Healthy People 2010: Reaching goals through proper behavior modification for overweight and obese patients

Lifestyle choices play a significant role in the top three causes of mortality today, namely, heart disease, cancer and cerebrovascular disease. Overweight and obesity is a national concern and reflect major health issues and are leading health indicators of Healthy People 2010 (HP2010).

A lifestyle survey was provided to 121 patients at a chiropractic community outreach clinic. Overweight and obesity was determined from measured height, weight and based on basal metabolic index calculations. Trends in relationship between overweight and obesity and lower socioeconomic status (SES) were analyzed. Results suggest that although the people from the lower SES think they have a good diet, to their surprise, they discovered that their diet was poor. The majority of participants said they would be willing to take part in nutritional counseling at the chiropractic outreach clinic.

As the incidence of overweight and obesity increase in our population, it is a major national concern for every socioeconomic group. By lowering the incidence of overweight and obesity, mortality from heart disease, cancer, and cerebrovascular disease will be decreased. Nutritional education for the lower SES with an approach to behavior modification following HP 2010 guidelines will be included.