My Msc Specialist Community Public Health - 2049 Words

I am completing this ethics submission as part of my Msc Specialist Community Public Health Nurse/ School Nursing. This course has further increased my professional interest as a School Nurse, in obesity and the impact this has on the individual as well as society. Given this is a continuing problem despite various government interventions I would like to explore whether school nurses’ have a role to play in childhood obesity. Background If current trends continue unchanged by 2034 one in three people will be obese (Public Health England) (PHE 2014). Society has normalised being overweight with obesity increasing throughout a person’s life span (PHE 2014). The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) data has shown that there is a†¦show more content†¦The estimated cost to society and the economy stood at  £16 billion in 2007 with a potential rise to about  £50 billion by 2050. An estimated  £2.6 billion of this is attributed to lost earnings due to obesity (DH 2011). It is now accepted that every aspect of our lives impacts on our health and vice versa (Linsley, Kane and Owen 2011, Dahlgren and Whitehead 1991, PHE 2014), (Fig:1).Although the health service can not alter this epidemic single handed it needs to work in partnership and create a community wide approach to tackling obesity (NHS 2014, PHE 2014). By adopting a proactive rather than a reactive approach we may be able to impact on future data (PHE 2014). 12 years ago Derek Wanless warned that unless the country takes prevention seriously there would be a sharp rise in the burden of unavoidable illness (NHS 2014). This warning was not heeded, and now it is acknowledged to create the best outcomes for children’s health, the sustainability of the NHS and the economic prosperity of Britain there needs to be a radical upgrade in prevention and public health (NHS 2014). Fig 1: Dahgren and Whitehead (1991) Illustration showing the many social, environmental, cultural and biological influences on health. Public health is about empowering individuals as well as communities to live healthy, happy lives and reach their