The Advocacy Through Legislation Assignment

Advocacy Through Legislation
Identify a problem or concern in your state, community, or organization that legislation can advocate. Research the issue and complete the sections below. For each topic that requires the listing of criteria, a minimum of two criteria should be identified and discussed. Add more rows as is appropriate for the topic/proposal.
Problem
In no more than 250 words, describe the problem, who is affected, and the current ramifications. Explain the consequences if the issue continues.As of 2016, according to WHO (2021), more than 1.9 billion people above the age of 18 were overweight, out of which 650 million were obese. While this figure is essential for reference, the current advocacy paper is not looking to solve the problem of obesity in adults. Instead, it is focused on limiting or stopping the development of obesity in future populations, and thus, the key target is children. According to the CDC (2020), in addition to the number of obese adults in the USA, 14.4 million children and adolescents are obese, with a higher rate of prevalence (21.2%) manifesting between 12 and 19 years. In essence, obesity problems manifest in childhood and adolescence persist into adulthood (Sanyaolu et al., 2019). Therefore, the high number of obese children indicates that Americans and the globe are headed into a future in which a significant chunk of the population will be obese due to roots planted in childhood development states.
Some of the current efforts to stop obesity in children include providing healthy meals and snacks, nutrition education, and daily physical activity. Advocacy of these interventions is often focused on the caregiver, parent, or guardian; therefore, it is easy to point blame fingers. What should be understood is that broader societal issues like processed food production and availability, poverty constraints, and sedentary lifestyles are major forces in this problem. Therefore, addressing childhood obesity should encompass all these forces either through policy or legislation.
The idea for Addressing Solution
In no more than 250 words, outline your idea for addressing the issue and explain why legislation is the best course for advocacy.The current methods in which people have been advised to prevent obesity are ineffective because other societal forces are at play. For instance, parents and guardians are advised to provide nutritious meals for their children. From a medical and biological point of view, as research has shown (Sami et al., 2017), good nutrition is vital in preventing and managing diabetes. While parents and guardians, especially those in middle and upper socioeconomic classes, have some control choice of diet, there is no control for most people. Junk food, processed food, and foods with high sugar and salt contents are cheap, readily available, and easily accessible compared to fresh food rich in nutrients. Even in learning institutions, children are taught good nutrition, but this does not reflect in the diets provided by the institutions. In another example, parents are often blamed for leading children into a sedentary lifestyle. On a broader scale, however, the continuous squeezing of safe play spaces in urban areas is a force that a single parent cannot control.
Therefore, the current problem is a policy formulation that encompasses all these factors and does not relegate all the responsibility to parents. Such a policy should include government agencies, learning institutions, business organizations (in the food production and processing industry), and community members. One way the policy should work is to compel food processors to provide information on the impact of their products on diabetes risks, especially among children.
Research the Issue
Perform research and compile information for your idea. Present substantive evidence-based findings that support your idea for addressing the problem (studies, research, and reports). Include any similar legislation introduced or passed in other states.Mississippi and Tennessee Case Study (Vardaman, Amis, & Wright, 2020)Between 2004 and 2007, three new state-level, school-oriented childhood obesity policies were enacted in Mississippi and Tennessee. The fundamental purpose of the policies was to recommend physical education (PE) as an area of focus in the prevention of diabetes prevalence among children. Researchers followed the implementation of these policies in eight different high schools in the two states between 2006 and 2009 by interviewing students, teachers, administrators, and policymakers. The study found it difficult to implement these policies because of barriers such as prioritizing standardized tests and the varsity sports system that essentially limits interest in PE or sports. Other factors included resource constraints and an overload of administrators with policies.
The study shows that parents, teachers, and administrators are far more likely to be blamed for obesity prevalence when in reality, there are other powerful forces in play. Thus, in addition to food manufacturers who make processed, sugary, salty, and junk food readily available, other forces include lack of resources, the perceived negative varsity sports system, overworked administrators, and emphasis on academic outcomes. In other words, the current policy proposal seeks to incorporate all these aspects instead of focusing on a single issue like PE or good nutrition. This is because the mentioned broader societal forces influence these single issues. Policy on Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Sales in High Schools in Boston (Krieger, Bleich, Scarmo, & Ng, 2021)As of 2004, consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages had increased among youth, accounting for up to 13% of calories consumed. Research has established links between obesity and sugar (Krieger et al., 2021). As a result, the Boston Public Schools passed a policy that restricted the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages within schools. Between 2004 and 2006, researchers followed 2003 students to observe changes in sugar consumption. The study results indicate that there was a significant decrease in sugar consumption among students in Boston compared to the national average.
These results indicate a policy that involves stakeholders like food manufacturers. It is an example of a policy that shifts the blame from parents and teachers to food processing or manufacturing organizations. Such organizations have forces and resources that a small community of schools or parents cannot be challenged. Thus, an ideal policy captures forces outside the household and the school settings. Such a policy eliminates some of the risk factors that parents and teachers...