Health Effects of Overweight and Obesity in 195 Countries: A Critique Paper

Health Effects of Overweight and Obesity in 195 Countries Over 25 Years – By Afshin et al.

Abstract

Many people perceive that being overweight is an appearance issue. However, such a condition is a medical concern since it can severely impact the health of a person. Therefore, obesity is considered to be today’s health issue due to its complexity of serious psychological and social dimensions. Various studies have produced significant results showing that there are numerous reasons why obesity has become prevalent in the present day and many people have difficulty avoiding it. Often, the condition is an outcome of a combination of inherent factors, combined with exercise choices, personal factors, and the environment. In this case, the research by Afshin et al. (2017) noted significant results describing obesity prevalence and has identified its risk factors, including increased risk of obesity, stroke, hypertension, and diabetes. To this end, the findings by the author called for efforts to mitigate the prevalence of this condition, as well as its risk factors among the people affected.

KeyWords: Obesity, Overweight, Health Impact

Introduction

Once regarded as a high-income country issue, overweight and obesity are at present on the rise globally, including in low-and-middle-income states, principally in urban locations. It is today’s health issue since it increases the risk of numerous health problems, such as certain cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. In the article, “Health Effects of Overweight and Obesity in 195 Countries over 25 Years,” Afshin et al. (2017) systematically analyzed the trends in overweight and obesity pervasiveness as well as the disability and death patterns linked to high BMI, based on gender and age, in 195 nations. The research problem presented by the scholars is that despite the increasing pandemic of obesity gaining considerable attention in numerous nations, the impact of this focus on the ailment burden and trends of obesity remains ambiguous.

The scholars failed to provide research questions based on the identified problem; however, their main point is that since 1990, the disease burden linked to high BMI has been on the rise. Arguably, this point has been supported by the systematic assessment of the medical impacts of high BMI. The initial objective by the authors was to present an inclusive evaluation of the developments in high BMI and related burden of disease. In this regard, Afshin et al. (2017) produced significant results showing that due to the global increase of disease burden and prevalence of high BMI, there is need to implement multi-component interventions to reduce this problem. The process that the authors used to arrive at such a conclusion entailed quantifying the high BMI trends and the burden of disease associated with it; this was done across development levels and projected the impact of epidemiological transition and demographic alteration to variations in BMI-related affliction.

Research Methods

In their study, Afshin et al. (2017) have located the problem under analysis through a search of past literature. Nonetheless, the piece does not cover a literature review as one of its sections. Arguably, the lack of this part means that the scholars did not focus on the vital objective of the literature, which entails synthesizing and summarizing the ideas and arguments of other authors without adding new contributions. By presenting a review of literature, Afshin et al. (2017) could have shown that they have learned from others and that their study is a starting point for new ideas. The authors could have also summarized previous studies and demonstrate how their project is linked to it (Efron & Ravid, 2019). The literature review shows the relevance and originality of the research problem. In brief, the lack of a literature review section implies that the scholars have not convincingly shown the readers how their research adds to an existing body of agreed knowledge.

A study can be relevant when it either increases the confidence with which existing knowledge is regarded or adds to knowledge. To this end, the research by Afshin et al. (2017) can be considered relevant and current to the present day health issue, in this case, the medical problems resulting from overweight and obesity. The authors have achieved this end in various ways. For example, they have ensured that the analysis has the potential to fill in the gaps in the current knowledge base. The study was formed within the context of the growing body of knowledge and that led to the interpretation of its results. Additionally, scholars have used well-defined and reliable measurement strategies. The article has also utilized clear experimental design, which is vital to the formation of a body of usable and valid findings; the authors utilized a beta dissemination to depict BMI dispersal at the population level, a technique that is more accurate in capturing BMI than other distributions (Afshin et al., 2017). Last but not least, the authors have based their study on currently hypothesized relationships, which has helped to organize and explain the collected data.

Afshin et al. (2017) have utilized a comparative risk assessment research type. The approach entails the systematic assessment of population health changes that would result from altering the distribution of population to a group of risk factors or risk factor exposures, using comparable or consistent techniques (Chen, Bullen, & Dirks, 2017). In the article, Afshin et al. (2017) utilized comparative-risk-assessment drawn from Global Burden of Disease research. The scholars evaluated the affliction of ailment by disability and deaths-adjusted life-years, an amalgamated metric calculated as the addition of the years of life lost as a result of high BMI and the years lived with disability.

