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Obesity in Kuwait
Name
Instructor
Course
Date
Obesity in Kuwait
Statement of the Problem
Obesity is a serious health condition that results in the addition of fats and calories in the human body. The problem perpetuates itself in the body of a human being as a result of the slow pace of burning glucose in the body. The accumulation of the excess fat results in a significant body weight increase and size. The health repercussions are serious and the government of Kuwait is making an effort to tackle this significant health issue. There are several measures in place to combat the health problem in the country, as well as educate the public on the importance of credible eating habits. There are several health organizations in the country that are making an effort to increase awareness about the health problem and enable people to lead healthy lifestyles.
PAST STUDIES AND LITERATURES
According to a recent study by the Imperial College London, Harvard University, and the World Health Organization, Kuwait has ranked second in obesity, just behind United States (Study also incorporates BMI). This paper analyses the reasons for the obesity problems in Kuwait.
Lack of physical workouts and junk food habits are the major cited reasons for the obesity problems among people. This is true in the case of Kuwaitis also. High income helps Kuwaitis to spend any amount of money for tasty foods. In other words, income has definitely a direct relationship with the obesity problems in Kuwait. According to a study conducted by Zaghloul et al. energy intake among Kuwaitis is extremely more than what is actually required for a person. It was higher than the estimated energy requirements for almost half of Kuwaiti children and one-third of adults. The Estimated Average Requirement was exceeded by 78–100 % of the recommendation for protein and carbohydrates. It should be noted that majority of the energy drinks and foods contain excessive sugar and fat contents. Sugar and fat are responsible for causing obesity. These food and drink items are extremely expensive compared to normal food and drink items. Only high income people will be able to spend money for these items. In other words, high income is causing obesity among Kuwaitis.
Another reason for obesity among Kuwaitis is the globalization. It should be noted that globalization has brought many life style changes in this world. Because of globalization, it is easy for fast food chains to establish food outlets anywhere in the world. Foreign direct investments are welcomed in almost all the countries because of globalization. As a result of that, global fast food companies such as KFC, McDonalds and Burger King are able to establish food outlets in any country at present. The case of Kuwait is not an exception. Because of globalization, a variety of fast food companies have already established restaurants in Kuwait. According to the arguments in the article “Is Globalization Making Us Fat” Social globalization, have a significant impact on obesity. A social mismatch is there among the people because of globalization. This mismatch results in differences in the energy consumption levels of the people. In other words, physical and cultural environments are key elements behind obesity (Is Globalization Making Us Fat?). According to Kumiya et al.,(p.1027) in highland areas worldwide, socioeconomic globalization is progressing urbanization. This urbanization caused by socioeconomic globalization results in the development of transportation. As a result of that, people get enough opportunities for transportation and hence their mobility has been reduced a lot. Lack of mobility or physical workout is another reason for the increased prevalence of obesity among people.
To conclude, obesity in Kuwait is caused by high income of the people and the globalization. High income helped Kuwaitis to purchase expensive food items which are filled with high volumes of fat and sugar. On the other hand, globalization helped Kuwaitis to urbanize almost the entire corner of the country and thereby prevented Kuwaitis from getting enough mobility.
Hypothesis
There is a relationship between income and obesity.
There is a relationship between globalization and obesity.
RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
Correlations: WEIGHT, INCOME
Pearson correlation of WEIGHT and INCOME = 0.585; P-Value = 0.415
The Pearson Product-moment correlation coefficient which is the measure of linear relationship that exists between weight and income indicated there is a positive linear relationship between these two variables of the study. With r = 0.585 and P-value = 0.415, we can deduce that although the degree of the linear relationship between income and weight is not very strong, it is positive, a justification of the existence of a linear relationship. This linear relationship can be represented graphically as below.
Weight
r = 0.585
0.415
Income
0
With a significance level of 0.01 (99%), it is worth concluding that income and weigh are correlated since r = 0.585 > P-value = 0.415, an indication of a positive association between income and weight. The two variables, therefore, move in the same direction. As income increases, weight also increases at 0.585.
Regression Analysis: WEIGHT versus INCOME
The regression equation is WEIGHT = 103 + 0.0633 INCOME or W = 103 + 0.0633Y
The linearility of the relationship between weight and income can further be measured by conducting a regression analysis.
Predictor Coef SECoef T P
Constant 102.55 15.60 6.57 0.022
Income 0.06330 0.06208 1.02 0.415
R-Square (r2) = 0.34.2
Adjusted R – 0.013
Standard Error – 16.64
Observations – 50
The regression analysis results reaffirms that weight and income have a linear relationship with a coefficient of 0.0633. Although this linear relationship is very weak, it does exist. The R-Square (which is the measured of coefficient of determination between the two variables) indicated that the predictability of weigh and income was 34.2%, hence, 34.2% of the variation weight can be directly explained by changes in income. This linear relationship can be graphically represented as below:
Weight
W = 103 + 0.0633Y
103
0Income
Testing of the Hypothesis
Ho: There is a relationship between income and obesity – Accepted
H1: There is no relationship between income and obesity – Rejected
From the above statistical analysis, we can deduce that there is a statistically significance relationship between income and weight, hence obesity. As income increases, the weight increases but less proportionately, thus increasing the chances of obesity among the tested population.
