Rural ObesityPrevention Toolkit

Rural Obesity Prevention Toolkit

[Name of the Student]

Lamar University

October 6, 2019

Rural Obesity Prevention Toolkit

According to the “World Health Organization” (WHO), obesity is one of the most challenging public health issues of this century. This statement has been given due to the increased prevalence of obesity and its serious health issues. Been working for three years in a rural clinic in Immokalee, Florida, I choose to develop this topic to apply to my real situation as I learn.

Discussion

The term “rural’s” broadest definition comes from the “US Census Bureau”, “Office of the Management and Budget (OMB)”, and the “Economic Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture”. The Rural Health Intervention Hub (RHIhub), (https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org), mentioned that recent reports submitted on the rural counties show an increased prevalence of obesity in adults as well as children than their peers in the urban counties. The key factors given in the reports, as they contribute to the rural obesity, include: 1. Effect of poverty, 2. Little access to healthy and affordable activities, 3. Higher intake of high-calorie diet, 4. Ignorant of the nutrition facts and information, 5. Unavailability of the weight management services, and educational programs on obesity prevention, 6. Lack of opportunities for children to get engaged in physical activities after school, 7. Scary playgrounds and parks, 8. Unattended recreational places, pavements, bike trails, and workout facilities that promote physical activities and dependence on automobiles to fulfill the transportation needs, in spite of biking (Walls, et. al, 2011). The findings in research in children within a migrant community point out a substantial prevalence of obesity of 47.1% among this population (Rosado, 2013), and the causes appear to be multifactorial (Ip et al., 2018).

Rural Obesity Prevention Toolkit

Inside the “Rural Health Information Hub” (RHIhub), established in December 2002 as the “National Clearinghouse” of the “Federal Office of Rural Health Policy”, we find the Rural Obesity Prevention Toolkit. Multiple federal agencies support the toolkit. It provides comprehensive policy options. It presents evidence-based programs to assist healthcare providers in addressing obesity by emphasizing healthy eating and active living. The rural communities can implement these programs to cope with this threat. Recommendations given in the toolkit are specific to the rural settings, and might be used if adjusted to urban and suburban areas.

The Rural Obesity Prevention Toolkit is made up of eight particular modules. They include: 1. Understanding Obesity, 2. Creating an Obesity Prevention Program: where to start, 3. Targeting the Program Audiences, 4. Planning Evidence-Based Interventions, 5. Implementing Interventions, 6. Addressing Obesity, 7. Evaluating the Program, 8. Establishing the Prevention Clearinghouse. The Obesity Prevention Toolkit does not include ethics as part of their module; it is implicit in parts of the tools. Applying an ethical framework to prevent obesity and overweight will give good results at any stage of the developing or existing program (Have, et al., 2012).

Conclusion

We might think that in rural areas people get to exercise and eat more fruits and vegetables, but that is far from the truth. I work in a rural network clinic, and I can relate to the content in the toolkit. The Rural Obesity Prevention Toolkit will guide and assist with plenty of accurate information to use as a starting point for a weight management program in a rural community.

Works Cited

Have, M. T., Van Der Heide, A., Mackenbach, J. P., & De Beaufort, I. D. (2012). An ethical framework for the prevention of overweight and obesity: a tool for thinking through a program's ethical aspects. The European Journal of Public Health, 23(2), 299-305.

Ip, E. H., Marshall, S. A., Arcury, T. A., Suerken, C. K., Trejo, G., Skelton, J. A., & Quandt, S. A. (2018). Child feeding style and dietary outcomes in a cohort of Latino farmworker families. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 118(7), 1208-1219.

Rosado, J. I., Johnson, S. B., McGinnity, K. A., & Cuevas, J. P. (2013). Obesity among Latino children within a migrant farmworker community. American journal of preventive medicine, 44(3), S274-S281.

Walls, H. L., Peeters, A., Proietto, J., & McNeil, J. J. (2011). Public health campaigns and obesity-a critique. BMC public health, 11(1), 136.