Introduction

Obesity is a severe health condition with a high level of prevalence in the USA among both adults and adolescents. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [NHNES] (n. d.), approximately 19.9 percent of American men and 25.5 percent of American women have a body mass that is classified as obese. Such a high percentage of incidences imply a high level of comorbidities, such as cardiovascular disease, heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and other complications. It is vital to address this public health concern in younger populations to prevent and timely treat the condition to maintain healthy adulthood for the population.

Problem Statement

The distinction between healthy weight, overweight, and obesity is related to the ratio between body mass and height. As defined by NHNES (n. d.), obesity is a condition that corresponds with the level of body mass index (BMI) higher than 30. The measurement of BMI includes dividing a person’s weight by his or her height. If the result shows an indicator of 30 or higher, the person is obese. For comparison, the BMI of a person considered to have a healthy body weight is 18.5 – 24.9 (NHNES, n. d., p. 1). Thus, the higher the BMI rate, the more health risks arise for the impacted population.

Population of Interest

The role of a community nurse is to identify the population most impacted by the health condition to design effective preventative and treatment interventions for particular families and the community as a whole. Maria and her family are severely impacted by obesity and comorbid conditions and are a vulnerable population since they have no health insurance. Therefore, the responsibility of a community nurse is to address the health needs of the family by appropriate methods and interventions to modify their health behaviors and lifestyle to manage their body weight and minimize the burden of comorbidities. On a larger scale, young individuals from uninsured families with obesity should be prioritized by a community nurse when designing interventions.

Key Concepts

The environment, family history, and current health conditions of Maria’s family members constitute a range of risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease. Maria’s mother has hypertension, her father is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and all three family members are obese. According to Psaltopoulou et al. (2017), all these factors contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease, which is characterized by a high mortality rate among American adults. Moreover, such social determinants as low socioeconomic status, immigrants’ status, inactivity (Maria’s father works as a driver), and the lack of access to health care increase the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease.

Theoretical Frameworks of Behavioral Change / Models

For Maria’s family, the utilization of a health belief model would provide a practical positive effect. The interventions within this model might include discussions and family training. The topics might consist of “the role of a healthy diet and physical activities in preventing obesity, solutions for having a healthy diet and physical activity, healthy management of watching television, and the importance of family exercise” (Abdeyazdan, Moshgdar, & Golshiri, 2017, p. 249). This model will help change the family’s health behavior and teach them how to manage their conditions.

Planning Community Intervention / Funding

When planning a community intervention, one should evaluate the prevalence of the identified condition. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] (2019), the obesity rate in the USA reaches 42.2 percent among adults and 18.5 percent among children. Such a high rate of obese population necessitates initiating an extensive community intervention that would require collaboration with nonprofit organizations and health facilities to develop educational sessions and training among the vulnerable population (McGlashan et al., 2019). A fundraising campaign aimed at local governmental and non-governmental organizations might be initiated to allocate assets for the plan implementation.

Evaluate the Community-Level Intervention

The evaluation of the outcomes of the community-level program should include the engagement of stakeholders (target population, partners, and funding organizations). Surveys and questionnaires, as well as health condition examinations before and after the intervention, will demonstrate the changes in the population’s health and lifestyle. The evaluation should be designed as a multifaceted and interdisciplinary effort to demonstrate the spectrum of health benefits and outcomes.

Social Marketing / Resources

Social marketing techniques are a valuable asset in adjusting or changing people’s health behaviors. In the case of obesity, commercial techniques should be used to disseminate information about the risks associated with obesity, the ways of managing a healthy weight, the benefits of having a healthy diet and physical activity. The resources that would be necessary to implement a social health marketing program would include television and social media commercials, flyers, health care facility-based informational boards, and other promotional means that have the potential to change health behaviors.

Conclusion

Obesity is a severe and highly prevalent health condition that is characterized by dangerous comorbidities that might lead to a high level of mortality. More than one-third of the US population is obese, which places them at risk of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other severe conditions. People of low socioeconomic status, with inactive occupation-related lifestyle, family health history, and diminished access to healthcare, are significantly vulnerable. Therefore, community-level obesity-prevention interventions using the health belief model should be initiated in collaboration with health care and nonprofit organizations to change the target population’s lifestyle and health choices.

References

Abdeyazdan, Z., Moshgdar, H., & Golshiri, P. (2017). Evaluating the effect of lifestyle education based on health belief model for mothers of obese and overweight school-age children on obesity-related behaviors. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 22(3), 248-252.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Data & statistics. Web.

McGlashan, J., de la Haye, K., Wang, P., & Allender, S. (2019). Collaboration in complex systems: Multilevel network analysis for community-based obesity prevention interventions. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1-10.

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. (n. d.). Healthy weight, overweight, and obesity among US adults. Web.

Psaltopoulou, T., Hatzis, G., Papageorgiou, N., Androulakis, E., Briasoulis, A., & Tousoulis, D. (2017). Socioeconomic status and risk factors for cardiovascular disease: impact of dietary mediators. Hellenic Journal of Cardiology, 58(1), 32-42.