Works Cited
Is Globalization Making Us Fat? IESE Insight.Second Quarter 2013, Issue 17, p10-10. Print
Kumiya, Kiyohito; Ishine, Masayuki; Kasahara, Yoriko; Wada, Taizo; Sakamoto, Ryota; Kosaka, Yasuyuki; Ishimoto, Yasuko; Hirosaki, Mayumi; Kimura, Yumi; Fujisawa, Michiko; Otsuka, Kuniaki; Tan, Xiaoxia; Zhang, Hai; Zhao, Haijuan; Er, Wu; Yin, Shaoting; Matsubayashi, Kozo. “The effects of socioeconomic globalization on health and aging in highlanders compared to lowlanders in Yunnan, China, and Kochi, Japan”.Ecological Research. Nov2011, Vol. 26 Issue 6, p1027-1038. Print
“Study also incorporates BMI”. Arab Times. 30/03/2014. Print
Zaghloul, Sahar; Al-Hooti, Suad N; Al-Hamad, Nawal; Al-Zenki, Sameer; Alomirah, Husam; Alayan, Iman; Al-Attar, Hassan; Al-Othman, Amani; Al-Shami, Entessar; Al-Somaie, Mona; Jackson, Robert T. Evidence for nutrition transition in Kuwait: over-consumption of macronutrients and obesity. Public Health Nutrition. Apr2013, Vol. 16 Issue 4, p596-607. Print
Obesity in Children
Obesity in Children
Name
Course
Tutor’s Name
28th October, 2010
Childhood obesity in relationship to the Body Mass Index (BMI= Weight in KG/ height in M square) is described as those children above ninety fifth percentile while those above eighty fifth percentile are described as overweight. Obesity means excess body fat. Childhood obesity is worsening in most parts of the world overburdening the health sector due to the health problems associated with it. The cases of obese children are increasing due to a number of factors. It could be health factors such as endocrine and genetic factors. Genetic predisposition puts children at a risk of obesity when there are favourable conditions. Social and physical environment contributes to wait gain (Lobstein et al, 2010).
Causes of Obesity
Hyperphagis is c common in children with Prader-Willi Syndrome a c chromosomal medical condition. Endocrine medical conditions associated with obesity are hypogonadism, growth hormone deficiency, Cushing syndrome and hypothyroidism. Pharmacological factors include haloperidol, antiepileptic, anti-migraine, antihistamine, tricyclic antidepressants and resperidone. Psychiatric conditions such as psychogenic polyphagia and depression may cause obesity.
Changes in the input well as output of energy are obvious factors. Improved technology has made food readily available and attractive thus more consumption. Technology has made work easier e.g. in transport thus reducing the energy expenditure. Exercise is being taken formally by children thus they accumulate body fat. Non-modifiable factors causing obesity are ethnicity, genetic predisposition, more weight for gestating babies, and single gene abnormalities. Modifiable factors are less physical exercise, eating disorders, some medical conditions and viewing television. In United States, television viewing has been related to overweight in children (John, 2004).
Effect on Children
The effect of obesity in children may be short-term or long-term. Obesity affects the gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, endocrine and bone growth. In Orthopedics, there is genu valgum and slipped femoral epiphysis. Type-2 diabetes is an endocrine pathology prevalent as a result of obesity in children related to ethnic groups as those of Mediterranean and Middle East origin. Other endocrine pathologies are early puberty, advanced growth and polycystic ovary syndrome. Cardiovascular pathologies as a result of obesity are cor pulmonale, hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Obesity may cause respiratory problems such as pickwickian syndrome and obstructive sleep apnoea. Hepatic problems such as cholelithiasis and fatty liver may arise. Social and psychological effects include impaired psychosocial function especially in females as they grow. Childhood obesity affects the adulthood because most children remain in that state even as adults. This is associated with cardiovascular mortality in adults (John, 2004).
Obesity may have adverse effects on self esteem as reflected ion body appearance, academic performance, social networking, athletics, conduct and behavior. These children face discrimination, stereotyping and peer rejection common in girls. Being teased about the weight may adversely affect the psychology of obese children leading g to attempted suicides. Some societies such as Mexico however view weight positively as a sign of care and health. Obese children in these countries face low stigma, social rejection and have less psychological problems. This emphasize on the effect of peer, family and the society on psychological distress of childhood obesity (Lobstein et al, 2010). It follows that the society should not stigmatize obese children but rather, it should put in place the necessary mechanisms to help the obese children.
Management of Childhood Obesity
The community has a role to play such as offering guidelines on nutrition e.g. low fat food for children and fitness facilities. Residential areas should have play grounds where children can interact and play freely with others. This enhances their physical activity and help to reduce cases of obesity. Medical professionals plays a role of identifying the obesity, informing the related factors and offer advice on necessary interventions. Schools should ensure that the canteens sell proper food and promote proper eating habits. Schools should schedule physical exercise lessons and encourage casual activities such as walking. They should inform children of dietary recommendations, and engage them in measuring their BMI. Those who are obese and overweight should be put on weight loss schedule with the parent’s consent and rewarded if they succeed. Teachers should encourage behavior change (Summerbel 2009).
Management of obesity in middle aged children involves their acceptance of the condition as well as motivation from the family. Management involves modifying the diet, more physical activity, reduced sedentary activity and behavior modification. The family should encourage proper eating habits and avoid rewarding their children with food such as chocolates and ice cream. Children should be fed on fruits, vegetables and legumes. Wholegrain cerials should be included in their meals. Lean meat, fish, milk and water should be offered in appropriate quantities. Care should be taken to avoid intake of saturated fats, excess salt and added sugars (John, 2004).
Conclusion
Obesity in children is challenging and leads to adults’ morbidity. The family and community should ensure that proper strategies are put in place to counter the problem. Health practitioners should incorporate obesity in their pursuit of creating awareness to the society. Prevention of obesity should be emphasized in schools, families and at individual level through dietary management and lifestyle change (Lobstein et al, 2010).
Reference
John McLennan. (2004). Obesity in Children: Tackling a Growing Problem. Australian Family Physician.
Summerbell C. D et al. (2009). Interventions for Preventing Obesity in Children.USA; Wiley Publishers
Lobstein T, Baur L & Uauy R. (2010). Obesity in Children and Young People: A crisis in Public Health. United States; Wiley Publishers
Obesity in Australia
Obesity in Australia
Why obesity is a National Health Priority area
Obesity is a condition where excess body weight accumulates leading to significant burdens of ill health as well as social and economic costs (AIHW, 2011). Often, this condition occurs when a person’s level of energy intake surpasses energy expenditure. The higher the difference between energy intake and expenditure over a considerable period of time, the higher the rates of weight gain. As Medibank Health Solutions, (2010) notes, obesity increases the risk of potentially lethal and chronic illnesses. In particular, this condition increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, gall bladder disease, osteoporosis, ischemic stroke, sleep apnoea and certain cancers (AIHW, 2011). These medical problems that stem from obesity are expensive to treat including obesity itself. Partly, this explains why obesity needs to be categorized as a health priority area.
Recently, there has been significant increase in prevalence of obesity in many nations. In Australia for example, statistics obtained by the Department of Health and Ageing in 2007/2008 showed that the prevalence of obesity stood at 24.8 percent of the all people aged 18 years and above (Australian Bureau of statistics, 2009). This was an increase from 8.4 percent on the 2004/2005 data. In addition, Access Economics estimated that the overall financial costs related to treatment of the problems caused by obesity rose from $3.767 billion in 2005 to $8.283 billion in 2008 (AIHW, 2011). Following these trends, the Australian Health Ministers’ Conference decided to make obesity National Health Priority Area in 2007.
How the ‘Determinants of Health’ need to be considered in relation to obesity as a health issue.
Obesity is one of the non-contagious health outcomes largely attributed to lifestyle behaviours. According to Russell-Mayhew (2006), the amount of food that people take and how they expend their energy is determined by individual’s social-economic, social-political, socio-environmental and socio-cultural Environments. This is illustrated by statistics obtained in Australia in 2008 which indicated that obesity was more prevalent among racial/ethnic minorities and lower income groups and also those with least amount of education (Friel 2009). This implies that effective prevention of obesity can only be achieved through actions that tackle the underlying social drivers. According to (Russell-Mayhew, 2006), effective consideration of these social drivers requires formulation policy framework that give the most efficient approach to obesity as a health issue, at individual and community levels. The best approach to achieve this end is to provide people with social capital.
According to Russell-Mayhew (2006), freedom to live healthy is synonymous with psychological, material and political empowerment of individuals, communities and nations. The aforementioned social determinants of health lie behind empowerment and its social distribution within a population. The interaction among these social determinants shape the way in which people live, play, work and age all of which affect development and maintenance of obesity. This does not mean that medical and technical solutions to this condition such as medical care and disease control are not important; it is just that they do not exist for many problems that exist which are related to obesity. Thus, as Russell-Mayhew, (2006) stresses, effective consideration of the determinants of health involves “diffusion of knowledge about health promotion, maintenance of healthy behavioural norms through informal social control and access to local services and amenities.”
