Combating Adolescent Obesity in Fairfax County, Virginia

Obesity among Adolescents Fairfax County, Virginia Name Institutional Affiliation Course name Instructor’s name Assignment due date Obesity among Adolescents Fairfax County, Virginia Intervention against obesity among adolescents is a paramount health goal in the United States as a result of the rising prevalence of the issue. Fairfax County is the most populous county in Virginia and it experiences higher obesity rates among adolescents at 16% than the state average at 13% (Data USA, 2024). The adolescent population experiences high risks of health and psychosocial issues related to obesity compared to the general population. Obesity at adolescence is a risk factor for obesity and related life-long health challenges in adulthood. Addressing the issue of obesity among the adolescent population in Fairfax County would play a major role in improving the health and wellbeing of the community in general. The target population consists of 13.4% of the population and it faces an increasing risk of obesity (Data USA, 2024). Programs targeting obesity in the community are limited to physical education in schools and lack resources to offer a comprehensive intervention. While the learning institutions offer physical education programs, they fail to incorporate other stakeholders in measures to improve the health of the community. The rising incidence of obesity among adolescents in Fairfax County, Virginia, presents a significant public health challenge that needs immediate intervention through comprehensive community-based programs, enhanced physical education in schools, and targeted nutritional education to promote healthier lifestyle choices and prevent long-term health complications. Literature Review Fairfax County is a county in the Northern part of Virginia and is the most populous jurisdiction in the metropolitan area of Washington. The county has a population of 1.15 million people with a median household income of $145,165 in 2022. This was an increase from $133,974 in 2021 marking an 8.35% rise during the year (Data USA, 2024). The demographic data of the county indicates that the largest ethnic group is White at 48.6% followed by Asian at 20.1%. Black or African American make up 9.65% of the residents of the county while Latino consist of 5.63%. All households in Fairfax County speak English as the self-reported language for shared communication among the members of the household. 87.9% of the residents in the county are American citizens with the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents being El Salvador (Data USA, 2024). The second and third most common countries of birth for the foreign-born residents being India and Mexico. Determining the differences between the county and the state demographics could affect the healthcare outcomes for the members of the community. Virginia has a population of 8.62 million people and a median age of 38.7 compared to Fairfax County at 38.6. The Median income for the state was lower than that of the county at $87,349 in 2022. While the majority of the population are white in both the state and the county, Virginia has a greater proportion of whites at 60% with the African American ethnic group making up 18.6% of the population. The Asian ethnic group, which is the second largest in Fairfax County at 20.1% makes up 6.8% of the population in the state (Data USA, 2024). While 16.7% of the households in Virginia reported non-English language at home, all households in the county speak English at home (Data USA, 2024). The proportion of U.S. citizens in the state is higher at 94.4% than the county’s 87.9%. Fairfax County is the most populous county in the Commonwealth of Virginia and it presents significant demographic differences compared to the state in general (Sharma, 2022). Socioeconomic factors such as ethnic groups, median income, and the place of birth differ between the community and the state and have the potential to affect the health outcomes of the population. Age is an important factor affecting community health intervention needs and it is necessary to investigate how the demographics for Fairfax have changed over the years. The proportion of persons aged 9 to 14 years was 6.8% in the 2020 census compared to 6.7% in the 2010 census and 7.1% in the 2000 census. The population of persons aged between 15 and 19 years old was 6.6% in 2020, 6.2% in 2010, and 6.2% in the 2000 census. The demographic data i