scholarly journals Expert opinion regarding the prevalence, health risks, obesogenic environment determinants and public health strategies on obesity. What are we still doing wrong?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pop Anca ◽  
Tatiana Onisei ◽  
Valentin Varlas ◽  
Bogdana A. Nasui
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Current Approach ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Noncommunicable Diseases ◽  
Obesity Prevalence ◽  
Obesogenic Environment ◽  
Health Objectives ◽  
Public Health Strategies

The overweight and obesity, as well as their related noncommunicable diseases are preventable through lifestyle changes targeted in public health actions - but unfortunately with little or no success until now. In the present work we analysed the most important actual studies in the field - in order to provide and recommend updated strategies to target efficiently the public health objectives. We identified four main topics of high importance in the current approach towards obesity: (1) the increasing prevalence and multiple health consequences (2) current public health (PH) strategies for risk factor reduction and obesity prevention (3) the influence of the obesogenic environment on individual behavior (4) recent data on weight loss and weight loss maintenance programs. A new approach is needed towards the (1) causative factors; (2) public health measures addressed precise to the remarkable regional differences in obesity prevalence and trends drives from the ethio-patogenic factors and PH recommendations – most of them related to nutrition patterns and food quality – all together with lifestyle and environment measures.

scholarly journals Are ‘Behaviour Change’ Approaches to Obesity and Health Effective? A case Study from Samoa

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 549-555
Author(s):  
Viali Lameko ◽  
Penelope Schoeffel
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Public Health Policy ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
Obesogenic Environment ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
Public Health Strategies

‘Behaviour Change’ approaches in public health strategies have been used in Pacific Island countries to address the problem of dietary and lifestyle changes that are believed to be the cause of rising rates of obesity and associated NCDS. We consider the limitations of this approach in the context of Samoa’s socioeconomic situation and public health policy and propose that an ‘obesogenic’ environment and structural factors are causational and require policy measures that go beyond the scope of responsibilities of the Samoa Ministry of Health 

Reframing Fatness: Critiquing ‘Obesity’

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethan Evans ◽  
Charlotte Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Michel Foucault ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
Policy Language ◽  
Religious Imagery ◽  
Fat Bodies

Over the last twenty years or so, fatness, pathologised as overweight and obesity, has been a core public health concern around which has grown a lucrative international weight loss industry. Referred to as a ‘time bomb’ and ‘the terror within’, analogies of ‘war’ circulate around obesity, framing fatness as enemy.2 Religious imagery and cultural and moral ideologies inform medical, popular and policy language with the ‘sins’ of ‘gluttony’ and ‘sloth’, evoked to frame fat people as immoral at worst and unknowledgeable victims at best, and understandings of fatness intersect with gender, class, age, sexuality, disability and race to make some fat bodies more problematically fat than others. As Evans and Colls argue, drawing on Michel Foucault, a combination of medical and moral knowledges produces the powerful ‘obesity truths’ through which fatness is framed as universally abject and pathological. Dominant and medicalised discourses of fatness (as obesity) leave little room for alternative understandings.

Fad Diets: Dietary Dilemmas, Predicaments, and Recommendations for its Use

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. 1362-1380
Author(s):  
Jyoti Singh ◽  
Prasad Rasane ◽  
Vidisha Tomer ◽  
Sawinder Kaur ◽  
Yogesh Gat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Health Care Expenditures ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Lifestyle Modifications ◽  
Treatment Measures ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Extra Weight

The health issues, mainly overweight and obesity are the growing concerns nowadays due to the associated factors and lifestyle changes which significantly have increased the individual’s health care expenditures. Fad diets are promoted as the easiest and simplest way of shedding the extra weight despite the availability of several treatments available. The prevention and treatment measures, including modification in lifestyle, dietary pattern, and physical activity, are the foundation of weight loss. However, the standard treatment measures are not effective for certain populations as they require long time adherence, which leads to the search for other approaches like fad diet. We steered a comprehensive literature review to present the facts related to fad diets to their efficacy and sustainability. Although fad diets have yielded tremendous positive results in weight loss and cardiovascular risk prevention, the studies reported death in long-term interventions and the results and some of them show side effects too. Randomized controlled trials have significantly reported weight loss in comparison with the popular fad diets; however, persisting on the same diet has also reported kidney problems, ketosis, and other metabolic related problems. The conclusion of this critical review reported that gradual weight loss could be attained by the combination of lifestyle modifications, physical activity, and recommended dietary approaches.

scholarly journals Urbanization and greenness in HBSC survey: association with overweight and obesity in adolescents

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
V Bellisario ◽  
R Bono ◽  
G Squillacioti ◽  
M Caputo ◽  
I Gintoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Weight Status ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Children Health ◽  
Public Health Strategies

