Obesity has become one of the greatest health risks worldwide. The Hispanics, in particular, have a higher prevalence rate in America than the white population. As obesity increases so do the prevalence of diabetes. The paper would analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the aggregate and discuss the risk assessment.
Analyzing the Aggregate Strengths and Weaknesses
The aggregate here is the Hispanics with obesity between the ages 2-65 years. The Hispanic community has a higher prevalence of obesity than other communities. The community is very trusting. When they have to get specialized help from the physicians, they follow instructions fully. Only a few of them do not adhere to the physician’s guidance fully. It is because of their unawareness and lack of sufficient information. But once they learn from the right sources they can change their habits (Healthy People 2020, 2015).
Many of the people who have obesity end up having diabetes and other heart-related diseases. To conquer diabetes, one must monitor obesity. Miami Lakes is also the best place to find the Hispanic community. They are an organized society when it comes to dealing with societal matters. Due to rapid development in technology, the community embraces readily available palatable foods. Some even take energy-dense food. The sedentary lifestyle they have conformed to has also led to an increased number of obese people. Their children have also adapted to the same lifestyle. Historical data reveals that children with overweight problems normally develop obesity in their adult life. It would be prudent also to monitor the children from the age of two years so that the help they need may be all-inclusive. The overweight problems are also genetic. Therefore, the need to use this group and its families is also valid.
One of the weaknesses of the aggregate was that they were just a small portion of the greater American population. Many of the Hispanics had not yet grasped the major causes of the obesity problems. Others were too busy to seek health advice. There was also the stigmatization aspect. Some felt that they needed to manage their weight problems but were unable.
It would be essential to use the MAP-IT framework to create a path for a healthy community (Bermudez & Tucker, 2011). There was a need to mobilize influential and opinion leaders in the community. They helped to collect and give information to and from the people. Since the people knew them very well, they were free to volunteer information and attend the interviews. After mobilization, the next step was the assessment part of the framework.
The Hispanics should be able to access medical help from the health institutions available. After assessing their records from the interview results, there was the need to guide them towards eating healthy meals and ensuring they balance their diet. If there are any barriers to assessing their health requirements, there would be a plan to address such problems. The main plan would be to reduce the number of new cases of obesity. But the plan would also involve the treatment measures for the already affected people. If the plan works well, then the new cases would come down to ten cases per year per 1,000 people. The implementation involved working together with all the leaders and the community. The Tracking part of the framework involved monitoring and evaluation of the measures in place. The population underwent free testing and measurement at the beginning of the exercise.
The same applied at the end of the exercise after dieting and exercising for close to a month.
The Risk Assessment
Within the community, there is a doctor whose name is Gem Jagmohan, the D.O Family practice. It is the place where the entire process of meetings and conducting interviews took place. He is a doctor that the community trusts. From this place, the population learned how obesity increased the chances of getting diabetes and heart-related diseases. They would get educational materials from this center. The assessments involved interviews with patients who visited this center. Some of the clients referred their Hispanic colleagues for the exercise at the center and their preferred places.
The Latinos had a prevalence rate that was higher than their white counterparts. Around 22% of the Latino children were overweight while only about 14% were whites. The healthcare expenditure for obesity is about $150 billion every year. The expected change did not compare with the actual results due to the huge number of participants affected.
Before interviewing with the community, it was important to interview the director of Preferred Medical Plan and a Registered Nurse from the healthcare facility. The interview results recommendation was that the best tools to use were to set SMART goals. An example of one realistic goal was to lose 10-15lbs in 30 days. Another outcome was that the participants would have to take measurements before they begin the process and after the process. They would include the Body Mass Index and the weight (Healthy People 2020, 2015).
The interviews with the population included questions about personal data, family history, environmental data, and family structure. The questionnaire incorporated the family functions, the family stresses, and coping. When the people came into the hospital, they could decide to fill out the questionnaire by themselves are seek guidance, or accept to answer the questions that the interviewer asked. The population also gave information about the family history and if there was anyone with overweight problems in the family. They also stated prevailing conditions that promoted the health condition within the family and the community.
The majority of the respondents gave a clear indication that the statistics by the National Health and Nutritional Survey were true (Stateofobesity.org, 2015). There were only very small margins that were less than 5% or more by the same percentage. The survey took two weeks to complete gathering information through the questionnaires. The local physician, the nurse, the director of the Preferred Medical Plan, and the community leaders were very helpful in gathering the information. The community leaders were also assigned other people from the community who helped to reach the majority of the people.
From the assessment, the discovery was that many of the residents did not observe their diet. They could just get ready meals that they did not mind some calories they ingested. Some people did jobs that required minimal movements and that caused them to develop overweight problems. Some drove to and from work and never had time to practice. About 66% of the obese cases had developed into diabetes. Obese conditions cause 40% of deaths.
The steps that the groups proposed to solve the obese health conditions were to walk from work to home and back for those who drove. Others could ensure that they avoided junk foods and went for fresh food from the farm. They would also ensure that they get the measuring kits from the health institutions or visit the center for measurements of BMI and weight.
References
Bermudez, O., & Tucker, K. (2011). Total and central obesity among hispanics and the association with type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. Obesity Research, 9(8), 443-451. Web.
Healthy People 2020. (2015). | Healthy People 2020. Healthypeople.gov. Web.
Stateofobesity.org. (2015). Special Report: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Obesity – Latino Communities. Web.