Health society and sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Health society and sustainability - Essay Example estimates by the WHO, show that a total of forty two million children under the age of five years were overweight or actually obese globally as at 2012. In Australia alone statistics as at the year 2008 showed at least one obese child in every four. Things are getting any better and this is a particularly worrisome trend considering the negative health effects both mentally, physically and physiologically. My objective in this paper is to highlight the social determinants of childhood obesity and why the problem is important to modern health systems. Obesity comes with adverse health impacts and such placing a huge economic burden to families as well as healthcare systems. As such therefore, childhood obesity is increasingly becoming an important concern for health not only in Australia but internationally. The problem is a result of various sociological determinants which are interrelated; factors in the environment, family socio-economic factors as well as behavioural elements. There are referred to as sociological health determinants and they revolve around those conditions in which individuals were born, brought and where they live & work. From a broader perspective therefore, they represent elements of people’s social contexts significant to their health outcomes. Grouping the sociological health determinants of Obesity is therefore an important of building of knowledge that will help address the issue in our society. According to the Australian Institute of Statistics, childhood obesity is on the rise and this is particularly because of intake of foods high on fats and sugars, and having less time for physical exercise. Research shows that children who become overweight or obese have an increase likelihood of staying obese into their adulthood and developing associated medical conditions such as cardiovascular conditions and type 2 diabetes. In the year 2008 alone the problem of obesity cost Australia a whopping $ 58 billion in terms of health services,

Fad diets Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fad diets - Research Paper Example (Dr.Gandhi, 1994 p90) In the words of Merriam Webster, a fad diet is a diet that is followed for a time with exaggerated zeal. Its popularity spreads fast and is widely used but just for a short time within which its popularity comes to an abrupt end. This is because the diet so religiously followed does not work and fails terribly. (Flynn, 2006 p224) Fad diets often fly in the face of sound medical and nutritional research. These diets fail to provide the nutrients needed by our bodies to function. The world health organization, the American heart association and the American dietetic association among other health organizations strongly oppose the use of fad diets because they put our health at risk. (Mariana, 2004 P7) It is a three phase diet in which the first phase involves restriction to intake of fruit, bread, pasta, potatoes and baked goods. The second phase requires the dieter to add good carbs back to the diet while the third stage involves eating anything in moderation. (Healing self and spirit, p5) Dr. A.T.W Simeons propagated the idea of HCG diet in 1950’s.Hcg stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin normally found in the urine of pregnant women. It can be used as an obese treatment. Dr Simeon suggested that it could be used for weight loss if taken with calorie diet that is very low. Initially, the HCG diet was available as HCG injection, but later was found in the forms of gels, drops, powder and pills.HCG has become popular over time due to its affectivity and hassle-freeness as it helps people loss one calorie per day if used with very low calorie diets. Dr. Simeon purports that the diet does not have side effects can be used by anyone above 16 years without doctor’s prescription and guarantees one to live a normal life with no trouble while at it. He further says that it gives the dieter a fresh and younger look. (www.hcgdietdrops.org) The latest weight loss trend in Hollywood is the baby food diet which has