Introduction
Obesity is a serious health issue that leads to many diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular problems. When people do not control their weight, they continue to add it and become obese, denoted by body mass index (BMI) equal to or greater than 30. Brian McKnight, the fictitious client, is obese. The purpose of this paper is to investigate scientific methods to bring positive behavioral changes in his life so that he might lose his excess weight and control his alcohol intake. To control weight and reduce alcohol intake, individuals have to adopt a disciplined approach based on health’s scientific principles.
Case Study
The client’s name is Brian McKnight, a male of 35 years of age and of Hispanic descent. His parents migrated from Mexico, but he was born and raised in the United States. Brian’s current lifestyle is a military lifestyle. A military lifestyle means being available 24/7. He wakes up early in the morning to have the opportunity to exercise; however, he is not certain all the time. He might often not opt for exercise or physical training as he has to do certain other tasks. Brian can eat breakfast after waking up. Right after breakfast, it is office time, and Brian does not stop working until the job is complete, which may take till 5 p.m. or a little beyond. As far as his personal life is concerned, Brian is married with two kids and attends college online part-time. In addition to performing his day-to-day tasks, Brian is trying to tackle his health-related issue of being overweight. Brian’s energy is lacking as he ages, and this is not helping his goal of losing weight. His family also contributes to his obesity because sometimes they provide him high caloric diet, which forces him to lose control of his healthy eating streak during the week. Brian sometimes drinks alcohol, especially during gatherings with friends or special events.
Many factors contributed to Brian’s health issues. He was not obese since his childhood. After the death of his grandmother, he has to spend time under the supervision of the nanny. She was not very health-conscious, and she served many types of high caloric diets to Brian. Both of his parents were on the job, and he gained substantial weight during that tenure. His mother was also of Hispanic origin with an obesity problem. Heredity might also be responsible for Brian’s weight issue. Apart from this, he became lazy with time and reduced his participation in outdoor games. This reduced physical activity was partially due to his job and education. As he started an online degree, he could not go out with friends in the evening to play games. He was once a good swimmer during his college times, but he never went to a pool after graduating. Besides, he continued to take a high-calorie diet, which continued to add fats to his body, and his BMI crossed 30 and reached 37, which is not a healthy sign. A systematic approach is recommended to him in the next sections to control his bad attitude about health.
Current Situation vs. the Desired Outcome
With time Brian has crossed the healthy BMI benchmark of 25 by a significant margin; moreover, he has developed a habit of drinking at least three glasses of wine daily. He might consume more at the weekend. The current situation is not conducive to his health and fitness. Apart from this, he could not be called a role model for his kids who might adopt wrong behavior regarding health. The current lifestyle might undermine his potential through the side effects of obesity and drinking. According to experts, obesity leads to many ailments. The destructive effects of obesity on cardiovascular health manifest in the form of elevated rates of ventricular remodeling augmented progression of atherosclerosis, and an advanced risk of associated ailments, including myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure (Kachur, Lavie, de Schutter, Milani, & Ventura, 2017). Similarly, the consumption of wine is injurious to health. According to experts, one bottle per week for men is as dangerous as five cigarettes per week (Hydes, Burton, & Inskip, et al., 2019). In light of research, Brian’s desired situation would be to reduce his weight and quit drinking wine.
Application of Theoretical Model (Trans-Theoretical Model)
In order to achieve his health-related goals of attaining a healthy BMI score and quitting drinking Trans-Theoretical Model might be applied. The goals might be attained in the following ten steps.
- Consciousness Raising – I would try to increase my awareness level of Brian about healthy behavior. I would present the latest research to him, proving that excess weight and drinking are not good for humans. Obesity might lead to cardiovascular diseases (Kachur, Lavie, de Schutter, Milani, & Ventura, 2017). Similarly, the consumption of wine is not good for health.
- Dramatic Relief – I would try to emotionally arouse him about the health behavior, both in a positive and negative manner. I would try to convince him that if he does not control his obesity and drinking, his children might follow suit, which might be detrimental to their health. The positive arousal might be that if he brings positive changes in his behavior, he might be more productive and be in the apposition to earn more for his children; moreover, fewer funds would be wasted to treat diseases in the family.
- Self-Reevaluation –I would help Brian conduct his self-reappraisal to realize that health-conscious behavior is necessary to achieve his health-related goals and attain his ideal figure. The advantage of this exercise would be that he might be more committed to reducing weight and quit drinking.
- Environmental Reevaluation – I would help Brian conduct a social reappraisal to realize how his unhealthy behavior disturbs others. As he loves his family, he would not be willing to continue with his unhealthy habits.
- Social Liberation – I would apprise him about environmental opportunities that exist to prove that society and his family support his healthy behavior. In this way, he might not be under undue stress for following my recommendations.
- Self-Liberation – Lack of self-confidence plays a very negative role in the achievement of health related goals. To overcome this fear of my client, I would assure him that the commitment to change his behavior should be based on the strong belief that achieving predefined healthy goals and behavior is well within his reach.
- Helping Relationships – If necessary, I would meet with his family members to appraise them about the importance of supporting Brian in his quest to change his behavior towards health.
- Counter-Conditioning – I would try to substitute healthy thoughts and behaviors for unhealthy thoughts and behaviors. I would provide research that proves that smoking and drinking are not good for health. According to experts, wine damages the liver (Thomas, 2020). This step is necessary to consolidate the positive impacts of previous steps.
- Reinforcement Management – I would establish a point-based system for rewarding positive behavior and discourage negative behavior. Total points would be a hundred from one visit and evaluation to another. This systematic approach would help him to achieve necessary modifications in his behavior and achieve periodic goals.
- Stimulus Control – With the help of his family, I would try to re-engineer the environment to have cues and reminders that encourage healthy behavior and remove those cues that boost the unhealthy attitude.
Motivating Coaching Plan (SMART Approach)
The health-related goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. This is called the SMART approach to goal setting. I would initially set two goals for Brain. I would ask him to reduce his wine intake by 20%. Similarly, for weight control, I would set him a goal of reducing his caloric intake by 10% in the first month. The goals are specific in terms of quantity. These are measurable by the client and his family. I have set easy goals so that he might attain those. The ambitious goals might discourage him. The targets are realistic and time-bound in one month. I am sure that the first month’s success would set the tone for the subsequent attainment of more advanced goals.
Conclusion
Obesity might pose serious threats to human health, and the allied issue might lead to many ailments, including metabolic syndrome and heart diseases. For health consultants, it is vital to appraise people about the ill consequences of being overweight. Initially, people who do not control their weight might take it lightly. However, usually, they continue to add pounds and become obese. Their body mass index (BMI) crosses 24.99, and they become obese. Brian McKnight, the fictitious client, is also obese. In this paper, methods have been explored to bring constructive behavioral changes in his life to control his alcohol intake and reduce his excess weight. The cooperation of his family is also necessary. To achieve his predefined goals mentioned under point 4, he has to consistently adopt a systematic approach based on clinical and scientific principles and research. I am sure due to a well-thought-out plan, and the client would achieve his goals. I have learned to write research and model-based paper through this assignment.
References
Hydes, T.J., Burton, R., Inskip, H. et al. A comparison of gender-linked population cancer risks between alcohol and tobacco: how many cigarettes are there in a bottle of wine? BMC Public Health (19), 316 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-6576-9
Kachur S, Lavie CJ, De Schutter A, Milani RV, Ventura HO. Obesity and cardiovascular diseases. Minerva Med 2017; 108:212-28. DOI: 10.23736/S0026-4806.17.05022-4
Thomas, L. (2020, May 22). Why wine is damaging our body more than we thought. News-Medical. https://www.news-medical.net/health/Why-Wine-is-Damaging-Our-Body-More-Than-We-Thought.aspx
