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Childhood Obesity as a Health Care Problem

Introduction

Childhood obesity is a health condition that occurs when a child is above normal health—when their weight in kilograms does not balance with their height concerning their age (Kamal, 2017). Childhood obesity has been a prevalent condition in most parts of the world, forming a basis for several health consequences. The selected healthcare problem in this case scenario is childhood obesity. In this regard, the three healthcare issues that emanate from the healthcare mentioned earlier include coronary heart disease, dyslipidemia, and hypertension.

Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease defines a health condition characterized by the build-up of plaque in the arteries. Blood flows from the body to the heart through the vena cava; it flows through the ventricles then through the pulmonary artery for oxygenation in the lungs. The blood travels back to the heart via the pulmonary artery then leaves the heart to the body via the aorta. Coronary heart disease limits the supply of oxygen-rich blood to the heart due to the narrow blockage, thus leading to a heart attack. Plague in the arteries majorly forms due to cholesterol or the accumulation of body fats. The heart is a sensitive organ in the human body that requires steady and regular blood flow because it acts as its major organ for survival. Some signs of coronary heart disease include chest pain (angina), shortness of breath and fatigue (Dewey et al., 2016). Some diagnostic tests for coronary disease include electrocardiographs, blood, pharmacologic stress, and echocardiogram.

Intervention for Coronary Heart Disease

From the healthy people 2030 perspective, to control coronary heart disease, children need to have enough sleep since their early childhood stages. In this case, an infant between the age of 4-11 months should sleep for 12-15 hours a day, a toddler with an age of 1-2 years should sleep for 11-14 hours a day, a pre-school child aged 3-5 years should sleep 10-13 hours a day, while a school-age child aged 6-13 years should sleep 9-11 hours a day. Fundamentally, enough sleep prevents children from early childhood stress, reducing the risks of obesity and coronary heart diseases. Additionally, children should not be given foods with high sodium and saturated fats; instead, they should be given plenty of fruits and vegetables for at least 12 years.

Community Resources and Practical Effects

Several community resources can refer to the interventions for preventing coronary heart disease. Firstly, the community health workers, including promotores de Salud and community health advisers, can be at the far front to disseminate the causes, risks and consequences of coronary heart disease. Information dissemination will help create awareness to the community members adding more value and knowledge. Another community resource can be deploying a community workout site or zone to help members keep fit. A community workout zone can help eradicate coronary heart disease by helping the children exercise and perform regular body exercise workouts to reduce fats and eliminate fat accumulation. Also, beginning community programs with the target of the young generation, such as the Health and Inequality in Finnmark Programme, Kilkenny Health Project and the Minnesota Heart Health Program (Krzyzanowski et al., 2019)—will help ensure regular check-ups and maintain good health.

Ethical Questions

  • Will every community member be willing to cooperate with the community health workers in information dissemination?
  • Will every child manage to attend the workout zone or cite regularly?
  • Will the programs cater for the health needs of all children of various ages?

Health Policy Provisions

Public reporting acts as the first step, and it ensures accountability. Public reporting is an improvement tool, and the main aim is to incite the health providers to improve their performance by providing quality health care. Federal public reporting ensures that each hospital includes its reviews and quality healthcare on its websites to ensure competency in treatment. Hospital Compare Website happens to be the site for the public to compare the healthcare quality.

Pay for performance (P4P) is another health policy provision that ensures that the public pays according to the hospital performance in a particular field (Milstein, 2016). P4P caters for Medicare & Medicaid Services in different hospitals with high performance in heart-related cases based on the Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration (HQID) experience. The high performance calls for increased pay and vice versa.

Priorities of a Coordinator to The Family Members

The health coordinator should ensure that they explain the importance of enough rest among young children. Enough rest makes the body relax and perform its operations swiftly, eliminating the risk for cardiovascular heart disease. The coordinator also should explain to the family member an essential aspect of loving and showing concern to the patient to ensure that they do not feel left out or unloved despite their condition. It is also vital to ensure that the family members help the patient exercise, for instance, encourage the child to walk or jog regularly to eliminate excessive fat accumulation.

Literature Evaluation

According to the Healthy People 2030 document, there is a need for children to get enough rest. Enough rest ensures that the child’s body maintains healthy blood circulation and limits heart disease-related cases. Enough sleep also reduces stress limiting the chances of obesity-related issues to the child as it grows (Aparicio et al., 2016). The Healthy People 2030 document also states the reduced amounts of sugar consumption for those over two years to lower the risks of obesity. In addition, children should breastfeed for at least six months to ensure that they maintain a healthy, nutritious balance to reduce the chances of cardiovascular diseases. According to the Healthy People 2030 document, the information presented is relevant because it forms a basis for improved health among children, thus lowering the risks of cardiovascular diseases.

 Dyslipidemia

Dyslipidemia is a health condition defining the abnormal cholesterol level and other body lipids in the body system. Fats and cholesterol are essential components of the blood, but the high accumulation of such risks heart attack and other heart failure related illnesses. For a healthy child, blood cholesterol levels should range between160mg/dL to 170mg/dL (Kopin, 2017). However, above 170mg/dL shows the likelihood of heart attack and failure. Children above nine years should go for regular check-ups after at least five years. The primary aspect of dyslipidemia relates to atherosclerosis, which is the hardening of the arteries due to fat deposits and accumulation.

Intervention for Dyslipidemia

Children should consume low-calorie foods with blood fat accumulation. Children below five years should consume a diet with ˃10 calory saturation. Children should intake at least <300 mg/day calories for two years to ensure healthy living. Regular and vigorous aerobics are necessary to cut excessive fats, especially for those above nine years. Also, children from 9 years should add more vegetative value to their diets to lower calorie intake.

Community Resources and Practical Effects

The first community resource in ensuring low cases among children is to increase health awareness in school and family setups. The federal and state government can ensure that they deploy a curriculum that incorporates dyslipidemia knowledge to all community members. The community workers can collaborate with the local institutions to deploy centers for health training to ensure that the people know about lowering the risks of dyslipidemia. In addition, the community needs to ensure that they have schools with gym halls to provide regular exercise among the school-going children. Regular exercise lowers the risk of dyslipidemia.

Ethical Questions

  • Will all children be cooperative in the community set-up, especially in the health training centers?
  • Will the government ensure that it deploys a suitable and regular dyslipidemia program in the school curriculum?
  • Will all the children participate in exercising?

Health Policy Provisions

Aggressive diagnosis and treatment of dyslipidemia are among the top health goals in most countries because they pose a severe danger to humans of all ages. For instance, South Korea has ensured that each hospital deploys an aggressive plan for dyslipidemia diagnosis and treatment by providing standard knowledge equipment and dissemination (Kang, 2019). Also, hospital facilities have ensured that they have the appropriate diagnostic tools to testing dyslipidemia.

Also, revision guidelines on the treatment criteria and dyslipidemia management is another healthy policy provision. The high prevalence of dyslipidemia cases in the western world has proved a menace to millions of people claiming. In Korea, the Korean Society of Lipid and Atherosclerosis (KSo-LA) published dyslipidemia management in 1996, upon which they revised it in 2003 and 2009 to ensure efficiency. Different populations trigger different health concerns hence the need for guideline revision.

Priorities of a Coordinator to The Family Members

Calorie intake will differ as per the child’s age. A calorie is an essential aspect of the human blood, but excessive calorie intake will lead to dyslipidemia. Therefore, the family members should ensure that the child increases the calorie intake value with age as they grow (Brazendale et al., 2017). Also, a change in low fat intake to high vegetable intake should align with the child’s age. Children should ensure that they consume a balanced diet except for under six months who regular full-time breastfeeding.

Literature Evaluation

According to the Healthy People 2030 document, children should lower high sugar foods. High sugar foods supply the body with starch increasing the level of blood sugar. High blood sugar leads to dyslipidemia. Exclusive breastfeeding for infants, ˃6 months is advisable to ensure a balance in their blood sugar levels. Infants require low amounts of fats which the mother’s milk supplies, thus limiting dyslipidemia.

Hypertension

Hypertension also high blood pressure in children relates to weight issues leading to primary hypertension. A physician declares a child to have high blood pressure when their blood pressure falls above the 90th percentile and above the 95th percentile for those with hypertension (Lurbe, 2016). High blood pressure presents the reading of the blood force against the artery walls. The heart should pump blood at a medium rate as indicated by the blood pressure monitor, which shows the systolic and diastolic blood rates. When the arteries find pressure in pumping the blood, the arteries may be clog with fats leading to high or low blood pressure. The standard blood pressure rate should be 120/80 mm Hg. the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) shows that at least 3.5% of children are at the risk of having high blood pressure due to poor eating habits resulting in obesity issues.

Intervention for Hypertension

From the healthy people 2030 perspective, controlling hypertension among children calls for regular exercise. Regular exercise such as jogging and walking among children from age 9 reduces fat accumulation in the arteries lowering hypertension. Change of diet such as intaking more vegetables and reducing starchy foods lowers hypertension among children above five years. Children under six months should ensure that they breastfeed exclusively to provide a healthy nutritional value limiting hypertension risks associated with fat accumulation. Also, low iodine intake from high salt content foods is not advisable, especially for children above 12 years. High iodine stiffens arteries leading to blood pressure.

Community Resources and Practical Effects

Community health check-up centers is a community resource that can help reduce the risks of hypertension. In most cases, high blood pressure ends up unnoticed; therefore, it is necessary to ensure a common health center for regular checkups. Community health workers can ensure that they collaborate with the local institutions such as the family set up and schools to educate on children’s nutritional requirements, lowering blood pressure cases. Prevention is better than cure. Also, children can acquire a nutrition plan from the local health clinic to monitor their nutritive intake as they grow. A nutrition plan will ensure that the children intake the proper content of foods, thus boosting their health eliminating hypertension.

Ethical Questions

  • Will each community member visit the health check-up center?
  • Will the local institutions ensure constant follow up with the health workers for nutrition education?
  • Will the parents ensure that the children follow up with the nutrition plan as they grow?

Health Policy Provisions

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) ensures improved health insurance for managing high blood pressure among children since it is a prevalent health condition. Globally, hypertension claims millions in a year, and it, therefore, requires keen attention by ensuring improved health insurance. Some populations lay helpless due to insufficient funds (Woolhandler, 2017) to manage hypertension cases; thus, the US federal government saw it good to cater to all people by having an inclusive medical cover.

The United States Ministry of Health, in conjunction with the department of health and health facilities, have ensured timely diagnosis and management of high blood pressure. Previous research shows that patients can collapse and die quickly without their knowledge of high blood pressure; due to this, the government saw it as good to have a timely diagnosis by deploying check-up centres all over. Symptom management and treatment are among the timely diagnosis measures in the US.

Priorities of a Coordinator to The Family Members

Blood pressure rates will differ among different populations. Children above ten years old have a higher risk of blood pressure, unlike those under six years. Therefore, family members should ensure regular checkups for those over ten years to maintain healthy lives. Regular exercise is a vital component to help manage blood pressure. With time, blood pressure can go down and stabilize as plaque clears from the arteries due to regular exercise. Also, the family members should ensure that they manage the patient’s condition by affirming them on their wholeness. Children require love and attention; being victims of blood pressure calls for family affirmation leading to a quick recovery.

Literature Evaluation

According to the Healthy People 2030 document, there is a need for reduced sugar intake. Sugar is starch, and when consumed, it translates to fats and may form a plaque in the arteries limiting the blood flow. Blood pressure among children can reduce by intaking less sugar and eating more vegetables leading to healthy living. In addition, breastfeeding is vital among infants for at least six months to ensure growth and nutritional value management. The document’s claims are relevant because they aim at improved health systems by maintaining a balance in the dietary components.

References

Aparicio, E., Canals, J., Arija, V., De Henauw, S., & Michels, N. (2016). The role of emotion regulation in childhood obesity: implications for prevention and treatment. Nutrition research reviews29(1), 17-29.

Brazendale, K., Beets, M. W., Weaver, R. G., Pate, R. R., Turner-McGrievy, G. M., Kaczynski, A. T., … & von Hippel, P. T. (2017). Understanding differences between summer vs. school obesogenic behaviors of children: the structured days hypothesis. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity14(1), 1-14.

Dewey, M., Rief, M., Martus, P., Kendziora, B., Feger, S., Dreger, H., … & Zimmermann, E. (2016). Evaluation of computed tomography in patients with atypical angina or chest pain clinically referred for invasive coronary angiography: randomised controlled trial. bmj355.

Healthy People 2030 Document.

Kamal, S. A. (2017). In search of a definition of childhood obesity. International Journal of Biology and Biotechnology14(1), 49-67.

Kang, D. H., & Yoon, W. (2019). Current opinion on endovascular therapy for emergent large vessel occlusion due to underlying intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis. Korean journal of radiology20(5), 739-748.

Kopin, L., & Lowenstein, C. J. (2017). Dyslipidemia. Annals of internal medicine167(11), ITC81-ITC96.

Krzyzanowski, B., Manson, S. M., Eder, M. M., Kne, L., Oldenburg, N., Peterson, K., … & Duval, S. (2019). Use of a Geographic Information System to create treatment groups for group-randomized community trials: The Minnesota Heart Health Program. Trials20(1), 1-7.

Lurbe, E., & Ingelfinger, J. R. (2016). Blood pressure in children and adolescents: current insights. Journal of hypertension34(2), 176-183.

Milstein, R., & Schreyoegg, J. (2016). Pay for performance in the inpatient sector: a review of 34 P4P programs in 14 OECD countries. Health Policy120(10), 1125-1140.

Woolhandler, S., & Himmelstein, D. U. (2017). The relationship of health insurance and mortality: is lack of insurance deadly?. Annals of Internal Medicine167(6), 424-431.

 

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