Introduction Obesity is a complex chronic health issue that affects over one-third of adults in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). The high prevalence of obesity is estimated to incur an annual medical expense of 147 billion dollars (CDC, 2017). The size of the population affected and the significant ongoing costs of the disease are major stressors to the healthcare system today. This disease state is multifactorial including causes arising from behavioral, environmental, and genetic influences (CDC, 2017). This complexity makes treatment challenging. However, treatment and prevention of obesity is prudent for community and individual health. Obesity significantly contributes to risk of all-causes of mortality, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and many cancers (CDC, 2017). Obesity was chosen as the topic of focus of this community health project due to its seemingly boundless influence on diseases that contribute to morbidity and mortality on a national and local …show more content…
It is a multifaceted disease that requires intense, long-term treatment with the utilization of numerous resources. It is also a body condition that has a negative impact on the risk of developing diseases found to be major causes of morbidity and mortality in the area. For this reason, a plan to improve the screening and management of obesity within the Fairfield County Medical Group practice has been proposed. This plan focuses on two main areas, increased screening and identification as well as, expansion of the existing weight management including an increase in counseling intensity and creative ideas to connect patients to community resources. The efforts of this proposed plan aims to improve the long-term weight management among the obese population within the clinic and the town of Trumbull,