Fried chicken, mash potatoes and collard greens mixed with fatback meat was my family’s favorite Sunday meal. Soul food, as it has been called, is valued by many African American families. Given the worldwide obesity epidemic that appears to be affecting most ethnic groups, there is an appreciation that the causes of obesity among African American families and others must lie in the fundamental aspects of the food supply (Capers, C et al. 2011). In my opinion, African Americans in the United Sates are more likely to be obese because there is a large number of low-income families’ and many are uninsured. According to the Office of Minority Health, African American women have the highest rates of being obese compared to other groups in the United States. Furthermore, African American men are also high in rates compared to European Americans and Hispanics. Obesity is a leading health problem in the United States because of its increasing prevalence and etiology role in many chronic health conditions (Wee et al. 2011). Chronic health conditions that tend to have high rates of weight related chronic condition in the African American population are cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and as a result of hypertension, chronic renal failure. Americans has increased its restaurant portions, number of fast food restaurants and has gotten away from home cooked meals served in normal portions. Seven out of 10 African Americans ages 18 to 64 are obese or overweight, and African Americans are 15% more likely to suffer from obesity than the general population (Healthreform.gov). According to Newton, R., Cromwell, R. & Rogers, H. (2009), contributing factors of obesity are inactivity, poor eating behaviors, gender, race, education and ... ... middle of paper ... ... J. Galanko, J. & Siega-Riz, A (2008). Eating at fast-food restaurants is associated with Dietary intake, demographic, psychosocial and behavioral factors among African Americans, Public Health Nutrition: 7(8), 1089–1096 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) - Virginia Department of Social Services. (n.d.). Home Page - Virginia Department of Social Services. Retrieved September 27, 2011, from http://www.dss.state.va.us/benefi Wee, C et al. (2011) Obesity, race, and risk for death or functional decline among Medicare beneficiaries. Annals of Internal Medicine, 154(10), 645. World Health Organization. (2010). Diet and physical activity: A public health priority. Accessed On September 24, 2011. Available at http.//www.who.int/dietpysicalactivity/en the office of Withall, J. Jago, R.& Cross, J. (2009).Families, Health & place, 15(4), 1078.
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Show MoreThe American Public Health Association. (2003). The obesity epidemic in U.S. minority communities (Issue Brief ). Retrieved from : : .
Obesity is an epidemic in America, greatly impacting youth, the health care system, and economically vulnerable populations. Among all of the high-income countries in the world, obesity rates remain the highest in the US. According to Harvard, US obesity rates have more than doubled since 1980, although they have remained the same since 2003. (Harvard School of Public Health) Approximately 31.9% of children and adolescents from the ages of 2 to 19 are obese or overweight (NPLAN), while roughly 69% of adults fall into the category of overweight or obese. (Harvard School of Public Health) With obesity rates this high, America is facing a huge crisis that could become greater in the future. In order to understand the issue of Obesity in America it is important to evaluate the extent to which the problem effects large populations of children and adults and how the fast food industry has served as one of the major causes of this epidemic.
The obesity epidemic and our nation’s health as a whole have many factors that include socioeconomic status in particular. Socioeconomic Status and Childhood Obesity will always shape our nations vision and mission with what we do with healthcare. Healthcare in America is in a major reconstruction faze, and is in much need of it, obesity and socioeconomic status are going to be the major contributors to this reconstruction.
Over the course of the last few decades, the U.S. has seen a drastic rise in the spread of obesity. Through the rise of large-scale fast food corporations, the blame has shifted toward the mass consumerism of these global industries. It is, however, due to poor lifestyle choices that the U.S. population has seen a significant increase in the percentage of people afflicted with obesity. In 1990 the percentage of obese people in the United States was approximated at around 15%. In 2010, however, it is said that “36 states had obesity rates of 25 percent or higher”(Millar). These rates have stayed consistent since 2003. The obesity problem in America is
According to the US Census Bureau, 46.5 million people were living in poverty in 2012. Among those, 21.8 percent were children. Even more surprising is the staggering number of people who are food insecure. It is estimated that nearly 50 million Americans experience food insecurity during a given year. And yet, the obesity prevalence is skyrocketing. In 2010, 35.9 percent of adults over age 20 were obese, 18.4 percent of adolescents age 12-19 years were obese, 18 percent of children age 6-11 ...
