The Surgeon General S Vision For A Healthy And Fit Nation 2010

Our nation stands at a crossroads. Today's epidemic of overweight and obesity threatens the historic progress we have made in increasing American's quality and years of healthy life. Two-third of adults and nearly one in three children are overweight or obese. In addition, many racial and ethnic groups and geographic regions of the United States are disproportionately affected. The sobering impact of these numbers is reflected in the nation's concurrent epidemics of diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic diseases. If we do not reverse these trends, researchers warn that many of our children—our most precious resource—will be seriously afflicted in early adulthood with medical conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. This future is unacceptable. The Surgeon General asks you to join me in combating this crisis. Every one of us has an important role to play in the prevention and control of obesity. Mothers, fathers, teachers, business executives, child care professionals, clinicians, politicians, and government and community leaders—we must all commit to changes that promote the health and wellness of our families and communities. As a nation, we must create neighborhood communities that are focused on healthy nutrition and regular physical activity, where the healthiest choices are accessible for all citizens. Children should be having fun and playing in environments that provide parks, recreational facilities, community centers, and walking and bike paths. Healthy foods should be affordable and accessible. Increased consumer knowledge and awareness about healthy nutrition and physical activity will foster a growing demand for healthy food products and exercise options, dramatically influencing marketing trends. Hospitals, work sites, and communities should make it easy for mothers to initiate and sustain breastfeeding as this practice has been shown to prevent childhood obesity. Working together, we will create an environment that promotes and facilitates healthy choices for all Americans. And we will live longer and healthier lives. In the 2001 Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, former Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, PhD, warned us of the negative effects of the increasing weight of our citizens and outlined a public health response to reverse the trend. Although we have made some strides since 2001, the prevalence of obesity, obesity-related diseases, and premature death remains too high. The Surgeon General is calling on all Americans to join in a national grassroots effort to reverse this trend. Plans include showing people how to choose nutritious food, add more physical activity to their daily lives, and manage the stress that so often derails their best efforts at developing healthy habits. The real goal is not just a number on a scale, but optimal health for all Americans at every stage of life. To achieve this goal, we must all work together to share resources, educate our citizens, and partner with business and government leaders to find creative solutions in our neighborhoods, towns, and cities from coast to coast. Together, we can become a nation committed to become healthy and fit.

This dissertation falls within a tradition that investigates the making of health-related problems into social problems. Using literature reviews, document analysis, and qualitative and quantitative coding of medical publications from 1950 to 2010, I argue that both our increasingly individualistic culture and our collective faith in science fuel the current fear of obesity and lead to the expansion of the medical discourse on fat. In Part I, I review the main medical research paradigm on obesity, which argues that fat is bad for your health, before turning to the critique of this paradigm, and show how both sides of the debate use science to justify their stance. I then combine both views to identify which educational strategies are most likely to be implemented, and efficient. The importance of stigma in the health and well-being of obese people appears to be critical to this effort. Part II contributes a timeline for distinct but overlapping conceptualizations of bodily fat in the medical literature, and shows the massive and recent increase in medical interest in obesity. From merely an individual trait, fatness has become a medical problem (obesity), a social problem and an epidemic, and has culminated in recent years into a focus on children: the so-called epidemic of childhood obesity. This longitudinal approach to the medical literature at both the aggregate level (in the PubMed database) and in the most cited articles on obesity highlights the historical contingency of our cultural and medical obsession with fat, meanwhile identifying the role schools are expected to play.

Provides an up-to-date, scientifically accurate study of the causes, consequences, and potential of individual and public responses to the serious health issue of obesity. Presents major concepts about obesity including health risks, energy balance, eating behaviours, the biology of hunger and satiety, and pharmacotherapy and surgery as treatment.

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in countries like the United States. This book provides a comprehensive summary of obesity in America and around the world, discussing the causes and proposing ways to help stem the tide and to help those who are overweight. A highly useful and accessible resource for high school to undergraduate students as well as post-graduate level readers with an interest in health and nutrition, this updated second edition of Obesity: A Reference Handbook offers up-to-date answers to essential questions about obesity and connected societal and health care-related issues. A single-volume, go-to resource, this book addresses difficult questions such as whether obesity is a disease or a moral failing; what factors contribute to obesity; what the economic impacts of obesity are on the health care industry; if and how poverty is a contributor to obesity; how our society encourages obesity; and how changes can be made to improve our society's eating habits as a whole. It presents citations from individuals and peer-reviewed journals and review articles, providing a balance of information sourced from both professionals and informed lay commentators. Also included are dozens of biographies of individuals who have been important in studying, preventing, managing, or increasing awareness about obesity, such as Jared Fogle, longtime Subway sandwiches spokesperson; Kelly Brownell, who coined the phrase "toxic environment" to describe unhealthy food and exercise patterns; researcher Ethan Allen Sims, who examined the relationship between obesity and diabetes; and Oprah Winfrey, well-known celebrity who stated that if there were a pill to lose weight or a magic diet, she would have it.

Health Psychology provides students with the tools they need to evaluate and critically appraise theory and research before it can be applied practically. Using the most up-to-date research available, the sixth edition places an emphasis on the real-world application of health psychology, demonstrating how theory learnt in the classroom influences public policy. In this book, David Marks, Michael Murray and Emee Vida Estacio take a holistic approach to health psychology, giving equal weight to the biological, psychological and social factors that impact health behaviour, culture and change. The text presents students with an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the field of health psychology and the new edition contains a brand new chapter on stress, a key topic in health psychology. It is also supported by online resources for students and lecturers, including a range of case studies taken from across the world.

Physical activity remains a critical area of research as we consider cost-effective measures for lowering the chronic disease epidemic worldwide. In our increasingly automated society, many adults and children are not active at health-enhancing levels. In Physical Activity and Public Health Practice, a panel of respected researchers summarizes essential topics in physical activity and community health and guides public health practitioners and researchers in understanding the positive impact that physical activity has on a host of disease states. Focusing on the benefits of physical activity across the human lifespan with emphasis on primary and secondary prevention of chronic diseases and conditions, the book examines: Historical insights into physical activity and health Public health philosophy and approaches to understanding health concerns Application of public health strategies to increase physical activity in youth, adults, and older adults Known and effective policy and environmental approaches applied to various settings, including schools, worksites, and the community The role of physical activity on growth and development and in relation to obesity Methods for measuring physical fitness and applying U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines for exercise prescriptions How to promote physical activity among hard-to-reach populations A goal of all physical activity health promotion advocates is to increase the opportunity for citizens to live active, healthy lives. Understanding the immense role physical activity plays in human health is critical to shaping programs and policies that will benefit the population. This volume catalogs the latest research and provides a window into future possibilities for creating healthier communities.

Health Behavior, Education, & Promotion

Integrating humanism and behaviorism, this volume presents evidence-based techniques for improving health, safety, and well-being in all walks of life.