Interventions for Obesity and Overweight

Interventions for Obesity and Overweight
Student’s Name
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Interventions for Obesity and Overweight
Literature Review
Introduction
Obesity and overweight in children is a growing concern for parents and health care providers in the United States. Obesity is defined as having excess fats in the body, and it is estimated that nearly one in five school-going children between the ages of 6 and 19 years are obese (CDC, 2018). Obese children are at a higher risk of developing diseases such as diabetes, asthma, sleeping disorder and hypertension as well as depression from the jokes made on them by their age mates. Therefore, there is a need to establish interventions to the rising rates of obesity as it is a threat to the nation owing to its adverse effects to the society. It is the responsibility of school programs to not only focus on creating responsible citizens but also address social and health issues such as obesity and overweight. School programs must incorporate appropriate mechanisms to intervene the disorder among school going children.
The growing concern over childhood obesity has attracted the attention of the community, government, and policymakers. As a result, various researches have been conducted to investigate the factor related to obesity. Some of the factors investigated are the impact of behavioral changes and education on exercise and diet on obese and overweight children. According to evidence-based practice, one of the effective ways to tackle obesity among school going children is to establish intervention programs involving the school nurse (Pbert et al., 2013).
The school environment places the school nurses at an excellent position to intervene in the growing problem of childhood obesity. The school setting allows for the documentation and implementation of feasible, cost-effective behavioral interventions. School nurses are in a position to effectively contribute to the effort as they can provide counseling to aid in weight-related behavior change and are easily accessible without factoring in transportation costs (Pbert et al., 2013). School nurses can explain the contributing factors and offer advice on what should be done to improve the health of the patient if an incidence of obesity arises along the way. According to National Association of School Nurses (NASN), “school nurses have the knowledge and expertise to promote the prevention of overweight and obesity and address the needs of overweight and obese youth in schools” and it is their role to “assist students who are overweight and obese to obtain a healthy lifestyle” (NASN, 2007).
Comparison of Research Questions
This study concentrates on the school-based intervention strategies for childhood obesity. In their research Cheung et al. (2016) sought to understand the extent of childhood obesity in America. The research question is about the incidence of childhood obesity in America in an attempt to show the extent of the problem. The research question in Ickes, et al. (2014) compared the intervention strategies applied in American schools to those used internationally. The study was aimed at determining how gaps in the interventions used in American schools cause the increase in childhoo...