Running head: HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT

Health Risk Assessment

Rebecca Sherborne
Ferris State University
Nurs 250

Professor Borello
April 11, 20

Abstract
This paper will explore one students health practices and risk factors using the Real Age
test. It explains what health practices the student engages in which are beneficial to her lifespan
and others which are detrimental. We will then explore some wellness diagnoses in regards to
their test results, and relate it back to two scientific articles. Finally we will create some SMART
goals and evaluate their effectiveness.

Health Assessment Risk Reduction

Health is a concept that can be interpreted differently by each individual however it is
usually regarded as a state of being free from illness or injury (Google definition). There are
many factors that collectively or singly may affect a persons health and result in either long or
short term effects. Some of these factors include diet practices, socioeconomic factors, and other
lifestyle choices. For example a hamburger and fries is cheaper than going and buying fruit from
the grocery store, which for families that are short on money may be a more viable option of
making sure that their children are full at the end of the day. In todays society we have the goal

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to encourage as many healthy practices as possible, one way this is possible is through the use of
Dr. Ozs Real Age test. This test explores the positive and negative health practices related to
health, feelings, diet, and fitness (Oz and Roizen). In the later sections of this article we will
explore the health practices and recommendations provided by a student at Ferris State
University who participated in the Real Age test. We will do this by using the nursing process to
interpret the assessment data, formulate a diagnosis and a plan in response, and eventually
evaluate to see if the lifestyle changes were beneficial and effective for that individual.
Positive Health Practices
KD is a 23 year old nursing student at Ferris State University that participated in the Real
Age test, upon reading the results KD has many healthy lifestyle practices that are contributing to
her younger age score. One positive health practice that KD participates in includes sitting in the
non-smoking section, according to the CDC There is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke
exposure; even brief exposure can be harmful to health (Secondhand Smoke (SHS) Facts).
Another positive health practice exhibited by KD includes keeping stress in check. Stress is the
bodys reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these
changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses ("The Effects of Stress on Your Body").
The Real Age assessment encourages keeping stress in check because nonstop stress can put
someone at risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, infections and cancer (Oz and
Roizen). KDs results were varied but included many other positive health practices including
staying in touch with friends, staying positive, maintain a sense of purpose, and staying on the
move.
Health Issues

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On the opposite side of the spectrum there are many practices are making KD older. If
you take a look at appendix A you can see that KDs real age showed that she is 19.6 years old
that is 3.7 years younger than in reality meaning that the positive lifestyle choices are still
outweighing the negative health practices. Some of the other areas where KD is increasing her
age include: Boosting cardio and doing toning exercises, deficient diet which includes all areas
of nutrients, shedding extra weight, and the need to increase their amount of sleep (Oz and
Roizen).
Exercise is an important part of a persons daily health, in fact it is proven to have health
benefits on multiple body systems. According to MedlinePlus exercise can help control weight,
and lower a persons risk of developing diseases that include: heart disease, type 2 diabetes,
metabolic syndrome, and some cancers. Other proven benefits include strengthening bones and
muscles, and improving mental health ("Exercise and Physical Fitness: MedlinePlus"). Today
the American Heart Association recommends that the average person gets 30 minutes of
moderate exercise five days a week in order to promote cardiovascular health.
Diet is another area of health that often people tend to struggle with, in fact two out of
three adults and one in six children are overweight or obese in todays society ("American Heart
Association Recommendations for Physical Activity in Adults"). One tool that is available to
society is the MyPlate, this diagram explains how many servings of each category of food a day
each individual should consume and is based on a 2,000 calorie diet. The different categories
include: vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy, and proteins ("MyPlate").
The areas of KDs health practices that are the most concerning include fitness and diet.
The Real Age test presented concern for all areas of her diet, however there are two main areas
we will discuss including going easy on the junk food and eating a balanced diet (Oz and

HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT

Roizen). The two areas of focus for creating a diet plan for this individual will help promote a
healthy lifestyle and promote a longer life.
Promoting a balanced Diet- Intervention
The lack of a balanced diet can have many detrimental health affects for KD. One of the
diet imbalances that Real Age noted was the need to increase fruits and vegetables in KDs diet.
In fact according to Nutrition MD scientific studies have shown time and time again that
choosing healthy foods can reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, and many other diseases
("NutritionMD.org :: How Does My Diet Affect My Health?").
One such study noted that the consumption of fruit and vegetable is associated with
reduced risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, Alzheimers disease, cataracts, and some
functional declines due to aging (Lee, 2003). KD falls into the category of people who do not
receive enough fruits and vegetables in her diet which is why this is so significant. The question
everyone seems to ask is why is it such a big deal if I lack parts of my diet? Well In this study
Lee explains that fruits and vegetables contain phytochemicals, these act like antioxidants and
help to protect the body from free radicals that play a role in chronic diseases.
Another negative dietary habit that KD has is her excessive intake of junk food. This is
an extremely common occurrence in society today. Everywhere we go we can almost guarantee
there is a McDonalds or Taco Bell there to satisfy our hunger, however this can have detrimental
effects on our health. Another such article explains that due to the high consumption of junk
foods outside of the home, children are less likely to make healthy food choices while they are
even at home. In fact the study found that obesity is an emerging major public health problem
throughout the world among adolescents (Arya and Mishara, 2013). But what is junk food?
Junk food can be defined as anything that is quick, tasty, convenient, and fashionable (Arya

HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT

and Mishara, 2013). Authors of this article explain that those who do not begin to cut back on
junk food could see the beginning of clogged arteries as soon as age 30.
Wellness Diagnoses
Based on the assessment data collected by the Real age test, there were two wellness
diagnoses made for KD. The first wellness diagnosis is readiness for enhanced sleep in relation
to the sleep deficits that KD experiences as noted by the Real Age test. Some findings that make
the diagnosis fitting include: willingness to enhance sleep, sleep routines that promote sleep,
and the feeling of being rested after sleep (Sparks & Taylor, 865).
The second wellness diagnosis is for enhanced therapeutic regimen management (Sparks
& Taylor, 870). This diagnosis was chosen because although KD does have a dietary deficiency
it is not due to deficient knowledge. In this case characteristics that make the diagnosis
appropriate include the desire for increased control of health status and the desire to seek a
higher level of wellness (Spark & Taylor, 870).

Goals
In response to the assessment information, two SMART goals were created for KD.
SMART goals are goals that are specific, measureable, attainable, and realistically time bound.
While creating these goals we worked with the patient because there tends to be more adherence
to the goal when the patient is involved in its creation. The first goal was aimed at increasing the
number of hours of sleep KD got a night, stating that the client will set an alarm for bed time at
9 PM, with the goal of getting 8 good hours of sleep a night. The client will keep a log recording
the time she went to bed and woke up for a week. The second goal was focused on improving

HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT

the dietary deficiencies, the client will eat 3 servings of vegetables and 3 servings of fruit in a
day, for a week. The client will also record her diet at breakfast, lunch and dinner for a week in
order to monitor the progress.
Transtheoretical Model
The Transtheoretical model also called stages of change is a model that accounts for an
individuals desire to change to a healthier lifestyle. There are several stages: precontemplation,
contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance ("Cancer Prevention Research Center").
During the precontemplation stage people are not intending to take action in the foreseeable
future, and can be unaware that their behavior is problematic ("Cancer Prevention Research
Center"). During the Contemplation stage, people begin to recognize that their behavior is
problematic and start to look at the pros and cons of their continued actions ("Cancer Prevention
Research Center"). Clients in the preparation stage, intend to take action in the immediate
future and may begin taking small steps toward the behavior ("Cancer Prevention Research
Center"). Those who fall into the action stage have made specific overt modifications in
modifying their problem behavior or in acquiring new healthy behaviors ("Cancer Prevention
Research Center"). The last stage is the modification where people have been able to sustain
action for at least six months and are working to prevent relapse ("Cancer Prevention Research
Center"). KD happens to fall into the contemplation stage, she is aware that her diet and sleep
habits are problematic and would like to make changes, however she is unable to find a way that
works with her hectic schedule and many other stressors. It will be important to help KD work
out a schedule in which she is able to work on her sleep habits and also help her form a diet plan
that is healthy but can also fit into her hectic schedule. After developing the wellness diagnoses

HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT

and educating KD it is our job to encourage and help her find a way for a long lasting healthy
change.
Evaluation
After reviewing the recordings for the first week it was evident that KD started out
meeting the goals, however by the end of the week had fallen back into old habits. If you look at
appendix B you can see that KD set her sleep alarm for 9 pm and for the first three days of the
week was meeting the goal of 8 hours of sleep. However you can see that by Thursday she was
no longer making sure that she went to bed at the time of the alarm, meaning her sleep fell under
the 8 hour a night goal. This log proves that she is still experiencing a sleep deficit and the goal
must be reworked for the next attempt. When KD was questioned about why she stopped
following the alarm, she stated that she was having to stay up late in order to get her homework
done and was starting to work midnights.
Another things that was evident after looking at the findings was that her dietary intake
goals of 3 vegetables and 3 fruits a day was not being met. When KD was asked about her food
choices she stated that she was struggling not to pick food that were convenient. After looking
back at the SMART goals we can see that originally KD was meeting part of the goal, however
towards the end of the week it started to possibly become less of a priority.
After re-evaluating the SMART goals set, we can tailor the sleep schedule and alarm
more around her new schedule of working midnights and also can adjust the amount of sleep
expected each night to 7 hours which will be more realistic. As far as the goal of three vegetable
and fruits a day I believe the goal should not be changed however we may need to do education
of what can be done to implement them into KDs diet in the convenient manner that she desires.

HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT

If the sleep goal is adjusted and extra educations about implementing fruits and vegetables into
the diet is attained then the goal of becoming healthier is completely attainable.

Appendix A
Real Age Results

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Appendix B
Sleep Record

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Monday

Alarm: 9 pm
Time asleep: 9 PM
Time awake: 7 AM

Tuesday

Alarm: 9 pm
Time asleep: 9 PM
Time awake: 7:35 AM

Wednesday

Alarm: 9 PM
Time asleep: 9:30 PM
Time awake: 9 AM

Thursday

Alarm: 9 PM
Time asleep: 11 PM
Time awake: 7 AM

Friday

Alarm: 9 PM
Time asleep: 12:05 AM
Time awake: 7:15 AM

Saturday

Alarm: 9 PM
Time asleep: 1 AM
Time awake: 7:15 AM

Sunday

Alarm: 9 PM
Time asleep: 2 AM
Time awake: 7AM

Appendix C

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Breakfast

Monday

Lunch

Dinner

Bagel

Sandwich (lettuce,

Cod

Strawberries

tomato, cucumber,

Baked beans

Grapes

green peppers, ham)

Coleslaw (cabbage)

Melon

Grilled chicken

Chicken broccoli

Grapes

(lettuce, tomato,

casserole

Waffle

peppers, cucumber,

Snack: apples with

croutons, hardboiled

caramel
Orange

egg)
Grilled chicken

Strawberries

sandwich with lettuce,

Pancakes

tomato and pickle

Snack: orange
Tuesday

Wednesday

Steak and asparagus

Blueberries
Snack: banana and
Thursday

peanut butter
Bagel with cream

Grilled cheese

cheese
Friday

Snack: Twinkie
Bacon and eggs

Spaghetti and
meatballs

Grilled chicken salad

Beef stew

Snack: apples with

Saturday

caramel
None

Spaghetti os

McDonalds

Sunday

None

Lunchable

Fish tacos

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Appendix D
Dear KD,
It is apparent after setting your original health goals, there were both positive and
negative results throughout the week. You did very well sticking to your alarm and getting your

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eight hours of sleep for the days Monday through Wednesday. The area we still need to work on
with this goal is formulating a schedule that you will be able to adhere too since starting your
new midnight shift job and also a way to fit in your homework. The other area that we set goals
for was increasing you dietary intake of fruits and vegetables. You succeeded in achieving this
goal during the first four days of the week. however it seemed to become inconvenient towards
the end of the week for your schedule. If we were to redo these goals, we would need to discuss
ways of getting all your fruit and vegetable serving in through convenient meals. This way you
can enjoy the healthiest life possible.

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References
Oz, & Roizen. (n.d.). RealAge. Retrieved from www.sharecare.com
Secondhand Smoke (SHS) Facts. (2015, February 6). Retrieved April 11, 2015, from
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/general_facts/
The Effects of Stress on Your Body. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2015, from
http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/effects-of-stress-on-your-body
Exercise and Physical Fitness: MedlinePlus. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2015, from
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/exerciseandphysicalfitness.html
American Heart Association Recommendations for Physical Activity in Adults. (n.d.).
Retrieved April 11, 2015, from
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/PhysicalActivity/FitnessBasics/AmericanHeart-Association-Recommendations-for-Physical-Activity-in-Adults_UCM_307976_Article.jsp
American Heart Association Recommendations for Physical Activity in Adults. (n.d.).
Retrieved April 11, 2015, from
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/PhysicalActivity/FitnessBasics/AmericanHeart-Association-Recommendations-for-Physical-Activity-in-Adults_UCM_307976_Article.jsp

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MyPlate. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2015, from

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/downloads/mini_poster_English_final.pdf
NutritionMD.org :: How Does My Diet Affect My Health? (n.d.). Retrieved April 11,
2015, from http://www.nutritionmd.org/makeover//index.html
Lee, R. (n.d.). The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Retrieved April 11, 2015, from
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/78/3/517S.full
Arya, G., & Mishara, S. (2013, August 1). Effects of Junk Food & Beverages on
Adolescent's Health a Review Article. Retrieved April 11, 2015, from
http://www.academia.edu/5309068/Effects_of_Junk_Food_and_Beverages_on_Adolescents_Hea
lth_a_Review_Article
Cancer Prevention Research Center. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2015, from
http://web.uri.edu/cprc/publications-transtheoretical-model/
Sparks, S. & Taylor, C. (2010.) Nursing diagnosis reference manual. New York, NY:
Lippincott & Williams.

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