According to Ahmad, Samsudin, Adnan, and Husein (2019), the sample in an analysis should be representative of the population to make certain a study generalizes the results from the sample of the research to the population as a whole. Selecting a suitable sample size was a dynamic step in the design of the examination by Afshin et al. (2017). The authors evaluated statistics from 68.5 million people to determine the inclinations in the pervasiveness of obesity and overweight among adults and children between 1980 and 2015. It is apparent that the examination had an adequate sample size, which allowed for satisfactory numerical power to spot meaningful influences. The appropriate sample size also generated reliable answers to the significant research questions, in this case, concerning the increase in the prevalence of obesity and overweight.

Moreover, the study by Afshin et al. (2017) seems to be practical research for the reason that it is directed towards an issue that has a practical day-to-day nature. Clearly, the study on the disease burden and prevalence of obesity and weight is practical research because it aims to determine the impact of high BMI on health outcomes as well as how to address them. Afshin et al. (2017) have suggested that the research results could be applied in medical intercessions, mainly to lessen the principal degree of cardiovascular diseases. Such a step would considerably lessen the burden of ailments linked to high BMI. The research by the scholars could also be applied as a guideline to encourage the loss of weight in both adults and children. It can achieve this by focusing the evidenced-based education activities on caregivers and parents, the key group for influencing behavioral change.

In my opinion, the researchers could have improved their research. There is a long history, in the field of obesity study, of utilizing routine sources of data to identify risk factors and track the prevalence of obesity, and the research by Afshin et al. (2017) is not an exception. The study has the potential to broaden people’s knowledge of obesity by supplementing this with new categories of data, bringing together information from various facets of behaviors and environment. The complement can occur by reaching populations that have been challenging to access with conventional methods of research, in offering quantitative and objective measures where conventional studies have had to depend on self-reported data and moving beyond constraints in scope.

Arguably, the study by Afshin et al. (2017) is fairly factual and straightforward. The article has been written convincingly and persuasively. All the findings that are associated with the research question have been given in detail, including simple percentages and counts. The authors have used references wisely. They have cited the instruments and methods used as well as the key assertions made. In the methods section, the scholars have presented sufficient details to the readers concerning the methods of study to be able to reproduce the research if so desired. In brief, the research by Afshin et al. (2017) one due to the fact that it is fairly detailed, technical, concrete, and specific.

It is crucial to conduct further research on the medical impacts of obesity to gain knowledge on the sustainability and institutionalization of dietary interventions. Such investigations would also shed light on the long-term impacts on programs to lose weight and management of weight. In future, further analysis could also be carried out to determine the degree of how the work practices and work environment discourage or promote the development of obesity or overweight and how the condition is linked to risk of occupational injuries and diseases. Obesity also leads to various comorbidities. Therefore, there is also need for further research on the effectiveness of surgical and pharmacological interventions in people with comorbidities, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Conclusion

In their study, Afshin et al. (2017) have shared significant results showing that high BMI remains with the utmost growth rate among the prevalent medical jeopardies that were evaluated in Global Burden of Disease 2015 research. The authors have further shown that the prevalence of obesity, across the development levels, has over the recent decades increased. In essence, this shows that the challenge is not merely an aspect of wealth or income. Probably, variations in the food systems and diet environment are the key drivers. The article has also indicated that increased affordability, accessibility, availability of foods dense in energy, along with strong promotion of such nourishments, could expound on weight gain and excess energy consumption among diverse people. Some other deliberated likely drivers comprise alterations in the built environment and reduced openings for physical actions as a result of urbanizations.

References

Afshin, A., Forouzanfar , M. H., Reitsma , M. B., Sur , P., Estep , K., Lee , A., … Murray, C. J. L. (2017). Health effects of overweight and obesity in 195 countries over 25 years. New England Journal of Medicine, 377(1), 13–27. doi: 10.1056/nejmoa1614362.

Ahmad, W. M. A. W., Samsudin, N. A., Adnan, M. M., & Husein, A. (2019). Sample size calculations (study design based) using PS software and sampling selection (Penerbit USM). Penerbit USM.

Chen, J., Bullen, C., & Dirks, K. (2017). A comparative health risk assessment of electronic cigarettes and conventional cigarettes. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(4), 382. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14040382.

Efron, S. E., & Ravid, R. (2019). Writing the literature review: A practical guide. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.