Abstract Background Childhood obesity is an important public health issue worldwide and includes different risk factors, such as environmental pollutants exposure or physical activity. Neighborhood composition and green spaces availability could contrast obesogenic lifestyles and promote healthy habits, whereas, urbanization and traffic volume exposure are inversely associated with physical activity and worsen effects on childhood health. Methods This project analyzed students involved in the HBSC survey from the Piedmont Region. Data were collected in 2018, following the protocol. All the subjects were georeferenced within buffers around schools. Green-spaces availability was measured by Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI-satellite images) while urbanization was calculated by population density, traffic intensity (satellite measurements) and air pollution concentration (sampling stations). Results Overall, the sample included 3022 subjects, with amount 50% male/female and 30% for each age group (11-13-15 years old). Concerning weight status, above 14% of the all sample is obese or overweight, with, respectively, 20% among boys and 11% among girls. Preliminary analyses showed an association between weight status and population density (rural vs urbanized areas). Currently, we are analyzing the association with greenness and the other measures of urbanization. Conclusions Our preliminary findings suggest that high urbanization levels impact health implementing weight in children. We are testing the hypothesis that greenness positively influences weight status and reduce negative effects of urbanization and air pollution. The managing of these risk factors must be deepened and corroborated by active preventive Public Health strategies for improving children health. Key messages Urbanization and greenness may influence weight status in children. Public Health strategies must be improved for children health.

scholarly journals Health Risks of Selected Mass Gatherings in the Philippines in 2015 and Implications for Public Health Preparedness

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald P. Law
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Noncommunicable Diseases ◽  
Public Health Preparedness ◽  
Mass Gatherings ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Important Health ◽  
Medical Teams ◽  
Public Health Strategies

Background. Mass gatherings (MG) are events that draw together a large number of people in one or several occasions happening in single or multiple places for a definite period of time. These can lead to different public health risks through exposure to infectious diseases, trauma, and environmental factors. The Philippine Department of Health (DOH) in 2015 participated in special planned events that constituted mass gatherings namely the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings, the Black Nazarene procession, and the Papal Visit. Objective. The study aimed to describe the different health risks arising from the three (3) identified mass gathering events in the Philippines in 2015 and relate them to public health preparedness. Methods. This was a descriptive study of the health risks arising from the MG events. Sources of data were reports submitted by deployed medical teams to the Operations Center (Opcen) that closely monitored the MG. Results. The study found infectious causes, trauma, temperature-related conditions, and noncommunicable diseases to be the important categories of health risks in the specified mass gatherings. These validated the common health risk categories observed in previously well-studied mass gatherings. Conclusion. The study highlighted important health risks and factors for consideration in public health preparedness for mass gatherings in terms of appropriate and effective public health strategies that should be established to minimize health risks and reduce health system impacts of mass gatherings.

scholarly journals Unsuccessful Weight-Loss in Adults Admitted to Health Centers, Ahvaz, Khuzestan: A Phenomenological Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzad Faraji Khiavi ◽  
Kurosh Djafarian ◽  
Mahbubeh Afrashtabar
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Health Centers ◽  
Health Dimension ◽  
Mental Health Dimension ◽  
Weight Loss Medications ◽  
Qualitative Phenomenological

Background: Nowadays, obesity is one of the most important public health problems worldwide. There are so many various factors interfering with obesity that it is necessary to be studied separately in each population. Although many people can lose weight by observing low-energy diets, they often return to the former weight and even higher. The present study aimed to identify the causes of unsuccessful weight-loss in adults admitted to health centers in Ahvaz. Methods: This was a qualitative phenomenological study carried out in one of the health centers in western Ahvaz, 2017. The data collection tool for this study was semi-structured in-depth interview conducted face-to-face and individually. The interviews were recorded and transferred word-by-word on paper immediately. Then interviews were analyzed using the content analysis method. Results: Seven themes and 11 key concepts were extracted from the contents of the interviews.The following items led to a failure of keeping the diet and achieving the proper weight: Underlying diseases, the effects of drugs on overweightness and obesity, physical characteristics, lifestyle, affecting overweight and obesity behaviors, food habits, and psychological factors. Conclusion: Lifestyle and some diseases and medications can lead to a failure of overweight and obesity confronting programs. Provision of the educational and informational programs to the society with emphasis on the side effects of weight loss medications and lifestyle changes, especially the dietary habits, together with a consideration of the mental health dimension may affect the success of people in controlling obesity.

