For a healthy living among the 2020 generations, a focus on promoting health through the consumption of balanced dietary meals is significant in achieving healthful body weights and a life free of chronic diseases. Nutrition and weight status is a health issue presenting health inequalities among different communities across the global world. As such, comparing the nutrition and weight status of the population of America and that of the African community is significant in explaining the disparity in their health and recommending possible remedies to reduce the disparity.
The socioeconomic and the environmental factors have been regarded as key in explaining the inequality differences in the national and weight choices of the American and the African communities. This difference is seen the dietary intake as well as dietary quality and patterns among these communities. This reflects on the overweight, undernutrition and obesity outcomes varying across these communities. The increased poverty levels among the African communities is to be blamed for the burden of malnutrition prevalent in the African communities as compared to the American community (Fleischhacker-Parakh et al., 2020). The poverty-stricken African communities face the problem of food insecurity. This affects their ability to purchase all varieties of food in meeting their dietary requirement. As a result, this community is more vulnerable to malnutrition and other dietary related contagious diseases. The economic empowerment prevalent among American society is also seen to be more advanced as compared to that of the African communities. This has improved their ability to purchase all varieties of food to meet their dietary requirement as opposed to the African communities. For instance, the American citizens are issued with coupons for every purchase of fruits and vegetables from the local farmers. This enhances their access to the various types of food despite the low-income state of other individual members of the society. On the contrary, the lack of economic support of the African communities has exposed their vulnerability to poor living. As such, the African communities have little access to the variety of foods crucial for a healthy living. The differences in the healthy behaviours between these two communities is also a common cause of the existing health inequality among them.
The knowledge and the attitude towards embracing a healthy diet are more prevalent among American society as compared to the African community. American society is very proactive in regular physical activities while also embracing dietary meals. With the balanced number of calories from the food intake and the burning of calories during the normal exercises, the American population stands a chance of managing excess body weight (Jones- Geronimus et al., 2019). The prevailing environmental factors have also played a role in furthering the neutrino and weight disparity between the American as well as the African communities. For instance, the American population easily walks and bikes to work as a result of the available sidewalk trails. The African community, on the other hand, lacks such infrastructure, therefore limiting their daily behaviour in conforming to the health recommendations for a regular exercise in managing their weight.
In an effort to reduce the prevalent disparity in nutritional choices between the American and the African communities, I propose a number of health communication strategies that would help to reduce this disparity and promote healthy living among for all the two communities. The larger community, government institutions as well as other private entities in both America and Africa needs to launch various internet sites key in providing information that addresses the benefits of healthy eating (Jeffries-Zhang et al., 2019)). Such platforms will significantly increase the public’s awareness on the need of considering a balanced diet healthy living. As widely accessible as they are, such internet platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp will create a positive impact on health awareness for the public’s quality life. The medical fraternity must also play a role in advocating for a change in attitude towards embracing the role of healthy eating habits in improving the quality of life (Jones-Geronimus, 2019). An individual’s attitude towards certain health choices affects their healthy living (Allcott-Schnell et al., 2020). As such, they will embrace more e of dietary choices as their common habit crucial for their quality life.
The larger society of America and Africa must also be engaged in empowering individual members to take leadership actions in encouraging an awareness of healthy living. This will ensure a positive behaviour change in line with the health guidelines on various dietary choices. The government also needs to play an important role in implementing relevant health policies that seek to create a sustainable health system for the entire public. These policies will help to reinforce a positive change towards the public’s engagement with the right dietary choices for their quality of life. The need to advocate for the public’s economic empowerment especially those of the low income earning persons is also crucial in ensuring that they have access to the variety of food they need to meet their dietary requirements. Finally, the medical PR actioners must be engaged with nutritional education programmers that create a civic awareness on the benefits of embracing natural food as an effective measure towards their healthy living (Allcott-Schnell et al., 2020). As such, the larger public, government and non-governmental institutions, as well as individual members of the society, have a role to play in addressing the nutritional concerns of the public as a common health issue.
For the effectiveness of realizing the targeted results of the discussed strategic choices, an evaluation plan would be key in ascertaining whether such results positively impacts on the call for a healthy living. Key among this plan would be the need to assess the level with which the proposed strategies have been implemented assessing. For instance, assessing the government’s commitments in implementing key nutritional reform policies would reflect on the level of the publics’ energumen in making dietary choices throughout their life. Through cognitive awareness, this would have a positive effect on the up-coming generation who will assume better dietary choices (Fleischhacker-Parekh et al., 2020). It would also be necessary to assess whether the goals and the measurable objectives associated with the health campaigns for a healthy lifestyle meet the intended outcomes. For instance, a health campaign must attract a large number of persons borrowing the ideas of healthy living. A positive buying trend of the natural food products will confirm a positive result associated with the campaigns. The evaluation plan must also incorporate conducting an input evaluation of the adequacy and appropriateness of the resources used to carry out the campaigns that advocate for healthy eating.
The resource allocation feasibility test will assess whether the available resource is necessary to effectively conduct the health campaigns. In cases where the resource availability is not up to the standard level, then an alternative recommendation would be necessary for seeking for more resources for the effectiveness of conducting nutritional reform campaigns choices (Fleischhacker-Parekh et al., 2020). Finally, the evaluation plan must test the practicability and feasibility of the program. For instance, considering whether the cost per individual incurred in purchasing natural foods are within their affordability level would be a critical factor that measures the effectiveness of a given national campaign. Evaluating the success of every strategic choice of action in implementing a nutritional reform campaign is, therefore, critical for the success of such a campaign.
In communicating with both the American and African communities on their choice of action in getting engaged with the dietary guidelines as a health concern, it would be key to consider a local mobilization and support of the low income earning African persons to enrol with the economic support packages provided by their local government in seeing them acquire support for a healthy living. It would also be key for the African communities to engage the media in campaigns for healthy living. This would be key in sensitizing the larger public to embrace a dietary eating habit for their healthy eating. It is also necessary to sensitize the local governments of the African communities to advocate for healthy living for the safety of their citizens. To the American citizens, it is necessary to support the African communities in reaching high-quality health. The American citizens as a healthy community must strive to improve the health of other persons for the healthy living of all social groups. American society has a role to play in ensuring equitable health while eliminating all forms of healthcare disparities. They must provide awareness campaigns for a changed attitude in advocating for healthy lifestyles among the African communities.
My reflection on the project
The entire task of formulating this project has enhanced my interaction of lots of new knowledge that I can learn from. For instance, I now have an insight into the common causes of nutritional disparities across different communities. I can borrow this knowledge to address the difference in the healthcare needs of different communities across the global world. I have also learned a new knowledge on the step by step identification of the necessary mitigating factors to any health situation. For instance, an evaluation of those strategic mitigating factors must be considered as well as recommending an evaluation plan for those strategic choices. Finally, I have learned from the whole task of putting the document together, and I am more familiar with the entire process of planning and arranging any project work.
The analysis of the disparity of the nutritional diets and weight status of the American communities and their African counterpart is therefore key in recommending reform strategies for a healthy living. The African community are more common in poor nutrition as compared to their American counterpart. They, therefore, require hey strategies like mass campaign and awareness, formulation of government policy as well as a changed attitude in adopting positive behaviour patterns in line with the quest for a healthy living. In their effort to achieve healthy living, American society must support their choices in reaching a high standard of healthy living.