Obesity and Overweight
A HEALTH ISSUE ON OBESITY AND OVERWEIGHT
MAUREEN KATE ALVE, DRINZEL MORANO AND JAINA MAE SABOCOJAN
"Fat-bashing in all its varied forms-criticism, exclusion, shaming, fat talk, self-deprecation, jokes, gossip, bullying-is one of the last prejudice. From a very young age, before they can walk away or defend themselves, women are taught that they are how they look, not what they know."
- Roby Silverman
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), overweight and obesity are abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health. Excess body weight is one of the most common issues associated with today's lifestyle. These are serious issues that put a huge and rising financial strain on the country's resources.
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a simple index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to classify overweight and obesity in adults. It is defined as a person's weight in meters (kg/m2). For adults, WHO defines overweight and obesity as follows:
- overweight is a BMI greater than or equal to 25;
- obesity is a BMI greater than or equal to 30.
Obesity means having too much body fat. On the other hand, overweight means weighing too much. A person may be overweight from extra muscle or water as well as too much fat. But both terms still mean that someone's weight is higher than what is thought to be healthy for their height and both are used to classify individuals who are at
risk of developing health conditions as a result of their excessive body fat.
WHAT CAUSES OBESITY AND OVERWEIGHT?
The fundamental cause of obesity and overweight is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expanded. If someone eat a lot of energy, particularly fats and sugars, and do not burn it through physical activities and exercises, eventually it will store body fats. The lack of supportive policies in the sectors of health may also cause changes in dietary and physical activity patterns which are often a result of environmental and societal changes.
Physical activity is less prevalent in today's
society than it once was. Instead of walking, people take buses and vehicles,
and many people work in offices where they are seated for the majority of the
day. This implies that the calories they consume are not converted to
electricity. The excess calories are now processed as fat.
COMMON SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF OBESITY AND OVERWEIGHT
Increase in body weight is the most common and obvious symptom which is bad for both the mind and body. It cannot only make someone feel tired and uncomfortable but it adds stress on the body when carrying extra weight. Being obese or overweight can also increase risk of developing serious and potentially life-threatening body conditions. Moreover, it can also affect your quality of life and lead to psychological problems.
SYMPTOMS OF OBESITY AND OVERWEIGHT INCLUDES:
- High cholesterol and atherosclerosis. Wherein fatty deposits narrow your arteries which may lead to further complications; coronary heart disease and stroke.
- Sleep apnea. This is a condition that causes interrupted breathing during sleep and daytime sleepiness.
- Back or joint pains.
- Dyspnea. A feeling of shortness of breath.
- Fatigue. Being fat or obese increases the risk of fatigue by increasing the risk of conditions wherein people carrying more weight can lead to exacerbate fatigue.
- Depression. Obesity and overweight is often associated with emotional issues such as sadness and anxiety. This can cause poor self-image, low self-esteem and social isolation.
- The skin swells and darkens some parts of the body. An example of this is the Acanthosis Nigricans wherein the condition is characterized by hyper pigmented, velvety, and irregular plaques in body folds.
- Appearance of stretch marks. Gaining lots of body weight in a short span of time puts pressure on your skin, which has to stretch out to accommodate the increased body mass.
- Swelling and varicose veins in lower limbs. Obesity puts extra pressure on the leg veins and their valves.
- Waist circumference greater than 102cm in men and 88cm in women.
- Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than 30 kg/m2.
MEDICAL MANAGEMENT
The goal of obesity and overweight in medical management is to reach and stay at a healthy weight. This improves your overall health and lowers your risk of developing complications related to obesity. You may need to work with a team of health professionals — including a dietitian, behavioral counselor or an obesity specialist — to help you understand and make changes in your eating and activity habits.
Here are some ways to help you lower the risk or being obese:
- Dietary changes. Obesity and being overweight is commonly caused by eating and weighing too much. If you consume high amounts of energy particularly fats and sugars but do not burn through physical activity these will store as body fat. A combination of diet and exercise can help you lose weight slowly overtime.
