Klyuchko Natalya
FNU
Health Promotion & Role Development in Adv. Nursing Practice
NGR 6636
Instructor: Jacqueline Alonso
07/16/2024
Two wellness problems predominantly affecting today’s population include being overweight or obese and poor dietary patterns (increased consumption patterns of ultra-processed foods). Nearly more than one-third of the United States (US) adult population is obese, with this outcome being linked to several factors, including improper diet, physical inactivity, sedentary lifestyles, and environmental factors (Chatterjee et al., 2020). As indicated by Chatterjee et al. (2020), obesity and overweight are among the most predominant lifestyle diseases associated with adverse health consequences, including cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes (T2D), hypertension, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and depression.
The World Health Organization (WHO) anticipates that nearly 30% of universal mortalities will be linked to lifestyle diseases by 2030 (Chatterjee et al., 2020). This highlights the need for appropriate risk factor identification and behavioral interventions. On the other hand, consumption of ultra-processed foods has gained prevalence, with these foods being characterized by chemically modified food substances with minimal to zero inclusion of whole foods (Lane et al., 2024). Intake of these foods causes an increased risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, T2D, hypertension, and colorectal cancer (Lane et al., 2024). As Adams et al. (2020) posit, the nutritional profile of ultra-processed foods includes saturated fats, high sodium, and sugars, which are harmful to health.
Nursing interventions that can promote nutritional wellness in addressing overweight and obese problems include patient education on the need for healthy nutrition patterns, physical activity, and lifestyle behavioral change to enhance knowledge on nutrition and physical activity and thus promote behavioral change. Interventions for poor dietary patterns include patient education to foster awareness of the risks of consumption of ultra-processed foods.
References
Adams, J., Hofman, K., Moubarac, C., & Thow, A. M. (2020). Food for Thought 2020: Public health response to ultra-processed food and drinks. The BMJ, 369.
Chatterjee, A., Gerdes, M. W., & Martinez, S. G. (2020). Identification of Risk Factors Associated with Obesity and Overweight—A Machine Learning Overview. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 20(9).
Lane, M. M., Gamage, E., Du, S., Ashtree, D. N., McGuinness, A. J., Gauci, S., Baker, P., Lawrence, M., Rebholz, C. M., Srour, B., Touvier, M., Jacka, F. N., O’Neil, A., Segasby, T., & Marx, W. (2024). Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses. BMJ, 384(384), e077310.
