Healthy People: Leading Health Indicators

The Leading health indicator of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity is an important one. Notably, nutrition, physical activity, and obesity should be grouped together since they are often mutually dependent.  People who engage in healthy activities of diet and exercise are able to lower the chances of becoming obese. Reducing obesity is important for lowering the risk of other diseases.

According Healthy People 2020 (2014), the leading health indicators of health are measured against the 2020 targets. The organization has set a target for each of the indicators to ensure that progress is made. For nutrition the organization has set a target of ensuring that all individuals above the age of 2 years get a minimum of 1.1 cups of vegetables each day in their diet for every 1000 calories taken. This area has not seen any progress. The vegetable intake of 2001 – 2004 was 0.8 cups. The 2007 -2010 vegetable content has also been found to be at the same level. This then implies that a majority of these individuals have kept the vegetable content steady and at low levels hence not meeting their vegetable requirements.

According to Healthy People (2014), the number of cases of obese children has been on the rise. A five percent increase was registered in this area from 16.1 % to 16.9 %. This was in contrast to the Healthy people target of 14.5 %. However, the increase in number of cases in statistically insignificant. The Healthy People targets to lower the rate of obesity among adults above the age of 19 to 30.5 %. In the years 2009 – 2012, obesity among this group rose from an initial 33.9 to 35.3 %. This is a 4.1 % increase in the levels of obesity among this group.

The organization also targeted to obtain higher numbers of those who met the minimum levels of exercise recommended by the federal agencies. The targets were met in this case. Rather than just meeting the targeted 20.1 %, a population of 20.6 % met these guidelines. This marked a 13 % increase in the population from the initial 18.2 %. It was noted that those with higher education levels were more likely to meet the federal guidelines for physical exercise and aerobic activity. Only 7.5 % of those who had an education lower than high school were meeting the federal guidelines. 12.3 %, 18.5 %, 21.8 %, 28. 7 % and 30.9 % of those who had a high school, some college, associate degree, 4 year college degree and advanced degree education respectively also met these guidelines. This could be an implication that education is an important factor in promoting a healthy nation.

These leading health indicators are an important factor in the overall health of the nation. Notably, the best way to lower the risk of obesity is by exercising and engaging in a healthy diet. Obesity is a contributing factor for a series of health conditions including cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and stroke. In order to deal with the health crisis regarding these conditions, obesity must be lowered by engaging in a healthy lifestyle that comprises a healthy diet and proper exercises. With a reduction of obesity, there is expected to be a healthier society, more productivity and reduced expenses on healthcare. All these will very likely impact on various aspects of the economy.

References

Healthy People 2020, (2014). Healthy People 2020 Leading Health Indicators:Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity