Health Promotion Theory Paper

Childhood obesity is considered to be a medical condition that is the caused by extra fat in a child’s body, which may lead to chronic conditions (Mahmood, 2015). It can be detected in children by taking a on measure of their body mass index (BMI) based on age and gender (Mahmood, 2015). The condition has become much more prevalent in children in recent decades and has been acknowledged as a global epidemic that may affect them into their adult life (Clus et al, 2014). The causes of obesity in children involve many factors, which include environmental and genetic factors, as well as developmental influences (Kar, 2014). Nevertheless, some of the leading causes are considered to be unhealthy diets and a lack of physical activities, factors that are quite controllable (Cluss et al, 2014).
The disease is recognized as a national epidemic by the Healthy People 2020. Therefore the goal of the initiative is the prevention of the condition in youths. The health promotion theory can be used to design and implement strategies and methodologies to achieve such goals. The theory’s author, Dr. Nola Pender, believes that the promotion of health and the prevention of …show more content…
Essentially, programs that are based on the principles of health promotion are effective in battling obesity. There is agreement among experts that prevention is the primary strategy in controlling obesity. The primary strategy is to prevent the onset of obesity while the secondary strategy is preventing weight increase after successful weight loss (Mahmood, 2015). These studies show that strategies based on health promotion principles serve to motivate, educate and inform individuals. The various settings in which the studies take place also show that combating the childhood obesity will take a combined effort that involves stakeholders in the lives of our children which includes families, teachers and healthcare