.
2. Davis, M. M., Gance-Cleveland, B., Hassink, S., Johnson, R., Paradis, G., & Resnicow, K. (2007). Recommendations for prevention of childhood obesity. Pediatrics, 120(Supplement 4), S229-S253.
3. Fitzpatrick, S. L., Wischenka, D., Appelhans, B. M., Pbert, L., Wang, M., Wilson, D. K., & Pagoto, S. L. (2016). An evidence-based guide for obesity treatment in primary care. The American journal of medicine, 129(1), 115-e1.
4. Nader, P. R., Huang, T. T. K., Gahagan, S., Kumanyika, S., Hammond, R. A., & Christoffel, K. K. (2012). Next steps in obesity prevention: altering early life systems to support healthy parents, infants, and toddlers. Childhood Obesity (Formerly Obesity and Weight Management), 8(3), 195-204.

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