One of the health issues facing the society today is the issue of obesity. In the developed countries, obesity is a problem, but few individuals are willing to tackle it. In the developed countries, the problem does not have a specific type of people, as anyone can get obese. However, the elderly aged above ages 55 years are most likely to be obese as compared to people of younger ages. Every year, more than 10, 000 people die due to obesity related problems, like breathing problems and high blood pressure (Milstead, 2013). However, no matter what the circumstances, obesity can be tackled in one way or the other, if everyone in the society is willing to sit down and admit that indeed the problem is a life threatening condition. Obesity, basically, is the condition in which a person's
...body weight is more than the required (Pavlish et al., 2011). This intense body weight is mostly acquired through the accumulation of too much body fat in the individual's body. People have the notion that the obese are the one who have bigger bodies, this is not true. In fact, the world has obese people who are slim.
In their book, Puhl et al., (2009), address the problem of obesity. The two individuals also try to bring out the stigma that surrounds the problem, in addition to campaigning for healthy lifestyles that will ensure people in the society do not suffer from the mentioned problem. The two advise people in the society of eating foods that are less in cholesterol. In addition, Mechanick et al., (2013), also carried out a campaign against obesity and asked people to live
healthier lives by burning body fats through boy exercises. Among the attributes that made the campaigns so effective was their use of general public campaigns, apart from using newspapers and other media tools.
As a nurse, the main policy I would consider proposing would be to have a bill passed that requires everyone above the age of 55 go for medical checkups twice a year (Milstead, 2004). Children who are below the age of 12 would also be required to have compulsory medical checkups to check for obesity twice a year, since they are also vulnerable and could be affected by the condition. In having an advocacy plan in place, the first thing I would do would be to meet some of the influential people I can meet, talk to them, and tell them of plans to have the campaign initiated. After that step, what will follow will be to have the, meet other leaders that I can't personally meet and have them discuss the issue. Lastly, the leaders (after agreeing that the campaign would be of benefit to the society), would help me achieve my goal of starting and running the campaign.
Before a policy becomes a law, it needs to pass through various legislative processes and have the legislators pass it in parliament. To have my proposed policy in passed by the legislators would be an achievement to me and to the society as a whole. However, influencing them to have my policy passed as a law of the land would not be an easy task. With that in mind, I would consider issuing out printed fliers that campaign against obesity and grab the attention
of the legislators. After getting their attention, I would then give them the facts concerning the effects obesity has in the society. Such effects include deaths and inability to carry out daily chores by the members of the society who have the health condition. This step will surely convince them that the health condition is a threat to the society.
In the question as to whether the policy can be implemented as an existing law or not, the answer is: it can. The policy can be incorporated with already existing laws that dictate children must visit hospitals regularly. Through their visitations, these children can be checked as to whether they pose the risks of the condition or not. In the analysis of the methods used to influence the legislators, I analyzed the experiences of people in the past who wanted the legislators to pass motions and policies. These people could go to the legislators with facts regarding the problems they were facing, and the legislators would consider to discuss the motion in their sitting.
During the campaign period, there are various ethical considerations in need to take to ensure that no one in the society feels stigmatized by the campaigns. These considerations include the use of slogans that do not seem biased in any way, or does not target a specific groups of people in the society. For instance, a slogan could be “Eat Healthy, Live Healthy.” This slogan does not seem to have anyone in the community as the subject or the target, through such, no one will feel stigmatized.
During the campaign period, some dilemmas are most likely to occur. An example of such a dilemma
is having people make compulsory annual visit to the doctor. Through this policy, people will feel like they are being forced to do things that may not be important to them. However, this dilemma can be solved easily by telling the individuals that the visits will ensure that they do not fall sick or get any health problems that are related to obesity (Fowler, 2008). In addition, asking people to watch what they eat would be a better way of asking people to stop eating junk. In the society lies various ethical challenges. The main challenge being that most employees discriminate against the obese people. (A.N.A., 2010) For instance, in the community, obese people are less likely to get job promotions due to their huge body weights.
Obesity is a challenge to the entire community. It causes some of the serious health sicknesses and problems (Knickman et al., 2015). However, when leaders and the society come together and join hands to fight it, the health issue will soon reduce in occurrence among the citizens of the society. Through enacting of policies that will ensure obesity is curbed like banning the selling of junk to children and the elderly, the problem will soon disappear from the community.
References
- American Nurses Association. (2010). nursing: Scope and standards of practice. Nursesbooks. Org.
Fowler, M. D. M. (2008). Guide to the code of ethics for nurses: Interpretation and application. Nursesbooks. Org. - Knickman, J. R., & Kovner, A. R. (Eds.). (2015). Health care delivery in the United States (11th ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing.
- Mechanick, J. I et al., (2013). Clinical Practice Guides for the Periopertive nutritional, metabolic and Nonsurgical Support of
the Bariatic Surgery Patient – 2013 update: consponsered by American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the Obesity Society. Obesity. 21(S1), S1-S27
Puhl, R. M. et al. (2009). “The Stigma of Obesity: A Review and Update.” Obesity 17, no.5 (2009): 943
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