Week 3 Discussion Health Promotion - Child and Adolescent Health Risks

DISCUSSION WEEK 3 HEALTH PROMOTION

Topic 1: Child and Adolescent Health Risks

As you discovered in this week's lectures and readings, several populations face multiple health risks across their lifespan. Children and adolescents are a population that is at a higher health risk for obesity. A national movement is underway to reduce risk factors for developing obesity in children. Part of this movement is the "Let's Move!" campaign, which is a comprehensive and coordinated initiative to prevent childhood obesity. The initiative emphasizes four primary components: healthy schools, access to affordable and healthy food, raising children's physical activity levels, and empowering families to make healthy choices. Review Healthy People 2020:

• 1. Identify risk factors for childhood obesity.
• 2. Do the risk factors differ and how do they differ between children and adolescents? 
• 3. Identify objectives that will combat childhood and adolescent obesity.
• 4. Provide suggestions on how community health nurses can contribute to these national health objectives and accomplish the goal of decreasing obesity among this population.