HA W7 R1 – screening and counseling for obesity

HA W7 R1 – screening and counseling for obesity

Type of document           Essay

1 Page

Subject area         Nursing

Academic Level Master

Style      APA       Number of references  2

Order description:

Drew Velasco’s Main Post Week 7 Discussion

COLLAPSE

For this week’s discussion, we were asked to discuss strategies and methods that would help our patients reach their ideal weight. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; 2009), nearly 34 percent of American adults are obese, and an additional 34 percent are overweight. In nearly two-thirds of states, more than 25 percent of the adult population is obese. Obesity rates have contributed to worsening health outcomes and an explosion of health care costs, as overweight and obesity significantly increases the risk of developing more than 20 different diseases and health conditions, including Type2 diabetes, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, specific cancers, and osteoarthritis (para 3).

As Family Nurse Practitioners we are typically the patient’s primary care provider (PCP), we are the patient’s primary point of care contact. Studies have shown and concluded that screening and counseling for obesity are not occurring regularly during primary care office visits (CDC; 2009). Furthermore, recent literature has indicated that nearly 50 percent of primary visits did not include a record of the height and weight data necessary to calculate BMI. Additionally, clinically obese patients (BMI ≥30), 70 percent did not receive a diagnosis of obesity and 63 percent did not receive counseling from their physician (CDC; 2009).

What I can do as a Family Nurse Practitioner is properly documenting my patients BMI with their height and weight as well as offering teaching and counseling about the health risks associated with obesity and how they can make better lifestyle choices. Modifiable factors would include, diet, physical exercise, and social activities.

Reference

Centers for Disease Control. (2009) Defining Overweight and Obesity. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/defining.html

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