Introduction
Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension are increasingly recognized as important public health issues in the United States. Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension rates in the United States have more than quadrupled over the past 30 years (Ogden et al., 2010). One-third of the population is predicted to be overweight or obese (Singh et al., 2010). Despite the fact that this is a serious issue, there is more to consider. More and more people in the United States are increasingly being diagnosed with illnesses formerly associated with adults (Wang & Beydoun, 2007). High blood pressure and type 2 diabetes are two of the most common ones. Because of the increased risk of more serious illnesses like stroke, cancer, and heart disease due to the earlier onset of these chronic problems, an increasing proportion of Americans are now at danger (Ogden et al., 2014).
It has also been determined that Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension are now more rampant in the rural areas than in the metropolitan area, with people in rural areas being 25% more likely to be obese or overweight as compared to their counterparts in urban areas (Ogden et al., 2014). Other than that, the percentage of people who are obese is as high as 40% among certain Hispanic and African American communities (Birch & Ventura, 2009). It is also known that obese and overweight people are faced with a higher risk of becoming obese in adulthood. This essentially means that if Obesity in adulthood is to be prevented, then Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension should be tackled first (Wang & Beydoun, 2007). This is a cause for concern as many people suffer health-related problems due to increased obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.
In light of these staggering statistics, it would have been expected that preventive measures would be in place to avert the problem of Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. Indeed, there is evidence that some intervening measures have been implemented, as demonstrated by a large number of research that has been conducted on the subject. However, the interventions (preventive measures) have been ineffective or misdirected. Therefore, this is a problem that warrants empirical investigation.
In the United States, Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension have become serious pediatric concerns (Munthali et al., 2017). Starting from around 1990, a dramatic increase in Obesity and overweight has been the remarkable major change in human biology (Singh et al., 2016). Many studies have been undertaken concerning Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, especially about the prevention of Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension (Stevens et al., 2016). Historically, US-based programs have influenced childhood health (Economos & Hatfield, 2015). However, preventive interventions targeting Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension have on many occasions engrossed the US since they are perceived to be important settings (Wabitsch et al., 2015). Considering social, environmental factors, the US forms a critical aspect in shaping people’s physical and eating patterns. Karnik & Kanekar (2015) analyzed the Let’s Move campaign against obesity, diabetes, and hypertension launched by Michelle Obama in 2010. They argue that this is one of the most effective ways of addressing the problem of Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension because it is multifactorial in approach. They contend that to deal with Obesity, diabetes effectively, and hypertension, there is a need to target US programs emphasizing good exercises and general consumer habits starting at the family level.
Campbell et al. (2014) were particularly lauded the campaign for requiring that the nutritional labeling of products be revamped to empower consumers and parents. According to Cunningham et al. (2014), victory against the Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension crisis in the US will only be attained if there is a total change in how the country as whole approaches nutrition, eating, and physical activity; and this requires that larger communities, neighborhoods, and individuals be simultaneously targeted. This multifactorial approach is relevant for the proposed study because it is almost clear now that a single approach to the Obesity, diabetes and hypertension problem does not work (Robinson et al., 2014). These developments can help decline or even stabilize the prevalence rates (Crawford et al., 2013).
Methods
There were qualitative as well as quantitative research methods used. In order to help young people and their instructors transition to a healthy lifestyle, the research used a systematic review that updated previous literature studies that included nutritional health education programs and training for teachers in the US curriculum (Borodich, 2015). Primary research was taken into account since it was utilized to collect data directly from the source rather than relying solely on previously published sources. The Cochrane Database System was used to find secondary research that focused on elementary school-aged people in the United States as a primary goal because healthy eating and physical activity are advocated at this age. Only treatments implemented in US-based settings were included in this review.
