PUBLIC HEALTH ASSIGNMENT

Public Health Assignment- A Critical Evaluation of Health Visiting & Public Health with Respect to Childhood Obesity



Contents

Current Overview1

A Critical Evaluation of Food Policies & Prevalence of Childhood Obesity2

Health Visitor's Role2

Public Health & Social Policy in Specialist Practise3

Public Health3

Social Policy4

Social Capital4

Factors Associated with Health Visiting5

Health Visiting Issues- A Critical Overview5

Inequities in Health5

An Overview of Obesity- Present Scenario6

Major Criticisms on Health Visitors8

Health Visiting Perspective on Obesity8

Costs of Obesity under the Current Paradigm9

Loopholes in Policies & Interventions at Initial Stages9

Breastfeeding and Its Impact on Child's Development10

Child Health Programs11

Role of Health Visitors & SCPHN Domains12

Link between Social Policy & Health13

Does the Public Criticize Health Visitors?13

People Will Still Have Poor Health, Why?14

Broader Implications of Health Policy14

Recommendations15

National Policy15

Conclusion16

References17

A Critical Evaluation of Health Visiting & Public Health with Respect to Childhood Obesity

In this assignment, an attempt would be made to critically analyze obesity and the role of health visitors in this regard. The realm of public health, health policies and influence of social policy would be examined. The role and responsibilities of health visitors and the effects of Public health policy would be critically discussed and analyzed. The discussions on each aspect of the chosen topic; would be collected from credible sources. Besides a critical review of the current practices and policies, recommendations would be put forward to deal with the issue in future. The implications of healthcare policies with respect to obesity would also be discussed from the perspective of health visitors.

Current Overview

Obesity could be regarded as one of the toughest issues concerning Public health in England. The number of European children affected by obesity is believed to be increasing at a rapid pace i.e. 400,000 a year. Presently, more than 14 million of the total EU population is believed to be obese. A close analysis reveals that childhood obesity affects every one in four children. The prevalence and intensity of obesity is quite high in developed countries i.e. United Kingdom and United States of America. Recent statistics on obesity indicate that 29.7% of children of their total population are obese (Hall & Oortwijn, 2007, p. 3).

The avenues of Social policy, Public health and health visiting are adversely affected by the prevalence of obesity in the society. Each governmental component with regards to healthcare and National Health Service has issues in dealing with the epidemic of childhood obesity and its short and long term health issues.

A Critical Evaluation of Food Policies & Prevalence of Childhood Obesity

There seems to be a consensus among healthcare professionals that food consumption has a direct impact on the health of individuals. By improving the quality of foods consumed by children; obesity could be prevented (Ledikwe & Blanck, 2006, p. 1362). The government has failed to implement decent food policies and legislation; aimed at improving the health of infants. The State must bear the responsibility of infant health and should initiate programs to shift the exposure to quality non-fattening foods. State and Federal legislation should entail sufficient physical activity in primary schools so that a balance ...