Moving it for Weight Loss

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivy Lim
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Sedentary Behaviour ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Morbidity And Mortality ◽  
Moderate Intensity ◽  
Dietary Control ◽  
Intensity Physical Activity

The rate of overweight and obesity is increasing worldwide, with significant health impact. Obesity is a risk factor for morbidity and mortality and weight loss should take a multi-pronged approach, including dietary control and physical activity. The lack of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, as well as poor cardiorespiratory fitness are all independent risk factors for morbidity and mortality as well, thus it is important to advise lifestyle changes to address these issues. Most individuals who have no contraindications can embark on light- to moderate-intensity physical activity without the need for medical clearance. Specific advice on physical activity should be given, targeting the individual, and this can be done using the FITT (frequency, intensity, time, type) principle. Physical activity should also be reviewed regularly and progressed gradually to target physical activity guidelines. Individuals should also be encouraged to replace sedentary behaviour with at least light-intensity physical activity whenever possible.

scholarly journals Decreased prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia and stabilisation of obesity trends in 5-year-old children: possible effects of changed public health policies

2014 ◽  
Vol 170 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarina Sedej ◽  
Primož Kotnik ◽  
Magdalena Avbelj Stefanija ◽  
Urh Grošelj ◽  
Andreja Širca Čampa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Obesity Prevalence ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Obesity Trends ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundOverweight/obesity in children is a worldwide public health problem. Together with hypercholesterolaemia they are associated with early atherosclerotic complications.ObjectivesIn this study, we aimed to investigate the anthropometric characteristics and total cholesterol (TC) levels in a population of 5-year-old children, to determine trends in the prevalence of overweight/obesity and hypercholesterolaemia in 5-year-old children over a period of 8 years (2001–2009) and to assess the impact of modified national nutritional guidelines for kindergartens implemented in 2005.DesignCross-sectional studies of overweight/obesity prevalence in the years 2001, 2003–2005 and 2009, and hypercholesterolaemia in years 2001 and 2009, in 5-year-old children.SubjectsAltogether, 12 832 (6308 girls/6524 boys) children were included.MethodsOverweight/obesity was defined by IOTF criteria. Hypercholesterolaemia was defined by TC level >5 mmol/l. Multivariable logistic regression models were used.ResultsNo correlation between BMI values and TC levels was found. Overweight and obesity prevalence were stabilised from 2001 to 2009 (odds ratio (OR) (95% CI): 1.13 (0.99–1.3) and 1.13 (0.89–1.42) respectively). Girls were more frequently overweight/obese than boys (OR (95% CI): 0.71 (0.65–0.79) and 0.75 (0.64–0.89) respectively). Prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia significantly decreased from 2001 to 2009 (OR (95% CI): 0.47 (0.41–0.55)). It was less frequent in boys than in girls (OR (95% CI): O.7 (0.61–0.8)).ConclusionsThis is the first study to describe a negative trend in the prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia in pre-pubertal children. In addition, the prevalence of overweight/obesity in these children has been stabilised. Nationwide changes in public health policies could have influenced these observations.

Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity In School-aged Children

2006 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 125-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meizi He ◽  
Charlene Beynon
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Obesity Prevalence ◽  
Anthropometric Data ◽  
Obesity Epidemic ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Children Obesity ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Study Population

Purpose: Childhood obesity is a public health concern in Canada. Few published anthropometric data are available to indicate obesity prevalence in Canadian children. Obesity prevalence is reported for school-aged children in 11 London, Ontario, schools. Methods: Data on body weight and height were obtained using standardized procedures. United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) body mass index (BMI)-for-age references and Cole’s international BMI reference were used to classify the children’s weight categories. Results: The study included 1,570 pupils aged six to 13. The CDC BMI references categorized 16.6% and 11.8% of children as overweight and obese, respectively. In comparison, when the Cole BMI reference and cut-off points were used, 17.5% and 7.6% of children were classified as overweight and obese, respectively. Conclusion: Overweight is prevalent in the study population. Public health interventions are warranted to curb the obesity epidemic in school-aged children.

Better Parks Through Law and Policy: A Legal Analysis of Authorities Governing Public Parks and Open Spaces

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (s1) ◽  
pp. S109-S115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Henderson ◽  
Christine R. Fry
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Public Parks ◽  
Legal Analysis ◽  
Obesity Prevalence ◽  
State Laws ◽  
School Communities ◽  
State And Local

Background:Improving parks in low income and minority neighborhoods may be a key way to increase physical activity and decrease overweight and obesity prevalence among children at the greatest risk. To advocate effectively for improved recreation infrastructure, public health advocates must understand the legal and policy landscape in which public recreation decisions are made.Methods:In this descriptive legal analysis, we reviewed federal, state, and local laws to determine the authority of each level of government over parks. We then examined current practices and state laws regarding park administration in urban California and rural Texas.Results:We identified several themes through the analysis: (1) multiple levels of governments are often involved in parks offerings in a municipality, (2) state laws governing parks vary, (3) local authority may vary substantially within a state, and (4) state law may offer greater authority than local jurisdictions use.Conclusions:Public health advocates who want to improve parks need to (1) think strategically about which levels of government to engage; (2) identify parks law and funding from all levels of government, including those not typically associated with local parks; and (3) partner with advocates with similar interests, including those from active living and school communities.

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