Obesity is when an excessive amount of fat builds up in our bodies to the point

Obesity is when an excessive amount of fat builds up in our bodies to the point of possibly affecting our health status. On a more objective note, this would be defined as a person with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 and above. Many prevalent diseases are associated with obesity, for example, obesity has been linked to: diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, stroke, coronary artery disease, anxiety, depression, gallbladder diseases such as cholecystitis and cholelithiasis, and several forms of cancer, among many other diseases. My personal and professional attitude and beliefs toward pediatric obese patients is that many times the child’s eating habits mimic the parents, so professionally I would want to educate the family of what healthy meals for a child that age consists of, and I would encourage them to also eat as healthy as possible, and to minimize screen time and encourage the child to perform physical activity; this can be gradually increased to not overwhelm the child. My personal and professional attitude and belief toward adult obese patients is that obesity is a battle, and it is harder for some than it is for others. Professionally, I would educate them on the positive effects that eating healthy, exercising more and losing weight can have on their physical and emotional health. I would advise them to start by making small changes in activity, such as 5-10 minutes to begin, and then gradually work their way up to exercising for 30 minutes a day, 5 times per week. I would also advise them to decrease their caloric intake by 500-1000 calories per day.
In consideration to whether my views toward obesity have changed, I would say that it has not changed much. Prior to nursing school my view on obesity was that it is not as simple as being a choice that people make, it is more like a battle that people face and have to try to overcome. For some people it is harder than it is for others. What nursing school has taught me is that some people can be predisposed to weight gain regardless of their efforts via conditions such as hypothyroidism, Cushing’s disease, or medications such as corticosteroids. The most important thing to me is to not judge others, it is important to remember that we are all human and we should try to treat everyone how we would want to be treated.
References:
Hinkle, J. L., Cheever, K. H., & Overbaugh, K. J. (2022). Unit 10: Metabolic and Endocrine Function; Chapter 42: Assessment and Management of Patients with Obesity. In Brunner & Suddarth’s textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing. essay, Wolters Kluwer Health