Running Head: Health and Wellness 1

DIPLOMA IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

SEMESTER MAY / 2021

MPU 2312

HEALTH AND WELLNESS 1

MATRICULATION NO
IDENTITY CARD NO.
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E-MAIL
LEARNING CENTRE
: 000805070226001
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: 018-9400635
: zsang0805@oum.edu.my
: OUM SEBARANG JAYA
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Table of Contents

Task 1.........................................................................................................................................3

Question 1...............................................................................................................................3

Introduction............................................................................................................................3

Explanation of the difference between BMI and BCA..........................................................3

Conclusion..............................................................................................................................5

Question 2..................................................................................................................................5

Introduction............................................................................................................................5

Discussion of the risk of health problems related to obesity..................................................6

Conclusion..............................................................................................................................8

Task 2.......................................................................................................................................10

Reflective learning experience related to management of body weight...............................10

Development of a health reflective journal on views related to the issue............................11

Reference List..........................................................................................................................13
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Task 1

Question 1

Introduction

Managing weight is considered to be one of the most important factors in managing good

health. Especially in the current times, keeping an optimal balance between hectic work life

and good health has become a necessity for all adults. Task 1 discusses two different

questions in which the difference between Body Mass Index and Body Composition Analysis

has been established. Body Mass Index (BMI) and Body Composition Analysis (BCA) are

two of the most essential factors in weight management of the human body (Borga et al.

2018). Differences between these two factors have been established to analyze the relation to

body weight management.

Explanation of the difference between BMI and BCA

Body Mass Index (BMI) is an important factor that defines a person’s weight classifications.

It makes the connections between weight and height of the human body. It is a simple index

that conducts weight for height and explains if the person is overweight or underweight

(Chandrasekaran, 2018). The common formula of calculating BMI is considered the weight

of the person in kilograms divided by the square of his or her height in meters.

On the other hand, BCA or Body Composition Analysis is a physical test of components of

the whole body. It generally determines the percentage of body fat. Human body generally

consists of two types of mass (Fedewa et al. 2019). One is the fat-free mass and the other one

is body mass. Determining the percentage of the body mass to improve the way a person

looks or feels by engaging themselves in a regular healthy diet. Relation between BMI and

BCA is that BMI is a general analysis of BCA composition.

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Relation between BMI and BCA is generally an essential factor in body weight management.

However, there is huge confusion in the common people regarding the roles BMI and BCA

play in body weight management (Sharma &Kanwar, 2018). Differences between BMI and

BCA are also an important focus point of this project.

First of all, BMI is an analysis that defines the weight according to a person’s height and age.

BMI is just another term that is regularly heard from the doctors or nutritionist. It analyzes

the weight depending on the factors that may affect the weight of a person and dictates how

much a person should weigh in that particular age (Pratley et al. 2019). Whereas BMI is a

simple index in body weight management, BCA is a much more complex and difficult body

weight management factor to understand. Body Composition Analysis dictates how much a

person weighs that comes from the lean mass such as muscles, bone and tissues and how

much weight comes from body fat.

Secondly, BMI is a general indicator whether a person has the right weight according to their

age and height or he/she is underweight or overweight (Bradbury et al. 2018). BMI is a less

complex index that dictates the potential health issues that the person may face in the future.

On the other hand, BCA defines the different composition of the body that plays vital roles as

weight sources (Fruh, 2017). Not only body fat but fat-free components such as bones, tissues

and water are also considered as the weight sources.

Considering a healthy body weight according to a healthy BMI and BCA rate is often

confusing as there are people who have healthy BMI but unhealthy body fat percentage. For

example, muscular people often have low or unhealthy rates of BMI and have a healthy BCA

rate at the same time (Romieu et al. 2017).

BMI does not give a full length mirror scale of how much a person should lose or gain weight

to have the perfect percentage of body fat. It surely analyzes if the person is under or
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overweight but it does not critically discuss the factors that may have been the reason behind

the inaccurate weight (Mackenzie et al. 2018). BCA , on the other hand, gives a full track

quality weight management that defines the area that are responsible for loss of weight or

obese.

As BMI is a much simpler process, it is quite inexpensive and easily accessible for all the

people. Body Composition Analysis, on the other hand, is a much more difficult test to access

and often a bit costlier than the usual weight management tests.

Conclusion

First question of this chapter discusses the common factors that influence body weight

management. Since weight management is one of the most major concerns in today’s world,

knowing the analysis factors and the right way to follow a healthy routine to achieve the

perfect body weight has become important too. Body Mass Index and Body Composition

Analysis have been the focus point in this question. Differences between these factors often

create confusion among the common people as it has a significant relationship with one

another. However, complexity in BMI is much lower than the analysis of body fat

composition. Since BCA is a much more advanced and complex process to get through, most

of the doctors and dieticians have been using BMI as an indicator to potential health risks and

diseases.

