Applying Theory to Practice Essay

Theory offers procedure and arrangement to nursing knowledge and provides a methodical way of collecting data to define, clarify, and forecast nursing practice (McEwen & Willis, 2011). Nurses use nursing theory to develop a certain outlook about patient care. Nursing theories serve as a shared groundwork for nursing practice across all settings to develop better patient care outcomes. This paper will explore childhood obesity and then apply to practice a mid-range and a borrowed nursing theory to the practice problem. Childhood obesity is a national problem that crosses all economic and social lines. Overweight children and adolescents are in jeopardy of having heart disease, such as hyperlipidemia or hypertension. In a varied group trial of 5- to 17-year-olds youths, 70% of overweight youth had at least one risk factor for heart disease (Freedman, Zuguo, Srinivasan, Berenson, & Dietz, 2007). Overweight youth are at higher risk to develop Type II diabetes (Li, Ford, Zhao, & Mokdad, 2009). Type II diabetes increases the risk of long term complications such as renal disease, visual impairment, cardiovascular disease, amputation, neuropathy, up to and including death. Youth that are overweight are also at higher risk for musculoskeletal issues, sleep disorders, socio-economic problems due to families inability to obtain medications and treatment. Overweight youth are also at risk of psychological problems such as being bullied in school, depression, suicide, and poor self-esteem (Dietz, 2004). Children and adolescents who are obese often carry this into adulthood and become obese adults. This sets them up for the likely hood of adult health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and osteoarthritis (Guo & Chumlea, 1999). Some of the long term ramifications of childhood obesity include but are not limited to many types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder, thyroid, ovary, cervix, and prostate, multiple myeloma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma (Kushi et al., 2006). There are so many short term and long term emotional and physical ramifications associated with childhood obesity that it warrants research and study. Childhood obesity is preventable and treatable. As a society it is time that measures were put into place to reduce the ever increasing numbers of children dealing with childhood obesity on a daily basis. There also seems to be a tendency for obesity to be passed down from generation to generation not because of genetics alone, but because of the learned lifestyle of the family. To treat children and adolescents for obesity it is going to take educating and treating the entire family unit. References Dietz, W. H. (2004). Overweight in childhood and adolescents. New England Journal of Medicine, 350(), 855-857. Freedman, D. S., Zuguo, M., Srinivasan, S. R., Berenson, G. S., & Dietz, W. H. (2007). Cardiovascular risk factors and excess adiposity among overweight children and adolescents: the Bogalusa heart study. Journal of Pediatrics, 150(1), 12-17. Guo, S. S., & Chumlea, W. C. (1999). Tracking of body mass index in children in relation to overweight in adulthood. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 70(), 145-148. Kushi, L. H., Byers, T., Doyle, C., Bandera, E. V., McCullough, M., & Gansler, T. (2006). American cancer society guidelines on nutrition and physical activity for cancer prevention: Reducing the risk of cancer with healthy food choices and physical activity. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 56(56), 254. Li, C., Ford, E. S., Zhao, G., & Mokdad, A. H. (2009). Prevalence of prediabetes and its association with clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors and hyperinsu linemia among US adolescents. Diabetes Care, 32(). McEwen, M., & Willis, E. M. (2011). Theoretical basis for nursing (3 ed.). Philidelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer .