Utilizing Exercise and Nutrition in the Treatment of Chronic Disease: Community Based Models

The prevalence of chronic diseases in America has increased substantially within the last few decades, increasing the cost of healthcare by billions of dollars. In addition, these diseases have a higher incidence rate for low income populations who may have greater difficulty accessing adequate re sources or appropriate treatments. There has been a growing body of litera ture supporting the use of communitybased exercise and nutrition interven tions. Communitybased interventions emphasize social supports and personal empowerment for behavioral change. Given the chronic and growing nature of these diseases, this paper will examine communitybased exercises and the surrounding elements which facilitate and hinder behavioral change. Chronic diseases 1 are the most common, expensive, and preventable healthcare challenges in the United States today (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009). Globally, lowincome populations 2 have higher rates of chronic illness than the general population, resulting from common lifestyle trends and a lack of resource availability. The prescriptive nature of traditional interventions for prevention and management of chronic disease fails to sup port sustainable behavioral change. The failure of current health interventions is compounded by economic and societal emphases on consumption, which sabotage individuals' efforts and opportunities to improve their health through exercise and diet. Alternatives, including empowermentbased community in tervention models, have been found to facilitate behavioral change among members of lowincome populations (Hinkle, 2008). Social workers are equipped with knowledge and skills that prepare them to play a pivotal role in facilitating behavioral change among members of lowincome communities. Since the beginning of the profession, social work ers have worked with disadvantaged groups to empower individuals and mobi lize communities. Attention to cultural nuances and the unique needs of di verse communities have been at the forefront of the profession. Community based interventions for diet and exercise are ideal areas for social workers to mobilize communities to increase support and selfefficacy in people's behav ior change for better health. The Cost of Chronic Disease in America Current concerns regarding the need for prudent and effective health care interventions underscore the importance of addressing longterm and pre ventable illness. The prevalence of chronic disease continues to increase and the cost of care is predicted to rise substantially due to the expensive interven tions and treatments necessary for addressing chronic illness. Recent estimates