The primary, secondary and tertiary health promotion in relation to obesity as a health issue
Primary health promotion comprises activities designed to reduce cases of illnesses in a population with the intention of reducing as much as possible the risk of new cases appearing (Tulchinsky & Varavikovas, 2009). In its application to obesity, this process includes health promotion, such as educating people about risk factors for obesity and specific protections such as avoidance of particular foodstuffs. In short, the main objective of this process is to decrease the vulnerability of a population to obesity. Secondary health promotion on the other hand comprises activities designed to detect and make an early diagnosis of an illness or dysfunction and give the most effective treatment to stop its progress or prevent complications arising from an already existing illness or dysfunction. Secondary health promotion in relation to obesity involves seeking out those who are already obese and offering them help through, for example, engaging them into activities that help to reduce weight such as swimming and jogging, before they develop body complications (Boyce et al, 2010).
Tertiary health comprises of activities aimed at reducing incidences of chronic or recurrences of a particular illness in a population and thus reduces the consequences of that illness. According to Boyce et al, (2010), this process involves activities such as therapy, rehabilitation techniques all of which are designed to assist individuals to return to family, educational, professional, social and cultural life. In reference to obesity, tertiary promotion involves identifying obese persons who have already developed complications and working with them to reduce the long-term effects of their excessive weight.
The involvement and roles of community nurses in health promotion that targets obesity within a community setting.
Community health nursing is an initiative that addresses health needs of communities and vulnerable populations (Harris, 2008). Community health nurses are individuals involved in identification of the needs of clients, families or groups, they set goals, plan and provide the required services and evaluate the impact of their care. According to Andresen & Bouldin (2010), the health care services provided by community nurses to persons with obesity largely focus on holistic practices that integrate principles of health promotion, disease management, and rehabilitation. They formulate health promotion approaches for families, groups or clients and encourage self-care to assist them to avoid obesity or complications related to this condition or to get rid of the complications that they already acquired have that are brought about by obesity This involves providing education through counselling programs and offering instructions to individuals at both personal and collectively levels. Also, as a part the process of tackling the issue of obesity, community nurses deal with personal health matters such as excessive alcohol intake, diet, exercise, and encourage people participate in obesity prevention programs. As well, they encourage people to adopt appropriate and healthy eating habits and behaviours as early as they can in life (Glasper &Richardson, 2006). Finally, community nurses collect evaluate and analyse data regarding health requirements of obese persons within a population and use the information to guide them in provision of services to patients. Such data is very helpful while offering tertiary health promotion care to persons who have already developed complications brought about by obesity (Glasper &Richardson, 2006).
References
Andresen, E. & Bouldin,E. D., (2010), understanding population, Public Health Foundations:
Concepts and Practices, John Wiley and Sons
Australian Bureau of statistics, (2009), National Health Priority Areas, retrieved from
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/5317BAD6B8EEE19ACA25757C001EED30?opendocument
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), (2011), Why is obesity a National Health
Priority Area? http://www.aihw.gov.au/obesity-health-priority-area/
Boyce, T., Peckham, A., Hann, A., & Trenholm, S., (2010), A pro-active approach. Health
Promotion and Ill-health prevention, retrieved from http://www.ukpha.org.uk/media/22375/gp%20inquiry,%20health%20promotion%20and%20ill%20health%20prevention.pdf
Friel, S., (2009), Health equity in Australia: A policy framework based on action on the social
determinants of obesity, alcohol and tobacco, retrieved from, http://www.health.gov.au/internet/preventativehealth/publishing.nsf/Content/0FBE203C1C547A82CA257529000231BF/$File/commpaper-hlth-equity-friel.pdfs
Glasper, E. A. &Richardson, J., (2006), public health, primary healthcare and community
children’s nursing, A textbook of children’s and young people’s nursing, Elsevier Health Sciences, London
Harris, M., (2008), The role of primary health care in preventing the onset of chronic disease,
with a particular focus on the lifestyle risk factors of obesity, tobacco and alcohol, retrieved from, http://www.health.gov.au/internet/preventativehealth/publishing.nsf/Content/0FBE203C1C54782CA257529000231BF/$File/commpaper-primary-hlth-care-harris.pdf
Medibank Health Solutions, (2010) Obesity in Australia: financial impacts and cost benefits of
intervention, Retrieved from, http://www.medibank.com.au/Client/Documents/Pdfs/Obesity_Report_2010.pdf
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), (2011), Overweight and obesity,
Retrieved from, http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/grants/research-funding-statistics-and-data/overweight-and-obesity
Russell-Mayhew, S., (2006), Eating Disorders and Obesity as Social Justice Issues: Implications
for Research and Practice Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology, 1(1), 1-10
Tulchinsky, T. H. & Varavikovas, V., (2009), Expanding the concept of public health, The new
public health