Florence Nightingale a nineteenth century medical pioneer defined health as a phenomenon which is as a result of multitude of influences and beyond the ‘sick -care ‘model of the day. She believes that when sickness is disobeyed it results in health (Rosa, Upvall, Beck and Dossey, 2019) The World Health Organization (WHO) evolved this definition by describing health as a ‘’ a state of complete Physical, mental and social well -being and not merely the non – existence of disease or illness’’.
According to Goldsmith(1972), the World Health Organization definition of health has been criticized as being abstract and simple and therefore others such as Siegrist define health as not simply the absence of disease: it is a positive, joyful attitude toward life and a cheerful acknowledgment of the responsibilities that life puts on an individual
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Health promotion however has been define by the World Health organization, as a process which enable people to increase control over their own health; this covers a range of social and environmental intervention which is designed to benefit as well as protect individual’s health and quality of life by addressing as well as preventing the root causes of ill health, and not focusing on treatment and cure ( WHO, 2016 )
Health promotion is based on theories regarding what influences people’s health and what effective intervention or strategies are needed to improve health (Naidoo and Willis) The term ‘Health Promotion’ was coined in 1945 by Henry E. Sigerist, a great medical historian, who describe promotion of health, prevention of illness, restoration of the sick and rehabilitation as the four major mission of medicine.(Kumar and Preetha, 2012).
There are two major types of health promotion: the individual health approach and the community health approach. The aim of the individual approach is to improve an individual person’s health ability and therefore the individual is expected to change his or her health behaviour and lifestyle in order to improve health related aspects of the social, cultural, economic, natural and technical environment. The individual approach is centered on clinical intervention tradition such as counselling and face to face education. The second type of health promotion which is the community health approach is concern with improving the socio ecological health potential, which includes the resources of the economic, social, cultural, natural, and technical environments. The community health approach assumes that this factor will have a positive impact on people’s physical conditions, health risks and lifestyles and subsequently on the individual health potential. This approach is centered on the tradition of social medicine and public health. (Measurement in health promotion and protection, 1987)
Health Promotion in Nursing Care (2013) however states three types of health promotion. The first type of health promotion is primary prevention, and this is carried out in the community. The second type of health promotion is secondary prevention and this level of prevention is to catch the disease early in order to reverse the effect and lastly, the third type of health prevention is the tertiary prevention and this is when individual already have the disease and therefore the aim is to slow the development and allow the patient to have the highest quality of life.
KEY ISSUES THAT IMPACT INDIVIDUALS HEALTH
Many factors affect an individual ability to achieve the best possible health and these factors include internal and external influences. This factors can be determined in terms of domains and dimensions which provides a complete approach in nursing practice; and this areas include biological or physiological, psychological, sociological, environmental, sociological, political, spiritual, intellectual, sexual and technological factors ( Health Promotion in nursing, 2012)
According to the WHO, there are also other elements that can affect the health of individuals as well as communities, regardless of people being healthy or not, which is determined by their circumstances and environment. These determinants of health include the social and economic environment, the physical environment, the person’s individual traits and behaviour, income and social status, education, physical environment, social support networks, genetics, health services and gender (who, 2016)
Siphathokuhle (2018) explains Dahlgren and Whitehead model of the determinate of health in four layers.
The first layer according to Sipthathokuhle (2018) shows the personal behaviour of individuals and ways of living that can promote or damage health. Such factors include the choice to smoke or not, individual biology and personal characteristics, such as their age, education, income, and health history. Also, in the first layer individuals are affected by friendship patterns and the norms of their community. Relationships which involves a person’s closest social circle such as friends, partners, family members, all of them influences and contributes to a person behaviour and experiences.
The next layer is an individual’s social and community influences, which provide shared support for members of the community in adverse conditions. But they can also provide negative effect and less support.
The third layer explores the settings in which people have social relationships at schools, workplace, and neighborhood. This layer seeks to identify the characteristics of these settings that affects individual’s health. Structural factors such as housing, working conditions, access to services and provision of vital facilities can also impact an individual’s health significantly.
Lastly, the fourth level looks at the broad societal factors that favor or weaken health.
OBESITY AND ITS IMPACT ON INDIVIDUAL HEALTH
Obesity is a public health problem that has raised concern worldwide. There are about 2.3 billion overweight people aged 15 years and above, and over 700 million obese people worldwide in 2015 according to the World Health Organization (WHO)
Obesity is defined as a condition of abnormal or excess fat collection in a dispose tissue which may impair health. Body mass Index (BMI) is the most useful population level measure of obesity and is used to grade adults as being underweight, overweight, and obese. Obesity and overweight in children and adolescents however are complicated as height is still growing and their body composition overtime changes. BMI percentiles, skinfold thickness and weight for height are therefore used as references and measures (Chan and Woo 2010.
Many factors impact on individual’s health and this leads to overweight or obesity and there are some factors that makes it difficult for individuals to lose weight or avoid regaining the weight that has been lost.
Firstly, a person’s weight is linked to the person’s genes and the family environment. Research suggest that children who have overweight parent have a 80 percent chance of being overweight and therefore a person’s genes plays a role (Earhar ,2010).The chances of me being overweight are greater if one or both my parents are overweight or have obesity.
