Physical activity, as a prevention strategy, is universally viewed as the best approach to counteract the increase in global childhood obesity. Prevention can have an especially lasting impact in younger individuals. As previously mentioned, there are multiple levels at which prevention may be instituted: individual, household, community, and health-care. At an individual level, caretakers should be targeted as much if not more than the child themselves 1. Therefore, effective prevention at a household or family level involves encouragement of the parents in offering appropriate food portions, promote an increase in physical activity, and minimize sedentary behaviors. These are the basic measures of prevention 1.
The community environment …show more content…
Several factors contribute to the inadequate effect of physical education in obesity prevention in the United States. Ineffective state policies, the structure of the classes, the qualifications of the teachers, the time committed to the instruction, and the level of physical activity (moderate to vigorous) have all been identified as areas that need improvement in order to create change in schools 12. Traditional school-based physical activity models that maximize children’s level of physical activity have yet to demonstrate their effectiveness. The “traditional” model of children’s physical activity includes variations on the amount of recess and physical education classes to which children are exposed. Unsurprisingly, it has been demonstrated that children accumulate more physical activity on days they have physical education class as compared to days they do not. This, however, does not provide enough physical activity to meet health guidelines 29. Physical education teachers have the ability to facilitate children’s levels of physical activity throughout childhood by developing lesson plans that adhere to the recommended amount of physical activity …show more content…
The literature describes an effective strategy for implementing a home based program involving the use of patient navigators that visit the home and deliver the curriculum over a number of visits 31. Research suggests that patient navigators and lay health workers can improve outcomes for chronic diseases associated with obesity in adults and children and are effective for facilitating behavior changes in the home setting 31. The home-based model is especially effective for improving obesity in children because the caregiver is included in the management programs. Outcomes of these home-based intervention programs have shown caregivers demonstrating changed behaviors such as improved lifestyle and parenting skills resulting in sustained weight loss for the entire family 31. Home-based programs that focus around nutrition, physical activity, and parenting skills have shown to be very effective in promoting changes that fit each family’s unique dynamics. Patient navigators can facilitate these changes through developing a trusting relationship with families and taking advantage of the unique opportunity to observe the diet and exercise environment and offer healthy recommendations for individual families
The community environment …show more content…
Several factors contribute to the inadequate effect of physical education in obesity prevention in the United States. Ineffective state policies, the structure of the classes, the qualifications of the teachers, the time committed to the instruction, and the level of physical activity (moderate to vigorous) have all been identified as areas that need improvement in order to create change in schools 12. Traditional school-based physical activity models that maximize children’s level of physical activity have yet to demonstrate their effectiveness. The “traditional” model of children’s physical activity includes variations on the amount of recess and physical education classes to which children are exposed. Unsurprisingly, it has been demonstrated that children accumulate more physical activity on days they have physical education class as compared to days they do not. This, however, does not provide enough physical activity to meet health guidelines 29. Physical education teachers have the ability to facilitate children’s levels of physical activity throughout childhood by developing lesson plans that adhere to the recommended amount of physical activity …show more content…
The literature describes an effective strategy for implementing a home based program involving the use of patient navigators that visit the home and deliver the curriculum over a number of visits 31. Research suggests that patient navigators and lay health workers can improve outcomes for chronic diseases associated with obesity in adults and children and are effective for facilitating behavior changes in the home setting 31. The home-based model is especially effective for improving obesity in children because the caregiver is included in the management programs. Outcomes of these home-based intervention programs have shown caregivers demonstrating changed behaviors such as improved lifestyle and parenting skills resulting in sustained weight loss for the entire family 31. Home-based programs that focus around nutrition, physical activity, and parenting skills have shown to be very effective in promoting changes that fit each family’s unique dynamics. Patient navigators can facilitate these changes through developing a trusting relationship with families and taking advantage of the unique opportunity to observe the diet and exercise environment and offer healthy recommendations for individual families