From the literature review done for the US, the pairing was done based on ethnicity, size, and social disadvantage level, which is reflected by the number of free US meals. According to the review, among the ten US reviewed, half (n=5) had incorporated the interventions with the remaining group half (n=5) that had no interventions programs. The intervention US received active programs which promoted a healthy lifestyle (Abbott, 2016). The program entailed modifying US meals, training teachers, implementing and developing the US plan of actions designed to promote physical activities and healthy eating in one academic year (Munthali et al., 2017). On the other hand, the control group continued with their usual curriculum without the intervention, as the review indicated. This technique would help identify the effectiveness of incorporating nutritional health education programs and physical activities in the US curriculum about averting Obesity and overweight cases among US people. Barry et al. (2013) investigated the prevention strategies of Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. They aimed to elucidate promising but untested intervention strategies using evidence from epidemiological and experimental research, offer a description of existing primary approaches to preventing obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, and introduce a multi-phase strategy for screening intervention components to evaluate potent interventions. They believe that rather than having all or most preventive strategies targeting school-age people (which have been largely unsuccessful), it is important to expand prevention strategies to include all other contexts in which people can be found. These include settings. Lee et al. (2013) also argue that it is important to target people who have not yet entered school because 25% of people with Obesity are preschoolers. This study is relevant because it emphasizes the importance of targeting school-based people and includes another context where people can be found. Indeed, schools are not the only place where people are.
Ogden et al. (2010) performed a systematic literature review to determine the various community-based programs for checking Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension in the US and other high-income countries. Search databases include CINAHL, Cochrane Library, clinicaltrials.gov, PsychInfo, Medline, and Embase. They found only very moderate evidence to indicate that community-based intervention strategies combining physical activities and a good diet are undertaken within a school setting were effective in preventing obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. Their study was not conclusive on the importance of having obesity prevention programs (especially those based on diet and exercise). They, therefore, recommend more research on the comparative effectiveness of various community-oriented obesity, diabetes, and hypertension deterrence agendas.
Zenzen & Kridli (2009) argued that dissemination and translation of prevention measures evidence into use is required if important communal health concerns such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension are to be sustainably addressed. According to them, if there were increased reporting of and attention to external rationality information in research publications, it would be better to appreciate the generalizability issues pertinent to effective interpretation. Needing to validate this potential, they investigated the extent to which external validity dimensions were reported in recent reports of prevention interventions in Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. They used and summarized studies carried out between 2005 and 2006 and relied on the Birch &Ventura (2009) review criteria. None of the 19 articles that met the criteria had full reporting on potential and dissemination elements.
Wofford (2008) reviewed school-based Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension intervention for his part. The tenacity of the study was to use Cooper’s framework to offer an overview of the extent to which there have been variations in both the theoretical frameworks and the methodological approaches of school-based prevention programs for Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension which make use of either one or more of these interventions: parental involvement, health lifestyle education, physical activity, and diet. Out of the 16 articles included, 50% used theoretical frameworks. There was significant variability in the intervention duration between the studies included, ranging from 5 to 8 weeks (Wofford, 2008). It was also found that 88% of the studies carried out dietary habit interventions while the same proportion also implemented physical education programs. Lifestyle health education was applied in all studies.
This particular study is important and relevant to the proposed study because it shows that school-based intervention may still be suitable for addressing obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. Most importantly, the findings of the study indicate that as long as one can correctly and accurately evaluate the efficiency of school-based measures, it is possible to determine that they are indeed effective.
Bates et al. (2008) used a systematic review of the literature to identify the current state of evidence on the now big problem of Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, especially on prevention strategies being employed. It was found that there are five key areas where the most focus has been when it comes to Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. These are the prevalence of the problem, the need to use preventive instead of curative approaches to the problem, the need to target people, the great importance of involving parents in the intervention, and the guidelines for preventing obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. Klesges et al. (2008) recommended that health care practitioners be involved in future studies because there is a clear gap between articulating the problem clearly and reporting and the best strategies that need to be applied to prevent the problem.
The data collection entailed comparing results of a review of 630 records of affected people aged 30 and above years. According to Abbott (2016), demographic characteristics acted as the main aspect of interest, which involved age, gender, race, BMI, and outcome of interest. The records were randomized selected for review to reduce the bias (Munthali et al., 2017). The effect of the intervention on individual behavior was assessed by reviewing data on diet, growth psychological state at the beginning of the intervention, and the frequency of physical activity. The researcher ensured that the reviewed records were from the state pre-group located outside the inner city.
Discussion
Analysis of the data was carried out using a statistical t-test, using an independent sample of 5 percent and statistical tools. In order to get reliable results, a sample size of fewer than five years was determined based on prior peer-reviewed papers (Munthali et al., 2017). Considered pairing and lack of independence between US participants, known as cluster effect, in this statistical procedure. A random meta-analysis across the cluster pairings was used to accomplish this (Wofford, 2008). As a final step, the researcher accounted for factors such as BMI and intervention status in each of the five pairs. The mean and standard deviation for the entire study group were attained. “Overweight” and “obese” (BMI > 1.04, corresponding to > 85th centiles) persons (Paruchuri et al., 2016) are those who have a body mass index (BMI) that is greater than or equal to one.
