In the United States of America, chronic illnesses and conditions are a major health risk that even leads to death of individuals. In the year 2012, research indicated that more than 100 million people suffered from one of the many chronic diseases. As per a report by the CDC, it shows that the commonness of obesity has proceeded to grow over the past decade. Obesity is a chronic illness that occurs over time and is caused by eating too many calories. Obesity, therefore, occurs when a person has too much fat in their bodies. According to statistics, the medical costs that were linked to obesity were estimated to be $ 150 billion in 2008 (Elbel, Corcoran & Schwartz, 2016).This essay will summarize a chronic illness that was suffered a while ago and how the patient overcame the illness.
Responding to obesity
In response to the chronic illness that I suffered some time back, I had to undergo various adaptations and changes at nearly every day that passed. Considering that the obese patients get shunned within the community, I had to add more effort to fight the illness. Lifestyle modification was the first and major step that had to be observed. I had to lower the morbidity, and this was to be achieved by losing weight. This would bring significant benefits to my health and my quality of life. I also joined a Commercial slimming group that proved to be useful and cost-effective in weight management.
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Dissonance-inducing activities seem to be especially useful for changing eating symptoms. These refer to a mental state where the obese person has to make choices in their mind on what to eat and not what to eat. Dissonance changes a person’s behavior making them to be more consistent.
Support received
I have been able to get social support from my family members, my friends, and my medical attendants. I have also been given informational support by my nutritionist and am able to live healthily. In addition, I was able to receive counseling from a trained health care professional who helped me in daily physical exercises and how I think about food and eating. Through the shared experience from other people who had suffered the same illness and how they had made it through, I was also determined to make it and overcome this chronic illness.
Impact of obesity on quality of life
Obesity decreases a person’s life of close to 9 years. Being overweight can likewise put additional weight on joints and appendages, making movements to be painful. Other diseases that are associated with obesity include dental problems due to eating sugary foods, respiratory problems, and hypertension.
The illness makes a person have a low self-esteem due to depression associated with the illness. Obese people are more likely to suffer from prejudice and discrimination in some situations like social gatherings, place of work, travel, schooling, and healthcare among others (Hassan, Joshi, Madhavan, & Amonkar, 2003).
Obese people find it difficult to perform several activities like carrying heavy bags, running, climbing stairs and they feel tired very soon. Subsequently, individuals attempt to stay away from them, and they don't include them in their undertakings.
Advice to Obese people
People suffering from obesity are advised to avoid fried and oily foods like ghee as this increase the level of cholesterol in their blood. They should also avoid eating the left over’s as well as avoid eating in between meals. Obese people should engage themselves in physical exercises and eat food in smaller quantities (Allen, Grande, Abernethy & Currow, 2016). Eating green leafy vegetables is advised since these foods are low in calories.
References
Allen, S. A., Dal Grande, E., Abernethy, A. P., & Currow, D. C. (2016). Two colliding epidemics - obesity is independently associated with chronic pain interfering with activities of daily living in adults 18 years and over; a cross-sectional, population-based study. BMC Public Health, 161-9.
Elbel, B., Corcoran, S. P., & Schwartz, A. E. (2016). Neighborhoods, Schools and Obesity: The Potential for Place-Based Approaches to Reduce Childhood Obesity. Plos ONE, 11(6), 1-12.
Hassan, M., Joshi, A., Madhavan, S., & Amonkar, M. (2003). Obesity and health-related quality of life: a cross-sectional analysis of the US population. International Journal Of Obesity, 27 (10), 1227-1232. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802396.
