Health Promotion Paper

Words: 1292
Pages: 6

Obesity has been plaguing the United States in epidemic proportions especially in the youth of America. “Approximately 17% (or 12.7 million) of children and adolescents aged 2-19 years are obese,” according to the CDC (2011). The rise in obesity, specifically in the field of pediatrics, has been shown to be a risk factor and a direct cause of many ailments. Weight management in childhood is imperative to improve the well being of children, reduce their risk for a variety of diseases and disorders, and extend the lives of children. The purpose of this paper is to examine health promotion strategies for the reduction of obesity in children through nutrition and physical activity based behavior modifications. The Pender model of health promotion will be utilized to assess obesity prevention and nursing roles (Potter and …show more content…
Immediate family members who have differing nutritional habits could cause the child to fall back into old habits of eating poorly. “Parents may express denial, anger or disbelief that their child is obese. Nurses should explain in a sensitive manner that obesity is associated with specific health consequences, such as diabetes and heart disease,” (Rabbitt and Coyne, 2012). A child’s peers also have influence because the child may be embarrassed, confused, or mad that they have to eat differently than others and this too could cause a child to make poor dietary choices. Lastly, nurses, whether in schools or clinical setting, have an influence in encouraging the child and parents to make healthy choices, and reaffirming the benefits that will arise when goals are completed. Nurses can also “promote appropriate nutrition advice not only to the general public, but most importantly to policy-makers” who have the ability to change legislature in the implementation of community nutrition programs and healthy school lunch options (Lazarou and Kouta,