Perspective Article Critique: “Nutrition Education in an Era of Global Obesity and Diabetes: Thinking Outside the Box”
The article “Nutrition Education in an Era of Global Obesity and Diabetes: Thinking Outside the Box” was published online by Academic Medicine; a peer-reviewed journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges. The journal serves as an international forum for the exchange of ideas, information, and strategies to address the major challenges facing the academic medicine community as it strives to carry out its missions in the public interest. The journal’s areas of focus include: education and training issues; health and science policy; institutional policy, management, and values; research practice; and clinical practice in academic settings. (1) The article was written by David M. Eisenberg, MD, adjunct associate professor of nutrition in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, executive vice president for health research and education at the Samueli Institute, and founder of Healthy Kitchens/Healthy Lives. Additionally, Jonathan D. Burgess, a third-year student of Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, co-authored this article with support from The Samueli
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Eisenberg suggests teaching more nutrition education and self-care skills like mindfulness and behavioral change to medical students and other health care professionals. The additional education will better prepare them to teach patients to lead healthier lives and help stem theses lifestyle-related diseases, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. (3) The medical industry needs to think outside of the box to come up with new ideas to curb this growing
One of the researchers that stood out to me most was doctor David Nathan. He addresses the question concerning diabetes prevention. David Nathan is the director of the diabetes center in Massachusetts’s general hospital. Additionally, The Weight of The Nation Movie...
Faculty Assignment Goal #1: To increase the capacity of youth, adults and families to make informed, science-based decisions which prevent chronic disease and maintain healthy weight status through physical activities and intake of nutrient-dense foods.
With her article, “Healthy diet, exercise ‘not enough to treat obesity,’ say experts,” published in Medical News Today, devoted journalist Honor Whiteman touches on the sensitive debate of how to cure obesity. Honor Whiteman’s main interests are new medical diagnostics, neurology, and stem cell and cancer research. She has strong experience in journalism. Prior to Medical News Today, she worked for a number of financial publications covering both consumer and trade finances.
"Treating Obesity Vital For Public Health, Physicians Say." Science Daily. 2006. Web. 10 May 2014. .
Wardlaw, G.M. and Smith. Contemporary Nutrition: Issues and Insights. 5th Edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill, pp 85, 2004.
As a little enlightenment on obesity, overweight and obesity result from an imbalance involving excessive calorie consumption and/or inadequate physical activity (Buchholz 5). The increases in overweight and obesity cut across all ages, racial and ethnic groups, and both genders. This increase stems from a variety of factors, primarily more consumption of calories and less vigorous activity. Obesity greatly increases the risk of developing many serious medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, hypertension, osteoarthritis, metabolic syndrome, sleep apnea, and certain forms of cancer (Davis 270). In 1999, 13% of children age 6 to 11 and 14% of adolescents age 12 to 19 were overweight. This prevalence has nearly...
Since 1916, the United States Department of Agriculture (the government agency responsible for all U.S. policy regarding agriculture, food, and farming) has revised their recommendations several times. Unfortunately, money talks and the USDA’s recommendations are based on outdated science and are influenced by people with business interest. Even so, its recommendations are considered almost “holy” by physicians, nutritionists, and dieters, but in reality, they are the root cause of the problem. A single visit to our local public school cafeteria and it will become clear that they do not have the best interests of the children at heart. What they are feeding our innocent children is preposterous. Doctors, the people we trust and expect to be “the experts”, do not know much about the subject of nutrition. A vast majority of medical schools in the U.S. require just 25-30 hours or less of nutrition training, and some do not require at all. So doctors must rely on the ...
...ading, Writing, and Obesity America’s Failing Grade in School Nutrition and Physical Education. Nutrition in Clinical Practice, 26(5), 553–564. doi:10.1177/0884533611416820
To fix the problem the main sources must be targeted; it starts with educating the people. Having a health class that teaches people about the health risk of unhealthy lifestyles needs to become a mandatory part of school curriculum. Having a health class must be present in all levels of education for it to be effective--without this the plan goes awry. For those who plan to go to college these classes would be more than useful for future health and to prevent the freshmen fifteen. By teaching about the benefits of a healthier lifestyle over an unhealthy lifestyle, obesity and obesity related diseases can drastically fall. These classes would consist of live demonstrations on how to cook healthier, experiments, statistics and much more. Some may claim that a class like this would have no effect on people’s consumption and health choices, but many people are willing to change during a time of crisis or an eye opening revelation. Although these classes will not affect every student as intended it will still be an effective one and its impact will be noticed on the fight against obesity.
"The increased prevalence of overweight and obesity particularly among children and adolescents is a severe public health problem" (Bray, 2005). According to our text, health education and health promotion are recognized increasingly as ways to meet public health objectives and improve the success of public health and medical interventions around the world (Gollust, 2014).
Metcalf, T., & Metcalf, G. (Eds.). (2008). Perspectives on Diseases and Disorders: Obesity. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Cengage Learning
MacLennan R, Zhang A. “Cuisine: the concept and its health and nutrition implications-global.”Asia Pacific J Clin Nutr. 13.2(2004):131-135. Print.
Educational institutions have the potential to, first and foremost, educate and assist the young people of today with making the positive, healthful choices necessary to maintain good health. Over 4,500 students have been followed in recent research studies and these “thousands of sixth graders who participated in a school-based health program were less obese by eighth grade than a group of similar children who did not, according to a new study done for the National Institutes of Health” (Rabin). Schools need to create health programs focused on assisting all children suffering from being overweight or obese. Policies such as fitness programs, nutrition classes, and healthful meals can even impact every student by creating a strong foundation and awareness of the negative, long term effects associated with practicing unhealthy habits. Although the financial expenses would be necessary, the adaption of scho...
Both articles touched on the presence of the media and how it impacts nutrition misinformation. The articles both taught me ways in the future to help limit the amount of nutrition misinformation in the media. It also taught me different ways to help clients achieve a balanced diet. The articles went hand in hand on tips to find and communicate accurate nutrition information and then they went a step further to give examples of accurate nutrition information and how it can be used everyday as a RD. This position paper also went more in depth on changing eating behaviors to achieve a more well-rounded diet.
Furthermore, if we over consume foods without properly assessing their nutritional value, our bodies will be unable to completely process them, ultimately leading to obesity. Since the 1980’s, obesity rates around the world have risen significantly. In the United States, current statistics indicate that one in every three people is medically obese. This statistic has placed the United States as the second most obese country in the world, next to Mexico. These increasing causes of obesity are linked to the declining national diet and nutritional profile, as well as lifestyle trends in these countries.