Obesity is one of the risk factors contributing to the development of such health issues as diabetes, hypertension, and others. One of the most alarming trends in the spread of this health condition is among the school-age population. The rate of obese and overweight children in American society has risen up to almost 2% (Soltero et al., 207). At that, certain ethnic groups are more vulnerable to the development of this health issue. For example, according to Arcan, Culhane-Pera, Pergament, Rosas-Lee, and Xiong (207), over 6% of Hispanic children aged between 2 and 5 years old are obese as compared to slightly more than 3% of White children of the same age. Such factors as cultural beliefs, socioeconomic status, and genetic predisposition make the Hispanic school population vulnerable. It is necessary to note that healthcare professionals are often reluctant to pay much attention to the mass body weight in infants and children, which has adverse effects on these patients health in the future (Soltero et al., 207). These patients
parents are not informed about the major hazards of certain dietary and lifestyle habits, which results in the growth of the overweight populations as it has been found that obese five-year-old children tend to become obese teenagers. It is also necessary to add that there is quite extensive research, as well as published guides, related to the ways to treat such vulnerable groups as children, adolescents, ethnic minorities, and so on (Reifsnider et al., 206). However, it is rather unclear whether nursing professionals are aware of the most effective strategies to treat such groups or whether they can apply this knowledge in the clinical setting. One of the most important roles nursing professionals play is that of an educator and mentor. Nurses should help people develop and maintain healthy habits. The purpose of this research is to examine nurses awareness of major risk factors leading to the development of obesity in the school-age Latino population. The study will also explore nurses ability to train patients on the matter.