HERE IS PROFESSOR TYTEL QUESTION: When it comes to the issue you described, there are many significant factors that can be addressed to make a difference. Within the scope of your Capstone project, what would be a reasonable and achievable place to start and why?
HERE IS MY POST:
The Characteristics of a Problem of Not Adhering to Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors and Healthy Diet Plans Developed by Nutritionists and Dietitians
Life expectancy is continuously increasing in developed and developing countries. “605 million persons, (20%) are currently aged ≥60 years” (Kennedy, 2016, p. 410). It is expected that in 2025, this number will reach 1.2 billion. However, an extended lifespan has paradoxically led to high morbidity and mortality rates caused by lifestyle diseases. Some of those lifestyle-influenced diseases are cirrhosis, lung cancer, and stroke. It is worth pointing out that that energy imbalance caused by unhealthy lifestyle habits, including poor nutrition, affect both the quality of life of the elderly and the life span of humans (Hoffman, 2017). Therefore, there is a direct relationship between poor diet, lifestyle-influenced diseases, and healthy aging. To be disease- and disability-free at an old age, it is necessary to adhere to healthy lifestyles as early as possible and maintain healthy habits throughout life.
Furthermore, because healthy aging associates with the genetic code, environmental factors, and lifestyle choices, healthy aging can be promoted by adhering to healthy lifestyle behaviors. It should be said that since “the most modifiable lifestyle factors are diet and physical activity,” public health interventions are needed to promote both physical activity and healthy eating habits (Kennedy, 2016, p. 410). Therefore, a problem of high morbidity and mortality rates caused by lifestyle diseases can be addressed by adhering to healthy lifestyle behaviors, including sticking to healthy diet plans developed by nutritionists and dietitians.
The Needs That Were Identified to Determine the Need for a Public Health Intervention
As mentioned above, an extended lifespan has paradoxically led to high morbidity and mortality rates caused by lifestyle diseases. At the same time, there is a direct correlation between longevity and healthy lifestyle behaviors, for example, living tobacco-free, regular moderate-intensity physical activity, and eating nutrient-dense foods (Zanjani et al., 2015). In other words, lifestyle diseases can be prevented by adhering to healthy lifestyle behaviors.
The Identified Public Health Issue and Its Impact on Target Population
The identified public health issue is preventing lifestyle diseases caused by unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, including poor nutrition. Lifestyle diseases affect the mobility of older adults, their functional performance, and emotional balance. Also, because the elderly become dependent on others, their overall sense of self-worth declines because they are dependent on others. These factors reduce the quality of life of older adults (Somrongthong, et al., 2016).
The Context of the Identified Public Health Issue
“605 million persons, (20%) are currently aged ≥60 years” (Kennedy, 2016, p. 410). It is expected that in 2025, this number will reach 1.2 billion. However, an extended lifespan has paradoxically led to high morbidity and mortality rates caused by lifestyle diseases. The escalating problem of developing lifestyle-influenced diseases among older adults has become a serious public health concern due to the growth in the elderly population.
The Way to Zoom in and Be Explicit
To zoom in, it will be important to identify the target audience, develop a tactic of avoiding human attribution biases, take advantage of the ideology of individual responsibility, and use opportunities offered by media advocacy. At the same time, to be explicit, it will be important to focus on clarity in a paper and understandably formulate ideas.
The Relevance of the Identified Public Health Issue to American Communities
According to Smith and Ansa (2016), some distinctive characteristics of rural American communities make them very vulnerable to lifestyle-influenced diseases, including but not limited to obesity, diabetes, stroke, and cancer. Those characteristics are a lack of healthcare access, relatively low income, and a lack of education. Furthermore, African American and Hispanic communities are also vulnerable to developing lifestyle-influenced diseases than whites because of insufficient insurance coverage and low-income levels (Thorpe et al., 2017).
The Approach to Finding the Answers
The answers to the question of interest will be found in scholarly articles and other publicly available documents. More than one academic databases will be used to identify relevant scholarly articles and avoid possible bias using keywords combined with Boolean operators. They are Google Scholar, Health Policy Reference Center, and PubMed databases.
Possible Challenges
Possible challenges related to this project are coming up with the right strategy for preventing lifestyle diseases caused by unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, including poor nutrition, and implementing this strategy into practice.