Race or ethnicity can also lead to obesity or overweight. Some racial and ethnic minority groups are more likely to have obesity. In Ghana and other African countries being overweight is linked to being healthy and those who are slim are seen to be poor and unhealthy. Obesity rates in Adults in America are highest in African Americans, followed by Hispanics or Latinos and then Caucasians. This is also true in men and women (Information et al., 2018).
Furthermore, a person’s age can also lead to obesity or overweight. Adults who have normal BMI starts to gain weight in young adulthood and continues to gain weight till the age of 60 to 65. Also, children who are obese are more likely to become obese as adults.
Eating and physical activity habits also can impact on an individual and this may lead to overweight and obesity. Eating and drinking foods and beverages that are high in calories, sugar, and fat, drinking a lot of beverages that are high in added sugars and spending a lot of time sitting or lying down and having limited physical activity. The current pandemic which has led to majority of people staying at home and having limited physical activity can lead to the rise of obesity. Children and adult are spending more time at home and therefore food sometimes can be used as a means of comfort or a coping mechanism. My kids for instance like to eat sweets, fries and lot of drinks which sometimes have high sugar. Also, because they are not able to go to school, they spend more time on their computers to do online learning and watch kids’ programs.
Again, where you live, work, play and worship can also affect a person’s eating and physical activity habit and access to healthy foods and places to be active. In workplaces where there are vending machines may not offer healthy lower calorie options. In my workplace for instance we have vending machines in all seven floors and there is no close buy food shops and therefore a lot of people at the work place use the mat and in the machines and things that are in the machine are high calorie drinks, biscuits and other high calorie snacks.
[bookmark: _Hlk38653622]Lastly, Family eating and lifestyle habits affects a person health and weight. Some Families may consume foods and beverages that have high fat, salt and added sugars or eat unhealthy foods at family gatherings. During Christmas, my brother and his families gather at our home and vice versa, and we eat a lot of different unhealthy foods as way of celebrating. Families also spends a lot of inactive time watching TV, computers, and mobile device instead of being active. For example, when my husband come back from work, he sits down on his mobile device making calls. (Information et al., 2018)
HEALTH PROMOTION ACTIVITIES FOR OBESITY
Health promotion activities that can be effective to combat obesity includes. Firstly, adult and children can be encouraged to change their eating habits by have a healthy diet through eating more vegetables, salad and fruit and limiting the intake of high fat, sugar foods and drinks.
Secondly, activities can be incorporated into everyday life such as walking, gardening, cycling, swimming and so on. online and TV workout programs can be utilized if movement is restricted such as the current pandemic which people are self-isolating and have been asked to stay home safe life and save the NHS also, employers can also identify ways that can improve food access by ensuring accessibility of safe, affordable and health food choices. According to Public Health England businesses should signpost customers to option which are healthier such as less salt, sugar, saturated fat and calories on menus.
DEPRESSION AND ITS IMPACT ON INDIVIDUAL’S HEALTH
According to the world health organization, Mental health is the basis for the well-being and effective functioning of individuals. It does not only involve the absence of a mental order, rather it is the ability to think, learn and understand a person’s emotions and the reaction of others. Factors such as physical, psychological, social, cultural, spiritual and other elements participate in producing this balance.
Depression, anxiety, personality disorders, panic attacks and so on are all types of mental health problems. Depression is a common mental disorder and more than 264 million people globally from all ages suffer from this mental disorder. (WHO)
According to Mind 2017, depression has been defined as a feeling of low mood that continues for a long period of time and thereby your everyday life is affected. Depression can make a person feel hopeless, sadness, stress, worthless, guilty and exhaustion. My husband was medically discharged in the army when he suffered an injury. He became depressed……
The current pandemic has also brought about monumental change in the lives of people around the world and this has force people such as myself and my family to remain in our homes. People who are living alone and lack social opportunities are at risk of being lonely and this can lead to depression.
Environmental pressure and financial pressure can have a substantial influence on individuals health, and this can lead to depression. The coronavirus epidemic has led to fear and anxiety in peoples mind about themselves, their kids, jobs, finances and future. A lot people have lost their jobs, struggling to combine working from home and helping their kids with home school. This can bring a lot of pressure to families and can lead to depression.
Health promotion activities for Depression
Communication with someone you trust can help when you feel depress. According to public health England, relationships with people you can trust is vital to a person’s mental wellbeing. This can be done by staying in touch with friends or family through video calls or social medial and telephone, I have been able to cope with this pandemic with my family by checking up our extended family and friends.
Public health England has also introduced a new mental health campaign which is called Every Mind Matters and this aims to support everyone to feel more confident in taking action in looking after their mental health and wellbeing through promotion of a wide range of self- care actions. Such as keeping your mind active by reading, playing games, playing and crosswords and so on.
Also, if a person is anxious or stress about work and money whiles being at home, they can talk with their employer about working from home, learning about sick pay and benefits rights. Know about how the Covid outbreaks means to individuals can reduce worry and help people feel more control. According to NHS England, lifestyle measures such as exercise and self-help groups can also help with depression.
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