Results
An assessment of the literature found that those who participated in the intervention program reported greater levels of self-behavior modification, physical activity, and a better awareness of how meals might enhance their health (Paruchuri et al., 2016). They were able and willing to contribute health benefits ideas and information, as evidenced by the review of participation. As a result, they were able to recall information on physical activity and diet that they had learned and participated in in the United States, unlike the control group. US-based education campaigns aimed at reducing the intake of fizzy drinks in adults over the age of 30 in order to prevent weight gain were successful (Barry et al., 1013). A considerable increase in water intake was also seen among the participants in the intervention group.
Conclusion
Based on the reviewed studies, it was evident that energy imbalance is the ultimate reason behind increased weight and Obesity among people. However, consumption of carbonated drinks and sugary food contributed to Obesity among young people. About local dental guidelines, young people were encouraged not to take carbonated drinks since they were energy-dense. The findings from the study called for every aspect of the community to change their feeding patterns and lifestyles to avert Obesity among people, translating to Obesity as well as the development of prolonged diseases such as diabetes in adulthood. Additionally, physical exercise helps in maintaining body weight.
The research commended that people should shift into consuming alternative drinks such as water and natural fruit juices for sweetness rather than carbonated drinks. Additionally, the patients were encouraged to increase the duration of physical exercise and offer a balanced diet in their meals. However, parents were also recommended to provide healthy foods to their people and reduce the duration to which their people spend watching television as will reduce the idleness.
References
Abbott, J. (2016). Helping affected people to avoid Obesity. http://isrctn.com/. doi:10.1186/isrctn22620137
Barry, C. L., Brescoll, V. L., & Gollust, S. E. (2013). Framing Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension: How Individualizing the Problem Affects Public Support for Prevention. Political Psychology, 34(3), 327-349. doi:10.1111/pops.12018
Bates, L. M., Acevedo-Garcia, D., Alegría, M., & Krieger, N. (2008). Immigration and generational trends in body mass index and Obesity in the United States: results of the National Latino and Asian American Survey, 2002–2003. American journal of public health, 98(1), 70-77.
Birch, L. L., & Ventura, A. K. (2009). Preventing Obesity, diabetes and hypertension: what works? International Journal of Obesity, 33, S74-S81.
Bleich, S. N., Segal, J., Wu, Y., Wilson, R., & Wang, Y. (2013). Systematic review of community-based obesity, diabetes and hypertension prevention studies. Pediatrics, 132(1), e201-e210.
Borodich, T. S. (2015). The modifiable risk factors for Obesity and overweight in early childhood period, the analysis of cumulative effects and the potential for prevention. Obesity and metabolism, 12(2), 51. doi:10.14341/omet2015251
Campbell, F., Conti, G., Heckman, J. J., Moon, S. H., Pinto, R., Pungello, E., & Pan, Y. (2014). Early Childhood Investments Substantially Boost Adult Health. Science, 343(6178), 1478-1485. doi:10.1126/science.1248429
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC. (2009). Obesity prevalence among low-income, Preus-aged people-United States, 1998-2008. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 58(28), 769.
Crawford, P. B., Schneider, C. L., Martin, A. C., Spezzano, T., Algert, S., Ganthavorn, C., … Donohue, S. (2013). Communitywide strategies key to preventing Obesity, diabetes and hypertension. California Agriculture, 67(1), 13-20. doi:10.3733/ca.v067n01p13
Cunningham, S. A., Kramer, M. R., & Narayan, K. V. (2014). Incidence of Obesity, diabetes and hypertension in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine, 370(5), 403-411.
Economos, C., & Hatfield, D. (2015). Overview of the key current population-level strategies used to prevent Obesity. Managing and Preventing Obesity, 31-41. doi:10.1533/9781782420996.1.31
Gollust, S. E., Niederdeppe, J., & Barry, C. L. (2013). Framing the Consequences of Obesity, diabetes and hypertension to Increase Public Support for Obesity Prevention Policy. American Journal of Public Health, 103(11), e96-e102. doi:10.2105/ajph.2013.301271
Karnik, S., & Kanekar, A. (2015). Obesity, diabetes and hypertension: A Global Public Health Crisis. US Nutrition and Activity, 3-15. doi:10.1201/b18227-3
Klesges, L. M., Dzewaltowski, D. A., & Glasgow, R. E. (2008). Review of external validity reporting in Obesity, diabetes and hypertension prevention research. American journal of preventive medicine, 34(3), 216-223.
