Formative Assessment of Obesity in United Kingdom

Formative Assessment of Obesity in United Kingdom

 

Formative Assessment Research Proposal

Background

Since 1980s obesity in the UK has almost quadrupled. More than 22% of the population is obese. If obesity is not checked then by 2020 a third of the total population will be obese. In the European countries, Forbes ranked United Kingdom 28^th among the fattest countries. This has exposed the Britons to health problems. This has also affected school going children including the adolescents (Yang & Huang, 2012).

Obesity has posed a great risk to public health. Costs have been incurred to monitor obesity and complications that are associated with it. This poses a financial burden to the country’s budget. A substantial amount of money is set aside to cater for direct and indirect costs of diabetes. Direct costs involve diagnosing and treating obesity related complications. The medical expenses, therefore, divert development resources. If this problem is curbed, then this money can be used in other projects that can uplift the life of the citizens (Sobal, 2001).

In addition, apart from these direct expenses on medication, obesity also adversely affects the economy of the country. For example, it leads to an increase in production costs. For example, absenteeism, this leads to underutilization of resources. Studies have also shown that the productivity of obese people is much less compared to their counterparts. Obesity has also been linked to immature mortality hence productivity loss (Hu, 2008).

 Obese people are prejudiced by others and are discriminated by their peers. They face some difficulties when buying clothes and fitting in seats while travelling.  This causes them psychological trauma which in turn affects their performance in day to day life. Their interaction with other members of the society is impaired giving them a lasting negative prejudice. This subjects obese people to poor body image and low self esteem. This can lead to depression. Studies have shown that young female are the most hit by psychological issues due to obesity (Whitacre & Burns, 2010).

Objective and Hypothesis

Obesity has subjected individuals and society to unfavourable consequences. Predictions have indicated that the number of obese people in the United Kingdom is on the rise. This necessitates the need to develop coping mechanisms to shield the population from the effects of obesity (Moreno, Pigeot, & Ahrens, 2010).

Objective

The objective of this study is to identify ways of curbing obesity. The study will focus on the causes, prevention, and control. Occupation, diet, age will also be factored in.

Hypothesis

People who take control measures and are persistent are less likely to become obese than those who do not.

Research Design

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The study will be a survey across the United Kingdom. The sampling will cut across all ages and different occupations. There will be a questionnaire to be filled by every participant. Short interviews will also be done to some participants. For those who agree to be interviewed, there will be some incentives (Barnett & Kumar, 2009).

On the job category, there will be two main groups; those with jobs that require a lot of energy and those who spend most of the time seated hence consuming less energy. This will be based on the amount of calories burned in workplace. The aim here is to see whether there is a correlation between occupation and obesity. If yes, what can one do to counter the effect of the job? In the age group with high frequencies, we will target the ones who are not obese to establish their lifestyle outside the workplace (Bray & Bouchard, 2003).

On the age category, three groups will be established. Those below 14 years  those between 14-35years and those above 35years. This will help us identify the age in which obesity mostly strike. What do people in those age groups indulge in? What is their lifestyle? We will also want to know the perception of their body shape to them. Do they fell contented and proud of their look? In the form of percentages, we will provide the difference between the obese and others in every age group (Davies & Mousouli, 2008).

On the diet, we will seek to know the proportion of food taken by participants. The type of food taken is also helpful to our study. Here, take the number of times the participants take food rich in fat, fruits and vegetables. We will also seek to establish a correlation between alcohol and body weight. We will, therefore, take the number of those who take too much alcohol and compare that to body weight (The NHS Information Centre, Lifestyles Statistics, 2012).

The data corrected will be analyzed and interpreted. The data will also be presented in a simplified approach to make them easier for users. The numerical data will be presented in pie charts, bar graphs and curves. The report will be of great importance in slowing the rate of obesity in the United Kingdom. This will come with benefits enjoyed by individuals and the society (Barnett & Kumar, 2009).

 

Comments

I have significant concerns over the scope of the research work you are proposing. What you are proposing is very large scale and wide reaching. You need to look at how you can make it more specific and focussed. Although you will not carry out the research work, the proposal should be something which you could lead in your own practice, if you chose to do so. Therefore it should be small-scale, rooted in your own practice and address a specific practice issue.

Currently what you propose to look at is very broad and addresses a lot of areas, at least some of which are already well understood. Proposing a study related to obesity is fine, but you need to narrow it down and link this much more strongly to your own practice, so think about the following:

• What issues do your find in your practice which are related to obesity?
• Which of these issues is not fully researched, i.e. where are there gaps in the evidence about these issues?
• How could you use research methods and skills to find out more about one of these issues?

You would probably find it helpful to use the PICO framework to identify a specific issue. Then you need to go to the literature and find out more about the specific topic you might look at. Following on from this, you should develop a research question (this is preferable to a hypothesis in this assignment). Send me the research question (or you can send me 2 or 3 to review, if you’re not sure about this) for review.

Use of literature / referencing

Make sure that you reference statements which present evidence or seem to state a fact. For example in the introduction, you have included a lot of statements without any evidence to back them up.

In the final proposal you will need to include references to the topic you are looking at as well as referencing texts and articles about research and EBP in healthcare.

Literature review

You have included some references to relevant literature, but remember that in the full proposal you will need to include a review of relevant literature, including critical appraisal of research literature. You should also include a search strategy to show that you have searched for current and relevant literature.

Moving on

• Spend some time identifying a specific and narrow issue in your own practice area which it would be useful to look at.
• Search for literature on this issue and then think about what you could propose that would add to the existing evidence.
• Devise a research question and email it to me