Introduction
The increasing prevalence of obesity in adults and children is a major global health issue. Rapid technological advances and changing lifestyles have contributed to this increase, thus requiring urgent monitoring by healthcare providers. Obesity, defined by a body mass index (BMI) above 30, is often associated with various health complications such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. Nurses play an important role in addressing this problem through weight loss by praising and encouraging good manners. There are different approaches to addressing obesity, with two main approaches: multimodal interventions and pharmacotherapy. The former targets the complex interplay of biological, environmental, and social factors contributing to obesity, while the latter uses anti-obesity drugs. Out of necessity due to the importance of effective intervention, this study aims to compare the effectiveness of these strategies in reducing obesity, especially among adolescents.
Background of Study
Due to technological advancements and lifestyle changes, obesity cases in adults and children are increasing dramatically, and obesity is an increasing threat to public health worldwide. The most common way to diagnose obesity is with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 for obese people. Lack of exercise and eating unhealthy foods are the main causes. Nurses play an important role in helping people lose weight. Many obese people have other health problems, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and circulatory problems. Thus, nurses should raise weight management awareness and encourage patients to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Approaches to reducing obesity include multimodal therapy and pharmacotherapy. The multidisciplinary approach addresses the multiple biological, environmental, and social influences contributing to obesity. Pharmacotherapy aims to use anti-obesity agents in the treatment of obesity. The effectiveness of these methods is of great concern. This raises the research question, ‘Is it a multifaceted approach that is more effective in reducing obesity than adolescents using chemotherapy instead.’
How do these two articles support the nurse practice issue you chose?
The article “Pharmacotherapy for the Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Children, adolescents, and young adults in a large health system in the US” will provide information on how obese adolescents respond to anti-obesity medications (Czepiel et al., 2020). The case for multiple interventions targeting obesity provides information about how adolescents respond to obesity risk factors such as biological and social environments will provide compliance with our environment. By comparing the data of the two cases, a more effective approach to reducing obesity among adolescents will be determined.
The interventions in the articles had specific tests and treatments, and the comparison groups were children, adolescents, and adults with different treatments for adults. This compares to those in my PICOT question as it focuses heavily on multiple therapies and medications for adolescents.
Method of Study:
The pharmacotherapy article provides a method of using anti-obesity drugs to reduce obesity. Some drugs that can be used to reduce obesity in adolescents include Orlistat which inhibits fat absorption; phentermine which suppresses appetite; topiramate Topamax which suppresses appetite and zonisamide zonogram, which facilitates serotonergic and dopaminergic neurotransmission. The case of multilevel intervention uses techniques used at two or more levels of influence in a socio-ecological model (Czepiel et al., 2020). For example, providing sports programs in community settings, improving adolescent behavioral counseling, and environmental and dietary modifications at home. These two approaches differ because the former focuses on obesity treatment to reduce obesity in adolescents. In contrast, the latter focuses on addressing obesity risk factors to reduce obesity among youth.
The advantage of anti-obesity drugs is that they effectively reduce excess body weight and maintain weight loss for at least one year. Limitations of the method over this and that it can cause life-threatening complications such as pulmonary hypertension and heat stroke. Addressing obesity risk has the advantage of targeting a specific group that adolescents say can effectively reduce obesity among people in that group Limitations of that this way is that it requires specific interventions to overcome the number and complexity of the risk factors.
Results of Study
Studies on drugs for the treatment of obesity show that only certain anti-obesity drugs can only be used to treat obesity in adolescents; they are not suitable for adults. These drugs work through food inhibition of appetite or inhibition of fat absorption by inhibiting intestinal lipase and gastric lipase in the stomach s either children are superior to adolescents, or because obese children and adolescents have greater disease plasticity, these medications are very important for patients making lifestyle changes and help obese children and adolescents lose weight. Findings from various levels of research suggest that environmental, behavioral, social, and biological interventions can potentially reduce obesity among adolescents. Some of these factors and increasing ethical awareness, starting play centers in the community, and environmental behavior change in the home (Stevens et al., 2020, 2017). These methods must be flexible enough to accommodate different study settings and populations to achieve optimal results. Research should also target the group expected to be impacted by the intervention.
Two assessments are very important in nursing practice. Nurses need to understand what type of drugs to administer to different groups based on their age to increase obesity reduction performance Nurses also need to raise awareness of behavioral changes that need to be addressed to reduce obesity are greater than. Thus, these two studies positively influence nurses’ practice by guiding how best to achieve desired outcomes.
Ethical Considerations
Some ethical considerations in conducting research include protecting the confidentiality of research participants and ensuring the safety of research participants. This means that identities should not be exposed to research participation and disclose data and confidential information to unauthorized personnel. In addition, the people involved in the research should not be aware of any problems or risks. For example, drug testing should not harm their health.
The issue of chemotherapy involves ethical research in the sense that it involves human participants reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). For children and adolescents, participants’ parents had written informed consent. The article on multilevel interventions also included ethical reviews in which participants had reported consent in intervention trials.
Conclusion
In the face of a growing obesity epidemic that affects individuals of all ages, the role of nurses in advocating for healthy lifestyles and effective interventions is important. The research described in this article provides insight into the effectiveness of multiple interventions and pharmacotherapy among adolescents. While chemotherapy offers the advantages of targeted therapy, it comes with potential risks that must be managed with caution. On the other hand, multilevel interventions address the root causes of obesity affecting different aspects of an individual’s life, requiring a comprehensive and flexible approach. Both approaches have advantages; they should be delivered carefully considering the patient’s needs and conditions for obesity. Guide management strategies can also contribute to improvement. Finally, by integrating such assessment into evidence-based practice, nurses can play an important role in addressing the obesity problem and improving individuals’ and communities’ overall health and well-being.
References
Czepiel, K. S., Perez, N. P., Campoverde Reyes, K. J., Sabharwal, S., & Stanford, F. C. (2020). Pharmacotherapy for treating overweight and obesity in children, adolescents, and young adults in a large health system in the US. Frontiers in Endocrinology, pp. 11, 290. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2020.00290
Stevens, J., Pratt, C., Boyington, J., Nelson, C., Truesdale, K. P., Ward, D. S., … & Murray, D. M. (2017). Multilevel interventions targeting obesity: research recommendations for vulnerable populations. American journal of preventive medicine, 52(1), 115–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2016.09.011