Health Information Patient Handout

Excess Body Weight and its Related Health Problems
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Modern life in America has caused many people to eat larger rations of food, more unwholesome foods and be less active. The result of this has been an increase in the number of overweight or obese people. Approximately 1 person out of 3 American adults is obese and another 1 out of 3 is obese. The number of obese children has also been increasing at an alarming rate because as at now, about 17% of children and teenagers are obese compared to about 6% a few decades ago. Children and teens with excess body weight are likely to be obese or overweight as adults. Being overweight or obese has a wide range of potential health consequences. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that excess body weight increases an individual’s risk for: Heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, arthritis, a number of cancers, uncharacteristic menstruation and barrenness in women, diseases of the liver and the gallbladder, type 2 diabetes, and high cholesterol levels ("Body Mass Index (BMI) | Healthy Weight | CDC", 2018).
Generally, most Americans obtain their health information from the internet or through independent reading. Among the most common health literacy educators is Krames' patient education brochures and pamphlets (; “Health literacy: How do your patient’s rate?” 2011). This synopsis culminates in this author’s version of a brochure drawin from tips from Krames’ foundation of readability, comprehension, and improving engagement to motivate healthy behaviors (“Krames,” 2015).
Audience
Diet is a concern for the whole nation. Therefore, this assignment addresses the whole American population.
Key-Terms Used to Research
Technological advancements have made data capture and analysis cheaper and more attainable (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018). Technology has provided a platform for health agencies to communicate effectively to the community through search engines such as Google and Bing which promptly avail millions of related results on searching a certain key word/phrase. Some of the phrases I searched on Google.com in the course of my research were: overweight people in America, healthy eating, causes of excess body weight.
Summary
Excess body weight is an issue of concern in America. Excess body weight exposes individuals to many critical health conditions, some of which may be fatal. It is important to keep check of one’s weight by exercising frequently, and eating balanced diets in the recommended amounts. By encouraging people to exercise and eat healthy foods and in appropriate rations, the frequency of occurrence of various health common in overweight people could be greatly reduced. Being overweight or obese increases the risk of many other health conditions including diabetes, stroke, heart disease and certain cancer. For pregnant women, being overweight or obese has the potential of both short-term and long-term health problems for both mother and child. For persons already considered overweight, losing as little as 5% of your body weight could significantly lower your chances of developing several health problems, including hea...