Report On a Public Health Practice Issue in Relation to a Public Health Policy

Introduction

Currently, obesity is one of the most significant epidemics in the public health sector. In the past, obesity had a low prevalence rate; however, this changed about twenty-five years ago when the number of obesity cases in both adults and children began to increase drastically (Lobstein 2003). Today, research states that obesity has become a global pandemic with the developing countries burdened with the increased numbers of both infectious diseases and chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart diseases (World Health Organization 2000).

To combat this global pandemic, governments have come up with various public health policies, laws and regulations. One of these policies is the nutrition, diet and physical activity policy that focuses on promoting a healthy community through healthier and planned eating habits (Matson-Koffman 2005). Besides, the policy urges individuals to involve themselves in regular physical activities such as jogging and walking as they will help them in regulating their weights. This is about the definition or the primary aim of public health which is to provide conditions and guidance towards a healthier society.

This report will focus on and be guided by Pierre Bourdieu's theory of Habitus. In his theory, Bourdieu explains that habitus is the translation of who an individual is, therefore, habitus describes the manner in which an individual perceives his or her social surrounding and how he or she responds to it. Bourdieu further urges that the productivity of an individual is as a result of his or her habitus (Bourdieu 1993). Bourdieu stresses on cultural capital which defines an individual's social assets concerning education, dressing, intellect, etc., and is a critical factor for social mobility in any stratified society. He also explains about five types of capital that humans use to acquire goods and services that can better their lives. (1) Natural capital - anything, i.e., the energy that produces goods and services these is either renewable or non-renewable. (2) Social Capital which formed the base of his theory. This capital is the resources an individual gain from networking and interacting with other members of the society such as knowledge and education (Bourdieu 1993). (3) Economic capital that outlines the economic resource like money and property.

First and foremost, there is a need for an overview of the drivers of the drastic increases in obesity. Currently, no one is left behind as obesity is affecting both the rich and the poor. Humans have evolved to come up with ways to maximize energy intake and reduce physical activities. The environment around us which according to Bourdieu is the habitus has changed a lot that there is a natural availability of food and more machines to reduce human work. This has led to an obesogenic environment that supports excessive consumption of energy but nor the use of that particular energy (Egger 1997).

Our environment has a significant influence on our behavior regarding physical - what is available at the moment, economic - what are your financial capabilities, policy - rules that govern and regulate particular concepts, and social - our attitudes, norms, and beliefs (Swinburn 1998). These relate to Bourdieu's cultural capital that defines the resources and rules that govern a habitus. However, these factors do not give the reason as to why there is an increase in the prevalence obesity and any solution that may help resolve the pandemic.

Development and urbanization have significantly influenced the levels of physical activities regarding the availability of recreational centers, land use, and transport systems (Handy 2002). These physical features are potentially obesogenic, however, the fact that they are majorly structural means that they cannot be considered as the factors the rise in obesity. That leaves us with technology, the primary cause of environmental change and the leading cause of physical inactivity. Technology has brought about labor-saving machines that have free people from general or primary labor.

However, the most relevant cause of an obesogenic environment is the easy availability and promotion of fast and energy-filled foods (Drewnowski 2000). Besides, some commercial policies have led to the rise of obesity. A good example is the increased access to the public liability laws that have made schools to lock their playgrounds after school hours. Another example is in the United States and Europe where farm policies have let the giving of subsidies to fat and sugar factory thus leading to an increase in vegetable and fruit prices. And also the regulations on urban planning that have discourages mixed land use in towns and cities.

On the other hand, the various socio-cultural factor that influences nutrition and physical activity differ from population to population leading to a variation in obesity cases from each population (GordonLarsen 2003). A good example is that cultures may have different views on whether girls and women should take part in physical activities, how certain foods should be cooked or on the beliefs on healthy living about nutrition and physical activity. Therefore, socio-cultural factors may hinder the application and implementation of particular public health policies - such as nutrition, diet, and physical activity. For example, in India there are only 1% cases of obesity compared to the 60% in Tonga, supporting the importance of socio-cultural differences (James 2001). However, it is best to note that the two concepts, "socio-cultural predisposition" and "genetic predisposition" are somewhat related. This was supported by Bray when he stated that genes load the gun but in the end, it is the environment pulls the trigger (Bray 1996). However, today, Bray's famous saying can be revised to imply that culture and genes loan the gun, but eventually, the economic environment will pull the trigger.

