National Health Priority Area
Define the National Health Priority Area
Obesity has become a national health priority area (NHPA) in the year 2008 and it can be defined as the condition where the individual carries excessive body weight in the form of unstored fat which might cause negative health implications. In case of adults, it can be defined as possessing a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above or also with waist measurement 102 centimetres or above in case of women and equal to or above 88 centimetres in case of men (Briggs and Buchbinder, 2009). Australia had been seeing an alarming rise in the obesity matrix in its population since the last decade. The reason behind the obesity incidence amongst populaces have been found to be uncontrolled eating habits, which relates to in taking of more energy dense foods without the undertaking of sufficient exercises which can burn the excessive energy. In some cases, it has also been seen that obesity issues have been caused due to certain biological determinants such as metabolic problems and genetic challenges.
- Why is this National Health Priority Area?
The most primary reason behind the selection of obesity under the NHPA was its association with the development of other conditions. Obesity with respect to medical field and research has been considered to be a key biological determinant under a several range of diseases and conditions which includes cardiovascular complications, diabetes mellitus, arthritis, renal issues among others. Since these complications are directly associated with the incidence of obesity issues in individuals, hence, reducing the obesity level have shown to decrease the possibility of these complications as well.
Other formidable reasons behind incorporating obesity as an NHPA are as follows;
- The incidence of obesity and overweight has increased with time, from 57% in 1995 to 63% in 2011-12 (McNaughton, 2013)
- From the statistics revealed by the International Obesity Taskforce, if the current trends goes on like this, then by the end of 2025, every 1 in 3 individuals would be found to be suffering from obesity
- According to AIHW (2010), obesity had been made responsible for almost 7.5% of the total global disease burden in 2003
- Medical teams confer the fact that obesity is curable only if sufficient social awareness is raised by virtue of which individuals would modify their lifestyle and food habits in due course of time
- Cause/risk factors for the selected NHPA
The associated risk factors of obesity or the costs associated with this complication may be direct as well as indirect in nature. Complications such as cardiovascular health and type 2 diabetes mellitus can be associated with obesity incidences in individuals and can be defined under biological determinants. An individual suffering a myocardial infarction can be treated for the same although excessive overweight issue could have been the underlying reason. The biological determinants that act as risk factors for obesity are as follows;
- Age: Due to senescence and aging, maintenance of body weight becomes difficult at times
- Genetic predisposition: Hierarchical or genetic causes may be the underlying reason of obesity in some individuals
- BMR: A lower level of BMR value in individuals often mean that less energy is being consumed which often induces obesity
- Endocrine disturbances: Hormones such as leptin often contribute to fat deposition in the body and the body’s untimely sensitivity to such hormonal levels might as well increase the risk of obesity (Forgione et al,. 2018).
There are certain behavioural determinants which act as risk factors for obesity such as lack of sufficient physical activity, excessive consumption of alcohol and also uncontrolled consumption of energy dense junk foods.
The physical environmental determinants also indices obesity either by contributing to healthy body weight or by negatively impacting the body fat balance. The associated risk factors are accessibility to recreation facilities, untiring work environment and transportation systems. There are several social determinants associated with the obesity index and incidence in individuals and these are low socioeconomic status, food insecurity, high stress level and explicit early life experiences.
- Signs and symptoms of the chosen NHPA and effects on health
The health risks or the symptoms associated with obesity includes breathing disorders such as sleep apnoea and COPD, certain types of cancers like prostate and bowel cancer in men and breast and uterine cancer in women, ischemic heart diseases, depression, type 2 diabetes mellitus, gallbladder or hepatic disorders, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hypertension, high cholesterol, osteoarthritis and stroke (Clark et al,. 2010).
- Preventive measures
(a) Primary prevention: There have been several rounds of primary care planning and prevention strategies in reducing the obesity burden from child and adults both separately and concomitantly. First and foremost, the monitoring of the BMI level in every single individual irrespective of their age need to be ascertained so as to screen the possibility of obesity. Moreover, proper diet management and lifestyle modifications have been prescribed to most of the obese individuals in order to bring their lifestyle back to normal with the least medical regimen being imposed (Ziviani et al,. 2010).
