Bariatric Surgery: NHS And Life Course Theory

The most severe stage of overweight, Obesity, is a serious medical condition that Australians cannot afford to ignore. Obesity has been linked to low self-esteem and a diminishment in the overall quality of life for the individual. (AIHW, 2010). More importantly, obesity can result in the development of musculo-skeletal problems, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, sleep apnea, Type 2 diabetes, and hypertension. (AIHW, 2010). Of these diseases, the

I was shocked when I read in our text that obesity in the United States (U.S.) has increased in one decade from 12% to 70% (Knickman & Kover, 2015, p. 125). Obesity is linked to many preventable chronic diseases and pushes health care cost between $147 billion and $210 billion per year (The State of Obesity, 2015). Even though the metric for obesity, the body mass index (BMI) is an old metric for judging health, the data is staggering and needs to be addressed.

What is not widely known is that the risk of health problems can start with someone who is slightly overweight and that the likelihood of problems with increases as someone becomes more and more overweight. These conditions can eventually cause long-term suffering for individuals and families, not to mention the costs for the health care can be extremely high. The number of things that can impact people’s health caused by obesity can increase including:

This essay aims to discover and analyse adult obesity as a challenging public health issue in England as it has a detrimental effect on the society. The rationale for choosing adult obesity as a public health issue is to comprehend and develop the knowledge of obesity and its impact on individual’s health and wellbeing to better meet the needs of an obese adult in clinical practice. Obesity will be defined, its trends and the biopsychosocial factors that contribute to an individual’s health and wellbeing will be discussed along with the health inequalities. Furthermore, this assignment will highlight relevant policies and legislation aimed at addressing the health risk and needs of an obese adult. Lastly, this essay will explain the role of a nurse in both promoting and assessing of the health requirements of obese adult and then the conclusion will be drawn summarising the key points of the essay.

Obesity carries many baggage throughout an obese person’s life and affects many Australian’s throughout the state. In current times, obesity in Australia has made its way to being one of nine National Health Priority Areas that was brought to the attention of Australian governments. The problems with obesity is that it carries many health conditions such as obstructive sleep apnoea, cardiovascular disease, renal dysfunction, type 2 diabetes, cognitive impairment and depression, cancer, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and osteoarthritis. Access Economics (2008) reported various estimates on obesity-related burdens in Australia. Obesity-related burdens comprises of cardiovascular disease by 21% with a population of 644,843, 24% of type 2 diabetes with a population of 242,033,

Public Health England states that on top of the direct health care costs for treating obesity, it has “financial implications for the wider economy through loss of productivity, certified incapacity and increased benefit payments”. Estimates show that the indirect cost of obesity to the NHS has been steadily on the rise over the last two decades and has grown from £2.6 billion in 1998 (as reported by the National Audit Office) up to and £15.8 billion in 2007 (Butland et al). Modelled projections by these researchers suggest that indirect costs could be as much as £27 billion by

The social impact of obesity: although overlaps the concept of mental health, it includes the way society treats obese people and the difficulties they face because of it

Farburn et al (2002) suggests that “the prevalence of obesity and its physiological and psychological complications is increasing among children and adults. These findings emphasize the need for effective prevention and treatment programs. Public health policies and strategies are implemented to meet targets to tackle health issues and socioeconomic problems (Lydia Balsdon, 2009). The House of Commons Health Select Committee (HSC 2004) foreseen the rise in health-care costs related to obesityas the figures are predicted to double by 2050, the estimated cost in 2002 was around £3340-3724 million. Obesity usually relates to limitations in mobility, which results in challenges with daily activities and affecting the quality of life and preventing individuals from finding employability. Health and psychological complications from obesity and related diseases impact the health and social care cost as individuals have high sickness and absence levels from work, which results in low productivity and enforces costs on industries.(McCormick et al, 2007). The government addresses the national strategies in tackling and reducing the obesity figures in the UK. (DH, 2005b). The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (2013) declared that from April 2013, the local government took on a widespread concern for public health within

With the advent of urbanisation and the rise in popularity of fast food, there have been accompanying issues with rising obesity rates – especially in developed countries like England and the USA. After providing a careful analysis of why obesity has risen so sharply in these countries, I shall suggest a number of ways in which the obesity epidemic can be ameliorated.

Obesity remains an extremely serious problem worldwide. Once considered a problem for wealthier counties, overweight and obesity are now rapidly increasing in low and middle income countries (WHO, 2011). In American, the rates of obesity continues to rise. NIH (2012) recognizes obesity as a risk factor for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other health problems. According IFT over two-thirds of the US are overweight or obese, and over one-third are obese (Fast food restaurants ‘not to blame’ for American obesity 2012). IFT.org (2012) in September it was predicated that 75% of Americans would be overweight in 2020. The problem is thought to cause Americans $150-170 billion in annual medical costs. Many people argue that the

Increasingly high obesity rates among the U.S. population have both personal and societal ramifications. For the individual, increased body mass has been linked to a myriad of health issues including heart disease, Type II diabetes, high cholesterol, cancer, strokes, kidney & liver disease, and hypertension. (Wilmore, et al., 2008) On a societal level, the Center for Disease Control estimates that obesity related medical care costs reached a staggering $147 billion in 2008 with obese patients costing $1,400 more per patient than those that fell into a "normal" weight rage (CDC). Obesity-related diseases may also contribute to millions of lost workdays and higher insurance premiums (CNBC).

The most obvious economic impact of obesity in America is that of direct medical costs. In 2008 the United States spent $147 billion in direct medical costs of obesity (CDC, 2014). Additionally, obesity can largely increase the risk of health conditions such as coronary heart disease, stroke, blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, multiple forms of cancer, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, liver and gallbladder disease, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, osteoarthritis, infertility, and even mental health illnesses (CDC, 2011). Though some are higher contributors to medical spending they

It’s no secret that obesity is a huge issue worldwide; over three hundred million people are clinically obese on the earth. No matter where you go there is bound to be an overweight population; over 30% of New Zealand’s population is obese. In fact, there is an average of above 14% of people that are obese in each country. Fatty and unhealthy foods that are harmful to the human body are served everywhere you go; you just can’t get away from them. Even though obesity can lead to many fatal diseases, it is not a disease by itself. It can harm the body and reduce normal body function, but it can be cured and someone can return to a healthy lifestyle if they have enough determination.

The CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, determined that, “more than one-third of (34.9% or 78,6 million) American adults are obese” (Adult Obesity Facts, cdc.gov). Diseases that can be directly correlated with obesity include, “heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer” (Adult Obesity Facts, cdc.gov). As a result, “the estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008 U.S. dollars the medical costs for people who are obese were $1, 429 higher than those of normal weight ” (Adult Obesity Facts, cdc.gov). The causes of such an obesity epidemic should not be blamed on the availability of fast food. It is clear that obesity has more deeply rooted impacts on Americans than it seems on the

Obesity may not be the type of disease that is infectious. However, it has reached heights of epidemic proportions and poses a public health challenge, not only in Australia but globally. This disease has attained substantial awareness as a major health hazard and can be defined as an unhealthy excess of body fat at which can lead to an increased risk of medical illnesses and also may result in mortality, (Kitzinger & Karle, 2013). Since the 1980’s the prevalence of obesity has almost tripled and since 1998 the World Health Organisation has recognised the state of obesity as a situation on prevalent quantities. Predictions have been made that if the increase of obesity continues, a vast majority of the world’s population will be overweight