The Impact of Diet and Overweight/Obesity in the Population of St. Louis Park, Minnesota

Addressing Behavioral Risk Factors
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Addressing Behavioral Risk Factors
The issue of overweight/obesity is among the priority health concerns in the United States. One of the behavioral risk factors for overweight is unhealthy eating habits. Indeed, diet and overweight are among the various objectives of the Healthy People 2020. Currently, the proportion of individuals taking proper diet is significantly less than those who are taking poor diet. In 2010, the proportion of adolescents and teenagers (6 to19 years) with obesity was 11%, while that for adults (aged 20 years and above) was 23% (Kovner & Knickman, 2011). The purpose of this essay is to examine the impact of diet and overweight/obesity in the population in the St. Louis Park, Minnesota and suggest the necessary individual, national, and public-level interventions to reduce the prevalence of overweight/obesity.
Frestedt, Young and Bell (2012) assert that overweight/obesity is among the chronic problems facing North America and has a severe implication for disease status, health, and mortality. Specifically, 63% of adults in Minnesota are overweight, while 27% of them are obese (Minnesota Department of Health, 2017). In St. Louis Park, Minnesota, obesity has been linked with increased prevalence of various types of cancers such as ovarian cancer, breast cancer, kidney cancer, esophageal cancer and colon cancer. St. Louis is a suburban city located in Minneapolis’s western board, consisting of about 47,000 residents (Minnesota Department of Health, 2016). Overall, obesity is among the primary lifestyle risk factors for the development of cancers among the population living in Louis Park.
Moreover, there is also a strong correlation between obesity/overweight and cardiovascular disease (Saydah, Bullard, Chen, Ali & Gregg et al., 2014). A significant number of Minnesotans have been diagnosed for obesity-related cardiovascular diseases, including stroke and heart disease. Heart disease encompasses various health conditions with a negative effect on the blood flow to the heart and its proper functioning. These conditions include coronary heart disease (coronary artery disease), and myocardial infarction. An increasing body of evidence reveals that the risk of body, heart disease increases with an increase in body weight (Minnesota Department of Health, 2017). In 2011 alone, heart-disease-related deaths accounted for 18% of the total mortality in Minnesota (Minnesota Department of Health, 2017). It is noteworthy that women Minnesotans have a higher prevalence of heart disease relative to their male counterparts. Heart disease disproportionately affects more American Indians than whit...