Question 2

Introduction

Obesity is one of the most concerning issues in first world countries at present. Study shows

that one person in every 4 people suffers from obesity in the UK (Kotsis et al. 2018). This not

only calls danger for the lives of individuals but also affects the future health graph of the
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countries. An unhealthy nation affects a country’s economic and social aspects as well.

Obesity generally occurs in middle- aged people in countries all over the world. Due to lack

of healthy food inclusions and proper exercise in regular life, urban people tend to suffer

from obesity more than the people in rural areas (Drenowatz, 2017). This question discusses

the different risks and health issues obesity causes and how a proper body weight

management can reduce these chances.

Discussion of the risk of health problems related to obesity

Health issues that overweight and obesity causes in adults is a major problem in first world

countries. It has been a significant difference in the growth at obese people in Asia Pacific

countries. Generally people with a higher BMI than 30 units are considered to have obesity.

Figure 1: Obesity percentage in the Asia Pacific countries

(Source: Niddk.nih.gov, 2021)

Malaysia has the highest rate in obesity and overweight among the adults among all of the

Asia Pacific countries (Harris et al. 2018). 64% of the female population and almost 65% of
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the male population have been suffering from obesity since the urbanization and lifestyle

shift hit the country. World Health Organizations and the government of Malaysia have taken

several steps towards reducing the worrying levels of risks related to obesity. Some of the

major health issues that are caused by obesity have been discussed below.

● One of the major risk factors that is caused by obesity is high blood pressure. More

than 80% of the people that have suffered from obesity have at some point, suffered

from high blood pressure (Hudgel et al. 2018). High BP is the main reason behind

chronic hypertension and heart diseases. Work stress, shift in lifestyle before and after

lockdown and low quality life have been the major factors behind this high rate of

high blood pressure.

● Different cardiac diseases are also a major issue caused by being overweight. Almost

30.2% of the people who suffer from obesity suffer from different kinds of cardiac

diseases as well (Da Luz et al. 2018). Malaysian government has taken initiatives to

invest in cardiac healthcare in order to successfully reduce the disease rate in the

country. Coronary heart diseases have caused many people early death and other

complications.

● Hypertension is a common problem among the citizens in the country as there has

been a significant shift of lifestyle in the past few years (Petridou et al. 2019). Lack of

proper sleeping hours, lack of healthy food consumption and high stress in the

workplace are the most common barriers in order to maintain a healthy life. As a

result, most people, even school and college students, have been suffering from

hypertension as well.

● Cholesterol is another danger factor in the life of the people with higher obesity. In

order to maintain proper cholesterol level, consuming healthy and proper

proportioned food is important. Due to high consumption of packaged and instant

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food, cholesterol has been a common disease among the people (Niddk.nih.gov,

2021). High HDL cholesterol and Low LDL cholesterol is the main worrying issue

among the people suffering from obesity.

● Endometrial cancer is another dangerous disease among the women who have been

suffering from obesity (Dunn et al. 2018). Study shows that there is a significant

amount of connection between being overweight and obese. This life threatening

disease is a major issue caused by obesity. Other than that, Gastric cardiac cancer,

Kidney cancer, liver cancer are also some of the life threatening diseases caused by

obesity.

● Muscle pain is a common problem among the youth population of Malaysia as well

as among the adults. Lack of proper exercise inclusion in the regular routine has

caused people to gain weight rapidly and function improperly in regular activities

(Thom & Lean, 2017). Obesity has caused people difficulties in engaging in regular

activities.

● Mental illness is one of the most ignored factors in analyzing the effects of obesity.

People who have been suffering from obesity often suffer from anxiety and insomnia

as a result of being overweight. Higher than usual BMI rate in the middle aged people

of Malaysia has caused a lot of people going through clinical depression (Bhutani &

Cooper, 2020). Absence of a proper amount of attention towards mental health has

worsened this situation over the years. Lack of attention and initiatives towards

mental illness and awareness have caused discomfort to the people who have

difficulties in accepting their body image.

Conclusion

Question 2 has discussed an overview of the risks and challenges caused by obesity and

overweight. A significant percentage of people have been suffering from overweight and
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obesity in the Asia pacific country, especially in Malaysia. It is one of the main reasons why

the world’s health organizations and governments have focused on mitigating these

challenges as fast as possible. However, factors like shifts in lifestyle, excessive unhealthy

food consumption and lack of proper exercise have increased the rate of obesity and

overweight among the people. Different health risks have been discussed in this question to

establish the prior effects of obesity among the people in the country.
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Task 2

Reflective learning experience related to management of body weight

Obesity is considered to be a major man made disease that has serious impacts on the health

of humans. During the course of this study, I have felt that the rising number of obesity cases

have been found in the developed nations where fast food restaurant chains have occupied a

significant amount of the business. Accordingly, the food habits of people in these areas have

also been evolving from fresh diets to fast foods. However, obesity mostly arrives within an

individual due to overeating. This study has indicated that self-management of body weight is

a critical success factor of one’s health. Obesity does not only result in gaining body fat, but

also can have serious impacts on one’s heart (Petridou et al. 2019). Strokes are a most

common occurrence experienced by people suffering from being overweight.

Moreover, past researchers along with the National Healthcare Service (NHS) have indicated

that the healthcare promotion of self-health management could be a major positive strategy

for reducing the number of obesity cases. Based on the studies conducted by Melchart et al.

(2017), I have understood that the implementation and formation of human behavior are not

only influenced by motivation but also by situational, biological and cultural factors. During

the tutorials we have gone through statics of studies conducted by previous researchers that

indicated majority of the individuals who are classified as 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree obese do

not even consider themselves to be overweight. Additionally sugary foods are also

responsible for rapid weight gain and are a common modern trend. I have also learned during

this experience that sugar is ten thousand times more addictive than drugs such as cocaine.

Even though self-management is a crucial factor in prevention of overweight, external factors

such as environmental changes, availability of energy dense foods, modernization of

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transportation and the decreasing physical activity are most significant to blame for rise in

overweight (Lean, Astrup & Roberts, 2018). In this aspect, I have found that the most

strategic solution to deal with the unawareness issue is that national healthcare departments

need to focus on promotion of negative health effects and the positive effects of self-

management of overweight individuals. I have also felt that one of the major flaws as a result

of this unawareness is that these individuals are not even engaging themselves into any

physical activities that might help keep their overweight problem in check. Due to the

existence of fast food centres and dessert centres, foods with high calorific values are being

sold without checking the fat or carbohydrate content. However, regulations need to be made

from a national to international level about the level of calories each fast food item could be

served with.

Development of a health reflective journal on views related to the issue

Unawareness was the most primary issue that has been identified during the course of these

tutorials. Additionally, there are several health policies that could be used for addressing

issues unawareness. On the other hand, genetics can also be responsible for increasing

obesity as people with lower metabolism rate might tend to get overweight even after

controlling their eating habits (Sharma & Kanwar, 2018). This is where regular physical

activity comes into play that can help humans to keep their weight gain in check. Engineered

junk foods can also be regarded as major sources of energy dense foods with high fat and

calorie contents. Foods with high sugar contents are also responsible for activating the reward

centres in the human brain. These foods are often compared with substance abuse as well

(Bradbury et al. 2018). However, I feel that these foods can cause addiction to susceptible

individuals due to the primary issue that there is very little awareness about the limits and

eccentricities of being overweight.

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In regards to the identified issue the first and foremost initiative is to be taken from a very

early stage of an individual’s life. From the very beginning of the schooling phase

appropriate food habits need to be ventured among children so that they understand why it is

most necessary for having a balanced diet. This could be mitigated by promoting the negative

health hazards that can be regarded as a result of obesity. Awareness of the facts about

obesity and overweight is to be promoted by the national healthcare centres and NGOs

fighting against this issue (Romieu et al. 2017). This is because unawareness of this fact is

usually leading to individuals not tending towards their health. I feel that the most worrisome

part for these overweight individuals is that they are passing on these genes to their future

generations which might even lead to an infant’s health problem from the very beginning of

its life cycle.

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gain risks and opportunities. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.).

Borga, M., West, J., Bell, J. D., Harvey, N. C., Romu, T., Heymsfield, S. B., &Leinhard, O.

D. (2018). Advanced body composition assessment: from body mass index to body

composition profiling. Journal of Investigative Medicine, 66(5), 1-9.

Bradbury, D., Chisholm, A., Watson, P. M., Bundy, C., Bradbury, N., &Birtwistle, S. (2018).

Barriers and facilitators to health care professionals discussing child weight with parents: A

meta‐synthesis of qualitative studies. British journal of health psychology, 23(3), 701-722.

Chandrasekaran, A. (2018). Body mass index-is it reliable indicator of obesity. Journal of

Nutrition & Weight Loss, 3(1), 2.

Da Luz, F. Q., Hay, P., Touyz, S., & Sainsbury, A. (2018). Obesity with comorbid eating

disorders: associated health risks and treatment approaches. Nutrients, 10(7), 829.

Drenowatz, C. (2017). A focus on motor competence as alternative strategy for weight

management. J. Obes. Chronic Dis, 1, 31-38.

Dunn, C., Haubenreiser, M., Johnson, M., Nordby, K., Aggarwal, S., Myer, S., & Thomas, C.

(2018). Mindfulness approaches and weight loss, weight maintenance, and weight

regain. Current obesity reports, 7(1), 37-49.

Fedewa, M. V., Nickerson, B. S., &Esco, M. R. (2019). Associations of body adiposity index,

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Fruh, S. M. (2017). Obesity: Risk factors, complications, and strategies for sustainable long‐

term weight management. Journal of the American Association of Nurse

Practitioners, 29(S1), S3-S14.
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Harris, L., McGarty, A., Hutchison, L., Ells, L., &Hankey, C. (2018). Short‐term intermittent

energy restriction interventions for weight management: a systematic review and meta‐

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strategies and future research directions. Journal of hypertension, 36(7), 1441-1455.

Lean, M. E., Astrup, A., & Roberts, S. B. (2018). Making progress on the global crisis of

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