Assignment prep

Question 1

Introduction/purpose?

Answer 1

The purpose of my investigation was to investigate the impacts of obesity. My hypothesis is that obesity is a major issue in the UK. This is relevant to modern studies as I covered obesity as part of health inequalities during s3 modern studies. I will research this by investigating into three aims
1. To find out the economic impact of obesity.
2. To find out the impact obesity has on public health.
3. To find out how obesity is being tackled.

Question 2

Aim one 1.1

Answer 2

1.1 evidence from the issue book- fitness & health volume 313 suggests that the cost of obesity and related conditions such as type 2 diabetes is putting a huge, unsustainable drain on NHS resources and with cases rising costs are also expected to rise.

Question 3

How much is obesity estimated to cost the NHS and uk economy?

Answer 3

£27 billion

Question 4

How many items did pharmacies in England dispense in 2014 to treat obesity?

Answer 4

Just over half a million

Question 5

What kind of policies are public health England introducing?

Answer 5

Policies to reduce sugar intake as studies from the scientific advisory committee on nutrition (SACN) found that sugar intake can increase the risk of over consuming calories.

Question 6

1.2

Answer 6

1.2 Additionally obesity is esteemed to cost the NHS and UK economy £27 billion a year. In 2014 pharmacies in England dispensed just over half a million items for treating obesity.

Question 7

1.3

Answer 7

This is backed up by www.gov.uk which shows that the UK spends more money every year on obesity than it does for essential services such as the fire service, police and judicial system combined.

Question 8

1.4

Answer 8

1.4 Overall, through my research it can be proven that obesity has a huge impact on the economy and it is costing the uk huge amounts of money that could be used towards other issues.

Question 9

2.1

Answer 9

evidence from journals.lww.com Suggests that obesity causes a lower quality of life for individuals and can cause physical issues such as back pain and reduced mobility as well as physiological effects.

Question 10

2.2

Answer 10

additionally it states that obesity is responsible for an estimated 9000 premature deaths in the UK, this can be caused by chronic diseases that are a results of obesity. Some examples given are arthritis hypertension, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes.

Question 11

2.3

Answer 11

this is backed up by www.gov.uk Which states that the NHS spend an estimate of £6.1 billion on overweight and obesity-related ill-health between 2014 and 2015.

Question 12

2.4

Answer 12

overall, through my research I have found that obesity has a great impact on the NHS and it is costing the NHS an unsustainable amount of many due to rising rates throughout the uk. This epidemic is using up vast amounts of resources and money that the NHS could put towards other research and treatment.

Question 13

3.1

Answer 13

3.1 evidence from www.gov.uk Shows that public health England are working on policies to try tackle obesity. Most of these policies focus on reducing sugar intake as this has been seen to also reduce obesity. The PHE have focused on sugar intake as a study done by the scientific advisory committee on nutrition (SACN) found that sugar intake an increase the risk of consuming too many calories.

Question 14

3.2

Answer 14

3.2 Additionally it says that changing things such as product size and the balance of ingredients are successful ways to of improving diets. This idea may work better than campaign so that rely on behavioural changes as it will be done universally.

Question 15

3.3

Answer 15

3.3 This is backed up by one.org.uk which states that the uk government are introducing policies to tackle obesity by trying to a promote healthy diet. One examples is ending the promotion of unhealthy food in store and online, this will be done by shops making healthy options such as fruit and veg on promotion rather than surgery snacks.

Question 16

3.4

Answer 16

3.4 Overall through my research I have found that the Uk government are using new policies to try encourage a healthier lifestyle. They are using advertising and product changes to try limit the amount of sugar people in the uk are consuming.

Question 17

Research method 1

Answer 17

Book

Question 18

Advantages of research method 1 (book)

Answer 18

-it provides well structured information that is published and shows multiple different sources in one place.
-is it covers topics in depth and the whole book is focused on one topic making it more accurate.

Question 19

Disadvantage of research method 1 (book)

Answer 19

-the book is it is a bit outdated. The book I used was published in 2017 so some information may not be up to date and there could be missing information that has happened in more recent years.
-books are more limited.

Question 20

What would I do if I used research method 1 again (book)

Answer 20

If I were to use this method again I would try to find more up to date books. And would try to find a book specific to obesity rather than health and fitness in general as this would give me more in depth information on my topic.

Question 21

Second research method

Answer 21

www.gov.uk

Question 22

Advantages of research method 2 (gov website)

Answer 22

-One advantage of using this method was the information was structured well. I was able to see the contents that was covered in the page as it had an index on the side and unlike a book I could press on the different topics and be taking straight to them rather than flicking through pages. This makes the research less time consuming - more efficient.
-is that the official government website is a trusted source.

Question 23

Disadvantage of research method 2 (gov website)

Answer 23

-although it was the uk
government website a lot of the information was centred around England and their approach to obesity.
-Another disadvantage of using this method is that because it is a government website it only tells you the facts but not a personal view or understanding. This means it may not tell the full story and don’t have any opinion so is one sided.

Question 24

What would I do if I were to use research method 2 (gov website) again?

Answer 24

If I were to use this method again I would try to find reports which talked about different approaches from different areas of the uk and weren’t limited to England. I would also try find an source that has more unique information because some of the statistics I had already found from other sources.

Question 25

Aim 1 conclusion (impact on uk economy)

Answer 25

my conclusion is that obesity is a massive problem for the uk economy and it is not going to be sustainable if the cost of obesity keeps increasing. This supports my hypothesis that obesity is a major issue in the uk as it is draining money that we can not sustain.

Question 26

Aim 2 conclusion ( public health)

Answer 26

my conclusion is that obesity is causing a domino affect in uk citizens health, leading to an increase of other health issues and is causing the uk national health system to be drained and overwhelmed. This supports my hypothesis as it shows that obesity is impacting the uk’s public health.

Question 27

Aim 3 conclusion (how it is being tackled)

Answer 27

my conclusion is that obesity is that the UK are putting in work and measures to try stop the obesity epidemic. The uk is tackling obesity by trying to limit the unhealthy diets causing obesity to happen. This supports my hypothesis as it shows that obesity has become such a major issue that the Uk government is having to introduce new policies to try resolve it.

Question 28

Overall conclusion

Answer 28

my conclusion is that obesity is a major issue in the uk because rates are only increasing and this is putting a huge strain on the UK’s economy and taking money away that could be put to better use. It is also costing the NHS way too much money and is wasting resources when it is a preventable issue . This has caused the government to try introduce new measures to try deal with this proving it is cause huge issues for the UK that need to be fixed.

Question 29

What I recommend

Answer 29

I recommend that the UK offers free gym access to encourage people to exercise and live a healthy lifestyle while also improving mental health. This would encourage those who may not be able to exercise due to money struggles to start fitness and help lower obesity levels. I would also encourage the idea of reducing prices on healthy foods to make sure that a healthy lifestyle is accessible for everyone.