Details:
Obesity in the United States occurs at a greater prevalence than other developed nations—why is this? As part of the Healthy People 2020 initiative, obesity is highlighted in over 280 articles or webinars. Preventative guidelines are addressing obesity and nutritional status, and the USPSTF (United States Preventative Services Task Force) guidelines specifically recommend a multidisciplinary approach and a plea to save our children.
Additional resources are available in the Learning Materials section of this week to enhance your knowledge on obesity in the United States, but pay close attention to Jamie Oliver’s TED Talk: Teach Every Child About Food.
10% of what the United States spends on healthcare is obesity driven. Each carton of milk (chocolate milk) that your child drinks at school has 9 tsp of sugar. Children cannot recognize vegetables or fruits but they are very quick to tell you what’s in a happy meal and can recognize the difference between french fries from various fast food restaurants. Americans have always strived to provide more for our children than what was provided for us. Our parents wanted to give us more things, more opportunities for success and just plain more than what they had… and what we have given our children is a shorter life span – 10 years less.
As APRNs we must be aware of what is happening in society and how this is affecting our health as a country. For this week’s discussion, develop a powerful message that can be given to your community. No sounds, no words, just a strong visual message that addresses our need to combat obesity in our children.
Initial Post
For your initial post, present a visual picture that reflects the state of our country. The picture can include some wording for clarity, but the point should be driven home by the visual appearance of the submission. Consider: if a photo is worth a thousand words, then a photo on obesity must be worth a thousand pounds. So ask yourself, how do we drive home the need for change? How do we show the price our children are paying?
The written part of your discussion post should include:
Reference/citation links to scholarly based articles, website links and or preventative guidelines relating to childhood obesity; 2–3 minimum
A brief, 2–3 sentence explanation of your visual submission
Your community and state statistics relating to obesity – Where do you rank?