My thoughts on Obesity as a future Social Worker

As a social worker, obesity needs to be thought of as a social issue and not just an individual disorder. Social justice is an important aspect to bring to this issue, which allows a systematic approach to be incorporated in understanding these problems that affect so many children. Attachment theory is an interesting place to start, but it has a weakness of being to narrow and only focusing on the individual and parent relationship. However, research shows that parents do affect children, but more emphasis needs to be placed on the environment and the systems surrounding the individual.

It is also important to teach people to take responsibility for their actions and develop healthy coping skills. This will help them deal with emotional issues related to self-esteem, stress, coping and social support throughout childhood. However, it is also important to address these issues from a cultural standpoint and understand how the environment influences the individual with negative body images. The public needs to be made aware of overweight and obesity issues that have become a global problem. This can help alleviate the isolation that tends to occur among individuals who are obese. Not addressing these issues will have severe consequences on a social, economic, and health standpoint.

These children and adolescents growing up will continue to deal with multiple health issues affecting the economy substantially. The need for action is imperative and governments and communities need to be made aware of these concerns. Preventative programs are a great place to start and it is imperative to help build social support, self-esteem and coping skills among children and adolescent’s. Teaching these individuals better ways to cope with problems will help them alleviate the need to develop unhealthy eating behaviors, which can develop into weight gain and obesity.     

Treatment must begin with empowering people across the globe and continue developing services and programs aimed at treating and preventing obesity. Helping alleviate the shame and guilt from families who suffer from obesity would be easier if social workers could establish a unity within this population. Group programs seem to be very beneficial method in the treatment of eating disorders, so it could be used to treat obesity. Being overweight or obese can become a child’s sense of identity, which is something social workers need to work on correcting. This could be helped through the group process with other members who are working on self-identity and self-esteem. However, a new approach and understanding of why these problems develop, would lead to better treatment outcomes. Understanding the root of why individuals become obese is imperative to treating the individual and the problem as a social issue.

Shira Heffernan

This picture is amazing to me and it really puts into perspective how accessible fast food is to families across the nation.