Lee, R., Zhai, F., Han, W., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Waldfogel, J. (2013). Head Start and people’s nutrition, weight, and health care receipt. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28(4), 723-733. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2013.06.003
Munthali, R. J., Kagura, J., Lombard, Z., & Norris, S. A. (2017). Early Life Growth Predictors of Childhood Adiposity Trajectories and Future Risk for Obesity: Birth to Twenty Cohort. Obesity, diabetes and hypertension. doi:10.1089/chi.2016.0310
Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Curtin, L. R., Lamb, M. M., & Flegal, K. M. (2010). Prevalence of high body mass index in US people and adolescents, 2007-2008. Jama, 303(3), 242-249.
Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K., & Flegal, K. M. (2014). Prevalence of childhood and adult obesity in the United States, 2011-2012. Jama, 311(8), 806-814.
Ogden, C. L., Lamb, M. M., Carroll, M. D., & Flegal, K. M. (2010). Obesity and Socioeconomic Status in People and Adolescents: United States, 2005-2008. NCHS Data Brief. Number 51. National Center for Health Statistics.
Paruchuri, A., Faisal, M., & Singh, S. (2016). Toward primordial prevention of Obesity, diabetes and hypertension—predictors and parameters of Obesity, diabetes and hypertension. International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health, 5(10), 2154. doi:10.5455/ijmsph.2016.09032016444
Robinson, L. E., Webster, E. K., Whitt-Glover, M. C., Ceaser, T. G., & Alhassan, S. (2014). Effectiveness of pre-US- and US-based interventions to impact weight-related behaviours in African American people and youth: a literature review. Obesity Reviews, 15, 5-25. doi:10.1111/obr.12208
Singh, G. K., Kogan, M. D., & Van Dyck, P. C. (2010). Changes in state-specific Obesity, diabetes and hypertension and overweight prevalence in the United States from 2003 to 2007. Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine, 164(7), 598-607.
Singh, G. K., Kogan, M. D., Van Dyck, P. C., & Siahpush, M. (2008). Racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and behavioral determinants of childhood and adolescent Obesity in the United States: analyzing independent and joint associations. Annals of epidemiology, 18(9), 682-695.
Stevens, S. D., Herbozo, S., Morrell, H. E., Schaefer, L. M., & Thompson, J. K. (2016). Adult and childhood weight influence body image and depression through weight stigmatization. Journal of Health Psychology. doi:10.1177/1359105315624749
Ventura, C. S. (2015). Childhood Adiposity – Solutions for a National Epidemic. Journal of Obesity & Weight Loss Therapy, 05(02). doi:10.4172/2165-7904.1000257
Wabitsch, M., Moss, A., & Kromeyer-Hauschild, K. (2015). Unexpected Plateauing of Obesity, diabetes and hypertension Rates in Developed Countries. The Obesity, diabetes and hypertension Epidemic, 21-28. doi:10.1201/b18225-4
Wang, Y., & Beydoun, M. A. (2007). The obesity epidemic in the United States—gender, age, socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and geographic characteristics: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Epidemiologic Reviews, 29(1), 6-28.
Wofford, L. G. (2008). Systematic review of Obesity, diabetes and hypertension prevention. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 23(1), 5-19.
Wojcicki, J. M., & Heyman, M. B. (2010). Let’s move—Obesity, diabetes and hypertension prevention from pregnancy and infancy onward. New England Journal of Medicine, 362(16), 1457-1459.
Young, T., Wiysonge, C. S., Schoonees, A., Shung King, M., Uauy, R., & Kain, J. (2014). Cochrane Column * Interventions for preventing Obesity in people * Commentary: Obesity, diabetes and hypertension: A growing dilemma for public health interventions and research alike Commentary: Interventions for preventing Obesity in people (Review). International Journal of Epidemiology, 43(3), 675-678. doi:10.1093/ije/dyu09
Zenzen, W., & Kridli, S. (2009). Integrative review of US-based obesity, diabetes and hypertension prevention programs. Journal of Pediatric health care, 23(4), 242-258.
write