HowCan Public Health Professionals Contribute to Achieving andMaintaining a Healthy and Fit American Nation?
Thehealthcare fraternity in the United States of America has alwaysfocused on the concepts of nutrition and physical exercise in thequest to bring down the number of deaths caused by chronic ailments.Research has shown that about 300,000-570,000 people in the USAsuccumb to death, annually, as a result of poor nutrition practicesand being inactive physically (Fielding, Teutsch, and Koh, 2012). Thedeaths were attributed to cases of diabetes, overweight, stroke,blood pressure, and cardiovascular implications. Statistics that werecollected in the year 1990 confirmed that over 14% of the numbers ofdeath in the USA were as a result of unhealthy diet and physicalinactivity while other studies attributed the death to the sedentarylifestyle that was common among the US citizens (Fielding et al,2012). Research carried out and published in the American journal,estimated that almost 80% of the American population do not consumeadequate fruits, more that 60% do include low levels of vegetables intheir diet while more than 64% heavily consume foodstuff with a highsaturation of fats (Fielding et al, 2012). It pointed out that thediets of the larger population contained a high percentage of fatsand calories but lacked the critical minerals like calcium. Physicalexercises on a regular basis are necessary for a healthy life. Peoplewho have adopted a sedentary lifestyle characterized by physicalinactivity are twice prevalent to develop heart complicationscompared to the individuals who are active physically. In fact, aperson who is physically inactive is exposed to the same risks as theperson who smokes the cigarette. Through careful research andanalysis, it is clear that the health professionals have a taskbefore them to maintain the health standards among individuals. Iwill base my argument on the various mechanisms that the healthofficers have adopted to ensure the American nation is not only fitbut also healthy. Undeniably, inadequate consumption of fruits andconsumption of saturated foodstuffs have high likelihood ofinfluencing the prevalence of coronary heart diseases, differenttypes of cancers, and diabetes hence, it is of enormous significancethat healthcare professionals take the necessary measures required tocurb such prevalence.
Roleof the health professionals towards a healthy nation
Toachieve this course, health professionals need to focus on aspectsthat promote health and also those that prevent the prevalence ofailments. For instance, they can adopt a program to promotebreastfeeding among expectant women and the maiden mothers as well aspromote their moves towards breastfeeding they can also incorporatemechanisms to teach on healthy feeding habits of the infants(Fielding et al., 2012). Although healthy nutrition should beinculcated at an early stage of an individual development andretained all through the life, many medics in the health sector havealways targeted on older children in their prevention strategies andschools have always provided a good platform for health growth. Theyhave also targeted adults to intervene into their bad eating habitsespecially, those who have not developed the ailments. Healthprofessions target specific people, institutions, groups, strategies,and the environment that can be harnessed in various contexts toachieve healthy conditions.
Oneof the contributions made by health professionals is the adoption ofthe strategies addressing the importance of physical activity(Fielding et al., 2012). Under this umbrella, they have come up witha total of five policies that will promote the levels of physicalactivities within the entire the US population. They aim at dealingwith the moderated and the enthusiastic lifestyle behavior among theadults and the young individuals.
Theyhave organized campaigns across the communities. Since thesecampaigns are always on a large scale basis, the messages have alwaysreached the targeted audiences through different media liketelevision coverage, radio announcements, newspaper articles, movies,erecting of billboards and sending of corporate emails toindividuals. They have also emphasized the need of including physicaleducation in the school curriculum. They have called for schooladministrators to increase the total time taken by children inphysical activities or increasing the level of the activities theytake part in during the PE class.
Programsthat target individuals have also been initiated. They haveformulated certain daily routines that can be taken by individuals toincrease their physical activities. This has been achieved bycultivating behavioral skills among the individuals like setting ofpersonal goals, establishing a support system in the social settings,rewarding mechanisms in case they achieve the targets problem-solvingskills and how to avoid a setback. Other strategies within thisapproach are making platforms for physical exercise accessible andalso the provision of social support within the communal backgrounds.
Healthprofessionals have also come up with medical care programs. Thepivotal role played by these programs is the provision of servicesthat aim to prevent health complications. The health programs alsotarget to promote the physical well-being, healthy eating habits,adequate and quality health care system and engagement of thecommunity residents.
Theyhave been able to come up with evidence-based standardized practicesto provide prevention services. Averagely, healthcare plans have setup standards that examine the levels of physical activities andnutrition in the community they are serving. All children who havebeen registered under the programs have been able to access bothprimary and secondary services of prevention in relation to eatinghabits and physical activities.
Inrelation to this program, they have taken a personal initiative toget registered and comply with the health care field regulations toprovide quality preventive services to the clients. Partnership withthe health care institutions has also been evident through theprovision advice and guidance on preventive measures touching on thediet and risks of a sedentary lifestyle.
Thefight against the addiction on social media has also been a majorcontribution by professionals in the field of medical. On average,individuals between the ages of 2-17 years spend 4.5 hours glued onsocial media platforms. Two and half hours of the 4.5 hours havebeen spent on the televisions. Addiction to this social mediaplatforms and particularly television watching have been the mainreason behind the sedentary lifestyle. It is also possible that theadvertisements that go round the social media have not only directlyplayed a significant role towards the consumption of junk food butalso slowed down the rate of metabolism among the youth. This has ledto increased cases of obesity and chronic implications (Fielding etal., 2012). Health practitioners have come up with several strategiesto fight this trend among the youth. They have recommended thatchildren can be allowed to watch education programs on televisionthus limiting the time they spend on television.
Thepaper brings out some of the measures that have been taken by healthprofessionals to ensure that the American nation is always fit andhealthy. The professionals have adopted policies to promote physicalactivities, established health care programs to ensure prevention andfight against the excessive use of social media.
Fielding,J. E., Teutsch, S, and Koh, H. (2012). Health Reform and HealthyPeople Initiative. AmericanJournal of Public Health,102,1-5.