Obesity: Nutrition Prevention Program

Project Description

Obesity is one of the main nutritional problems that is affecting the youth in the United Arab Emirates today. According to the report by Health Authority (2014), asthma is one of the diseases which are almost becoming pandemic in the United Arab Emirate. This disease is closely linked with obesity. Many of the leading fast food companies currently operate in a number of cities within the country, especially in the cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The eating habit among the youth has changed completely. Currently, they prefer eating junk foods in these outlets, a fact that has resulted into an increase in the number of youths suffering from obesity. Obesity poses serious health problems to the victims, some of which may be fatal. Cardiovascular diseases are some of the most common health problems among the obese. The society needs to address this issue in order to protect the youths from dangerous health problems.

The Target Group

The responsibility of addressing the issue of obesity among the youth lies with a number of stakeholders. The parents must realise that they have the responsibility of taking care of their children, including what they eat. This report seeks to make parents to understand that they need to advise their children on what to eat. Teachers play an important role in defining the behaviour of their students. This report seeks to make them realize that they have a responsibility in this fight. Youths need to read this report and understand that good health starts with good nutritional habits. As the victims, they have the power to control what they eat. Finally, the government has a responsibility to this group. It should regulate the types of foods offered by some of these food outlets. They should also organise awareness creation campaigns in mass and social media to warn the youth against getting addicted to fast foods.

Data from the Government

The recent report released by the Health Authority indicates that there is an increase in cases of obesity in the country. Many government hospitals are currently admitting more patients suffering from obesity or obesity-related complications than ever before. The facilities in the department of cardiovascular diseases are overstretched because of the rising number of patients in this department. Incidences were patients suffering from obesity-related health problems are on the rise, and the government is concerned about it (Moreno, Pigeot & Ahrens, 2011). The cost of managing these complications is also very high. The government is forced to sacrifice developmental projects in order to equip hospitals in order to manage these complications.

Steps of planning and evaluation model to develop an intervention trial

According to Jabbour and Yamout, R. (2012), it is important to determine the most appropriate strategy that would be appropriate when defining an intervention program. Choosing the right model is the first step towards addressing the nutritional problem that is currently affecting the youths in this country. The researcher chose a five-step model to help provide a behavioral change among the focus group. The model starts with identification of the desired goals, review of program and policy options, determining hoe the intervention strategy woks, gathering evidence, and finally giving a feedback about its effectiveness.

Identification of Specific Goals and Objectives

In any intervention program, the first step would be the identification of the goals and objectives that should be achieved through successful application of the model. One of the most important goals that this intervention program seeks to achieve is to redefine youth’s nutritional behaviour. The program seeks to convince the youths that if they have to take some of the meals offered at the fast foods, it should be done infrequently and in moderation. This way, there will be a direct reduction of the intake of calories in the body. This will be a direct way of fighting obesity and other related complications. The program also seeks to promote the culture of physical exercise among the youth as a way of making them become healthy.

Review of Program and Policy Options

It is important to review the program and policy options that can be used in order to address this problem effectively. One of the option that can be considered is the school-based programs where all students are engaged, especially those who are already classified as obese. Home activities can also be prescribed to the affected group so that they can apply them while they are at home. A community-based approach may be considered in order to capture every youth within a given region, including those who are no longer going to school. However, it is necessary to chose one of the above strategies, and use the others as supportive strategies. Browne (2013) says that over 95% of the obese youths are in school. This makes school-based programs the most appropriate for this task. Other strategies can be used to support it.

Defining How Intervention Is To Work

This program is expected to take a multidimensional approach in dealing with the issue of obesity among the youth. The first approach would be to introduce physical exercise in school for all students. The school should create a policy where all students will be expected to engage in at least one physical game like athletics, football, volleyball, or judo. This will help them remain physically fit. The schools should also create health clubs. This will make the youths to be influenced positively by peer pressure in their eating habits. This may be supported by an introduction of nutritional lessons in order to make learners appreciate the need for responsible nutritional behaviour. The management can also promote a culture of healthy eating by rewarding obese students who have been able to overcome their health problem.

Gather Evidence

At this stage, the focus will be to determine the effectiveness of the strategy that is used to address the problem of obesity among the youth. The evidence will be collected from the responsible stakeholders. Teachers will be interviewed in order to get their view on how effective the program is after some time of its application (Benesh, 2010). The information from the parents will also be very important, especially those whose children were obese. The youths themselves will be asked to determine how the strategy has or has not helped them or their peers to address their problem of obesity. These three sources of data will be very important because they are in constant contact with the affected group, and are therefore, able to detect any changes on them. Their response will be supported with a scientific evidence which will involve measuring weight change among the focus group.

Provision of feedback on Effectiveness of the intervention program

The data collected from the various sources discussed above should be able to specify if the strategy chosen is effective enough to address the problem of obesity among the adolescents. The researcher should be able to report to all the stakeholders about how effective the model is in addressing the problem. If it is determined that the model is effective, then its application should be promoted in the entire country. In case the feedback determines that the strategy is not as effective as it was expected to be, then an alternative strategy should be proposed. The proposed strategy will undergo the same stages discussed above till the most appropriate approach is determined.

Conclusion

The problem of obesity among the youths in the United Arab Emirates is a reality that the stakeholders must accept in order to fight it effectively. Obesity has serious effect among the youths. It subjects them to a series of other serious health complications such as cardiovascular diseases, besides limiting their ability to engage in various physical activities. If this problem is not addressed, its consequences to the society can be devastating. Managing this condition is costly not only to the parents of the youths, but also to the government of this country. For this reason, it is necessary for all the stakeholders to come together and address this nutritional problem among the youth.

References

Benesh, G. C. (2010). United Arab Emirates: A survival guide to customs and etiquette. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Editions.

Browne, N. T. (2013). Nursing care of the pediatric surgical patient. Burlington, Mass: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Health Authority. (2011,). Breath freely, Enjoy your life: UAE and Abu Dhabi Emirate, 2010-2011. Web.

Jabbour, S., & Yamout, R. (2012). Public health in the Arab world. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Moreno, A. L., Pigeot, I., & Ahrens, W. (2011). Epidemiology of obesity in children and adolescents: Prevalence and etiology. New York: Springer.