Therefore, it safe to say that the significant factors for the rise of obesity are food and machines. Energy-filled foods are all over the world, and they are commercially promoted and sold at a low cost (Chou 2004). On the other hand, the machines in this argument can be categorized into the labor-saving machines such as cars, trains and computers and internal devices such as television sets and video games (Vandewater 2015). Statistics indicate that cars and food are some of the most advertised products globally (McDonough 2015). Unlike products that promote healthier living like bicycles and vegetables (Moodie 2006). This has profoundly been facilitated by the fact that most of the corporations and commercial institutions involved in the marketing and selling of these products form the backbone of global economic systems

Therefore, for these systems to survive there have to be a sense of commercial success at corporate levels meaning both the seller and be buyer have to be satisfied by a particular transaction (Bator 1958). The buyers get the sweet foods and new energy saving domestic and labor-saving machines at lower prices whereas the sellers collect profits. Besides, people tend to think short term other than long-term, they are vulnerable to market pressure which promotes poor consumption habits (Rice 2013).

This indicates the commercial driver of obesity which has facilitated health inequalities pertaining obesity. For example, low-income individuals have limited access to recreational centers and transport system; therefore, they are the preferred customers for fast and junk food outlets. Governments have come up with policies to control commercial practices and consumer choices with the aim of improving public health like the regulations on drug abuse, reduction of smoking and decreasing workplace injuries. Regarding reducing obesity especially among children, the government has placed firm laws that regulate the marketplace to promote health, quality of life and equity in the health sector.

The policy on nutrition, diet and physical activity is a good one as it stresses on healthier living, eating and exercising. The best example of this policy was in New Zealand, where the government enacted a regulation the kind of foods that can be sold in schools (Ardzejewska 2013) through nutrient profiling. This has enabled the identification of specific foods that can be regularly sold in school and those that can only be sold once a term. However, this policy can be a great failure because fastest food outlets financially support lawmakers, leaders and even schools. Meaning the implementation of this policy will face considerable opposition and may end up being rejected and done away with. Moreover, the consumers themselves have developed a taste for sweet, tasty and fast foods, and adapting to the new diet will be difficult. By his understanding of the Transtheoretical model, DiClemente (1998) argues that it is hard to change a behavior that one has acquired over time. The Transtheoretical model uses stages of change to explore the change of behavior of an individual, population or setting.

At this point, governments are aware of the threat obesity poses to public health and the well-being of both the economic and natural capital (Lang 2001). This has also lead to the awareness that there is a need for various actions that may bring solutions to the problem at hand. For this reason, there is a need for an agreement between governments, corporates, civil societies and the general public (World Health Organization 2006). The role of the government will be to fund, advocate and create policies that can turn around obesity. Government policy will be the fundaments driver for such a change in the society.

In its research, "Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity, and Health," the World health organization indicates that the significant factor that can drive change is the present a high level of political leadership and proper policies that can address a specific problem. These policies can be implements in two ways - soft paternalism and hard paternalism approaches. In the soft paternalism approach, there is a need for social awareness, promotion of public health and governments advocating for to individual and organizations to change their behavior whereas hard paternalism approaches involve putting up enforceable laws, policies, and regulations (Milio 1989).

Even though the soft paternalism approaches are the most preferred, there has risen a need for the use of stronger laws to help curb obesity (Gostin 2000). There is a possibility for health inequalities when it comes to flexible paternalism approaches, a good example is seen when conducting health education, there are higher chances that this might to the favor of the rich who can access education and not the poor. However, laws and regulations usually apply to every member of the society; therefore, when of states in the United States come up with rules that ban vending machines in schools, there is reduction health inequality as both rich and poor schools will have to adhere to those laws.

Conclusion

In conclusion, obesity has become a significant pandemic in the public health sector and currently affects all the members of the society be it children, adults, the rich or the poor. According to Bourdieu's Theory of habitus, the dramatic spread and difficulties in tackling obesity have been greatly influenced by our socio-cultural environment. The society's eating behavior had influence individuals and made them more prone to eating energy-filled foods without any physical activity. Fast food and machines are the main factors behind the increased number of obesity cases globally, most individuals are into eating but are too lazy...