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~Hello Everyone!~
For my advocacy project, I decided to do a topic that is very near and dear to my heart...Nutrition and Overweight. I decided on this topic because it is an area I am really hoping to get into as a career someday, as I feel proper nutrition is one of the most important aspects to a happy and long life. So, as looking into what Healthy People 2010 have to offer, this is what I found on this topic.....
Healthy People 2010 Goal 19: Nutrition and Overweight
Goal: Increase quality of years of a healthy life
More specifically, I am passionate about proactively dealing with children and the obesity issue. Therefore, I chose Objective 19-3c: Children and adolescents aged 6-19 years.
Here is a little more detail about the progress, disparities, opportunities & challenges, and emerging issues on this topic:
Progress:
Sadly, this objective I have chosen has shown to have moved away from the target, as the brief statement below (found on the Healthy People 2010 website) reports:
Between 1988–94 and 1999–2002, the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 6 to 19 years (19-3c) increased from 11 percent to 16 percent, moving away from the target of 5 percent. Identical trends were observed among children aged 6 to 11 years (19-3a).
Disparities:
Race and Ethnicity:
The group with the best rate was white non-hispanic, with Black non-hispanic being the furthest from the best group with 50-99%.
Gender, Income, and Disability:
The group woth the best rate was Female, Higher income level without disabilities. The group furthest from this top group was that of Lower income level (10-49%) Males (<10%).>
Opportunities & Challenges:
There are a few things that are focusing on imporving the health of youth. School wellness policies have been developed throuh out communitites, as well as increased training to food service professionals and nutritional educators. There are also afterschool programs geared more toward healthy eating and physical activity among children, as well as extending to the parents and/or caregivers of these children.Emerging Issues:
With this phenomenon increasing rapidly, options to fix the problem are beginning to turn toward more drasitic measures, such as surgery. Such sergeries prove to be very dangerous and costly, leading to the primary focus being on prevention as opposed to treatment.Title: Reduce the proportion of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese.
Source: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), CDC, NCHS
This such a critical topic, and I want to learn more about it. I want to hear THOMAS' perspective and yours considering what we've learned so far in this class, rather than just what I've learn in Human Nutrition, the media, etc...
ReplyDeleteGood job summarizing it.
What an interesting topic! That is so cool that nutrition and weight control are topics that you want to work on in the future. I have always found those issues interesting. The issue of obesity is just going to become more and more serious. What bill are you planning on working with. I bet that there are so many interesting ones out there. I think that you will do an amazing job in this field. Great post!
ReplyDeleteExcellent choice Samantha. I'm glad your interested in helping to find a solution to stunt the obesity rate of children. Defiantly a problem in the United States. It sounds like you already have a pretty good clue on this topic. Good work!
ReplyDeleteGood choice Sam, mine was very similar to yours. Nutrition has always been one of my passions. Unfortunately my goal moved away from the target like yours did. I think this issue is a huge problem in the U.S. Children who are overwight are seriously at risk for staying overweight and developing major health issues, which is really scary. Good work!
ReplyDelete