Research Project Proposal
Provide a brief, general introduction to the topic and importance to your role (do
not use first person anywhere in the paper). Conclude with a thesis statement.
Background and Significance of the Problem
The American Medical Association declared obesity as a disease rather than a
lifestyle issue in the United States in 2013. The intent of declaring obesity as a disease
was to change the manner in which medical practitioners handled it. While obesity
prevalence in children and adolescence has plateaued, the prevalence in adults has been
on the rise since early 1980s. In 1985, the prevalence of adult obesity in the United States
was less than 15% in all states. In 2007/2008, the prevalence of adult obesity was 34%.
Currently, the prevalence of adult obesity is about 40% based on statistics of 2015/2016
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RESEARCH PROJECT PROPOSAL
(Hales, Fryar, Carroll, Freedman, & Ogden, 2018). The trend in adult obesity continues to
rise in spite of the federal government investing in medical costs vastly to address
obesity. The data published by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a
program under National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), portrays adult obesity prevalence as a health threat, which
requires deliberate intervention.
Intervention to address obesity prevalence is vital because of its health and
economic implications. Health implications are apparent in the quality of life as well as
the condition being a risk factor for diseases. According to Lorraine, Katherine, Ryan,
Gregory, and Julie (2016), obesity causes high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes mellitus,
stroke, hyperlipidemia, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, gallbladder disease, cardiovascular
disease, cancer (obesity is a risk factor for colon, prostate, breast, and endometrial) and
death. Obesity accounts for 18% of deaths of persons between 40 and 85 years. Equally,
the economic burden of obesity is $147 billion annually in medical costs for diagnosis,
treatment, and prevention (Hales, Fryar, Carroll, Freedman, & Ogden, 2018). Obesity is a
creation of individual factors such as genetics and lifestyle behavior, for example,
physical activity, dietary patterns and exposure to medication. Additionally, contributing
factors to obesity are the environment, educational awareness and food promotion and
marketing.
Statement of the Problem and Purpose of the Study
Adult obesity prevalence in the United States has been on the rise in the last three
decades. Up to 40% of American adults were obese in 2015/2016, which is a rise from
34% in 2007/2008. In this period (2007/2008 to 2015/2016), the prevalence of severe
obesity rose from 5.7% to 7.7% (Hales, Fryar, Carroll, Freedman, & Ogden, 2018). This
rise is a contrast of the early 1980s where no state in the United States had adult obesity
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