(b) Secondary prevention: If the primary intervention techniques do not work well in case of the obese individuals, the medical board prescribes the next strata of treatment regime where extensive workouts are being prescribed. Moreover, a series of diagnostic tests which include examination of blood plasma for cholesterol, urea, creatinine, storage lipids, and omega fatty acids have been prescribed in order to screen the presence of any abnormality in the body. Moreover, since ischemic heart diseases and diabetes are always associated with obesity, hence, monitoring the blood glucose level, renal function, liver function, blood pressure and ECG needs to be done on a prior basis to keep the individuals on a protected measure (Handayani et al,. 2015). Following any such discrepancies in these particulars, the relevant medication can be implemented.
(c) Tertiary prevention: Provided none of the non-surgical methods or way-outs works in the obese patients, then the medical practitioners prescribe surgical intervention such as removing of the excessive fats or cellulites from the body, open-heart surgery in case of patients with heart blockage due to excessive cholesterol deposition because of obesity, removal of the thyroid glands in case of severe hyperthyroidism because of obesity (Li and Powdthavee, 2015).
- Treatment for the chosen NHPA
The initial treatment accounts for the moderate loss in weight that relates to about 3-5% of the total body weight. Medical practitioners suggest that more the weight loss is ascertained, greater is the benefit. All the weight-loss programs need to be undertaken with respect to change in eating habits alongside increasing the physical activity. The treatment methods depend on the level of the obesity, overall health condition and the individual’s willingness to participate in the diet management and weight-loss plan. Other formidable treatments include dietary modifications, extensive physical activity, behavioural changes, and prescribed weight-loss medications and in severe cases, weight loss surgeries (Lam et al,. 2015).
- Based on your findings from your research, explain whether you believe the preventive measures are having the desire effect on reducing the impact of the disease and why/why not.
The aforementioned preventive measures are successful in reducing the overall obesity incidences from the demographics under context. It has been seen that school and high school children along with stressed adults are at a higher risk of acquiring obesity related health complications. Hence, the proper maintenance of diet and modification of lifestyle along with the implication of regular physical activities is the key to reducing obesity index and prevalence in the candidates who are more prone to getting in contact with such sociological disorders. Although the trend shown by the statistics suggest that most of the people are unaware of the social and physiological issues and the underlying reasons behind obesity and hence, the requisite policies to be maintained have still not been implemented. This results in the slow decrease of the obesity profile in Australia till date.
References
Briggs, A.M. and Buchbinder, R., 2009. Back pain: a national health priority area in Australia. Med J Aust, 190(9), pp.499-502.
Clark, A., Franklin, J., Pratt, I. and McGrice, M., 2010. Overweight and obesity: Use of portion control in management. Australian family physician, 39(6), p.407.
Forgione, N., Deed, G., Kilov, G. and Rigas, G., 2018. Managing obesity in primary care: breaking down the barriers. Advances in therapy, pp.1-8.
Handayani, O.W.K., Rahayu, T., Budiono, I., Windraswara, R., Fauzi, L., Siyam, N., Macdonald, D. and Mc Cuaig, L., 2015. Health Promotion Models to Reduce Childhood Obesity in Elementary School: A Comparison Study between Indonesia and Australia.
Lam, J., Lord, S.J., Hunter, K.E., Simes, R.J., Vu, T. and Askie, L.M., 2015. Australian clinical trial activity and burden of disease: an analysis of registered trials in National Health Priority Areas. The Medical journal of Australia, 203(2), pp.97-101.
Li, J. and Powdthavee, N., 2015. Does more education lead to better health habits? Evidence from the school reforms in Australia. Social Science & Medicine, 127, pp.83-91.
McNaughton, D., 2013. ‘Diabesity’down under: overweight and obesity as cultural signifiers for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Critical Public Health, 23(3), pp.274-288.
Ziviani, J., Desha, L.N., Poulsen, A.A. and Whiteford, G., 2010. Positioning occupational engagement in the prevention science agenda for childhood obesity. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 57(6), pp.439-441.