- Behavior changes. Behaviors that may contribute to weight gain through overeating or reduced physical activity can affect health. That is why a proper and balance between food and exercise is a great way to help you be fit and healthy.
- Prescription weight loss medication.
NURSING MANAGEMENT
Obesity occurs over time when you eat more
calories than you use. The balance between calories-in and calories-out differs
for each person. Factors that might affect your weight include your genetic
makeup, overeating, eating high-fat foods, and not being physically active.
Among the morbidly obese, less than 5 percent succeed in losing a significant
amount of weight and maintaining the weight loss with non-surgical programs —
usually a combination of dieting, behavior modification therapy and exercise.
Here are some of the
nursing management that we can do as nurses to help our patients dealing obesity
and overweight:
- Explore and discuss emotions and events associated with eating.
- Review individual cause for obesity may it be organic or non organic
- Formulating a new eating plan with the patient, using knowledge of individual’s height, body build, age, gender, and individual patterns of eating, energy, and nutrient requirements.
- Determine which diets and strategies have been used, results, individual frustrations and factors interfering with success.
- Be alert to binge eating and develop strategies for dealing with these attitude
- Discuss the need to give self permission to include desired or craved food items in dietary plan.
- Determine current activity levels and plan progressive exercise program (walking) tailored to the individual’s goals and choice.
- Recommend some weight loss medications.
- Formulate some activities associate with weight loss.
- Emphasize the importance of avoiding fad diets.
- Identify realistic increment goals for weekly weight loss.
i. NURSING DIAGNOSIS
- Imbalanced nutrition. May be related to (1) food intake that exceeds body needs, (2) psychosocial factors and (3) socioeconomic status.
- Disturbed body image. May be related to (1) biophysical or psychosocial factors such as patient's view of self, (2) family/subculture encouragement of overeating and (3) control, sex and love issues.
- Impaired social interaction. May be related to (1) verbalized or observed discomfort in social situations and (2) self-concept disturbances.
- Deficient knowledge. May be related to (1) lack of/misinterpretation of information and (2) inaccurate/incomplete information presented.
- Explore and discuss emotions and events associated with eating. This will help identify when patient is eating to satisfy an emotional need rather than psychological hunger.
- Discuss need to give self permission to include desired or craved food items in dietary plan.
- Determine current activity levels and plan progressive exercise. Exercise furthers weight loss by reducing appetite, increase energy and a sense of well being.
- Determine patient's view of being fat and what it does for the individual.
- Encourage patient to use imagery to visualize self at desired weight and to practice handling of new behaviors.
- Assess patient's use of coping skills and defense mechanisms. Coping skills is vital in the process of weight loss and also defense mechanism which is used to protect the individual that may contribute to feelings of isolation.
- Determine level of nutritional knowledge and what patient believes is most urgent need. Necessary to know what additional information to provide, wherein when patient's views are listened to, trust is enhanced.
Overweight and obesity are largely preventable. People can prevent these by having supportive environments and communities that are fundamental in shaping people's choices--making the choice of healthier foods and regular physical activity and exercise.
People in individual level can reduce overweight and obesity by:
- limiting the energy intake from total fats and sugars
- increasing the consumption of healthy foods- fruits and vegetables
- engaging in regular physical activity
- following a healthy eating plan with fewer calories
- changing your habits
SOURCES:
Andreu (2018). Obesity. Clinic Barcelona Hospital Center
Barbara Hahler (2006) An overview of dermatological conditions commonly associated with patients with obesity. Wound Management and Prevention, 52(6), 34-37
Center for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC)
Deborah W. and Yvette Brazier (2020). what is fatigue and how can i treat it?. Medical News Today
mayoclinic.org.diseases-conditions
niddhk.nih.gov.health-information
Matt V. (2014). 4 Obesity nursing care plans. Nurselabs
Sharon Baronoski (2018). Skin conditions frequently found on obese patient populations.
Stippler, Valentine (2019). Medicine Net
World Health Organization (WHO)
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