Childhood obesity is a consequential medical condition that effects the youth and adolescence of society. This disorder creates health problems that were once only seen in adults, such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Although childhood obesity is a world wide issue, the percentage of overweight children differs, especially throughout the United States. Today, the greatest population suffering from this disease are African American children who reside in the southern part of the country. Parents, as well as children, continue to support unhealthy lifestyles even though they are well aware of the life-threatening diseases caused by obesity.
Steele informs that “[m]ore than 20 states have obesity rates topping one-third of their population, and six states saw a rise in obesity rates last year.” (Steele, 2014) Steele also quotes Jeffery Levi who is the executive director of Trust for America’s Health, who said “[w]e need to intensify prevention efforts… and do a better job of implementing effective policies and programs in all communities so every American has the greatest opportunity to have a healthy weight and live a healthy life.” (Steele, 2014) Steele then further begins to give statistics of the obese people in the population of different states and emphasizing how high it is. Towards the end of the article Steele ties the issue of obesity to socioeconomic status. Steele does this by stating statistics on how “one-third who earn less than $15,000 annually qualifying as obese, compared with one-quarter of people earning $50,000 or more a year.” (Steele, 2014) Also Steele states in her article that when it comes to ethnicity Blacks and Latinos were said to “have higher obesity rates than
Over 60 million people are obese in the world today. The socioeconomic statuses of the Americans play a major part in the obesity rates across the country. People with higher incomes are less likely to be obese than people with lower incomes. One in every seven preschool-aged children living in lower income areas are obese (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). A 2008 study showed that obesity is highest among American Indian and Alaska Native (21.2 percent) and Hispanic Americans (18.5 percent) children, and it is lowest among white (12.6 percent), Asian or Pacific Islander (12.3 percent), and black (11.8 percent) children (Get America Fit).
Obesity remains an extremely serious issue worldwide. Once considered a problem for wealthier counties, overweight and obesity are now dramatically increasing in low and middle income countries (WHO, 2011). In American, the rates of obesity continue to soar. CDC (2009) recognizes obesity as a risk factor for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other health problems. According to NHANES over two-thirds of the US are overweight or obese, and over one-third are obese (CDC, 2009). Treatment for this illness varies; it may include the incorporation of diet, exercise, behavior modification, medication, and surgery. Since there is no single cause of all overweight and obesity, there is no single way to prevent or treat overweight and obesity that will help everyone (CDC, 2009).
Since 1970, the obesity rates in America have more than doubled. Currently two-thirds of (roughly 150 million) adults in the United States are either overweight, or obese (Food Research and Action Center). According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, “overweight is defined as a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25 whereas obesity is defined as a BMI greater than 30.” There are numerous factors that contribute to obesity such as: biological, behavioral and cultural influences (Food Research and Action Center). While these factors all have a large role in obesity, there is no factor with as great of an influence as poverty.
According to research, obesity rates are high for Blacks and Hispanics compared to Whites (Berkman 367). Also what stood out to me the most in the chapter was how research found in low-income neighborhoods with high concentrations of African Americans have more fast food outlets (Berkman 369). With this study I find it to be true, because in Oxon Hill, PG County, Maryland, have fast food restaurants, although the area is improving slowly, there are not enough healthy places to eat for individuals living in low-income
Over the last Three decades Fast food has infiltrated every nook and cranny of the American society. An Industry that began with a handful of modest hot dogs and hamburgers stands in southern California has spread to every corner of the nation, selling a broad range of addictive substances wherever obsessive paying customers can be found. This Obsession as such has lead the researcher to provide a critical examination of Scholarly articles and books to purport evidence that there is an Obesity epidemic, among the nation in which the fast food industry is growing exponentially, people are supersizing, as well as a major public health threat . This report seeks to reveals the dark side of the American meal.
(Center for Disease Control 1). While genetic factors have been attributed to obesity, the major cause is the consumption of foods that are high in fat content. A sedentary lifestyle by people who eat these fatty foods allows for the accumulation of fat in the body resulting in the extra weight. Even those without a sedentary lifestyle, but have a diet full of fats with less exercise are also at the risk of becoming obese. Obesity is a concern in the world with an increase in prevalence from 4.2% in 1990 to 6.7% in 2010. In the United States, obesity is a national health issue that has attracted special attention from the First Lady of t...
Every 10 years there are a set of health objectives contrived with the intention to promote national health and disease preventions in the United States (Healthy People, 2014). This program is called Healthy People and it has been successful at monitoring the progress of health related programs and policies. The current Healthy People initiative, Healthy People 2020, aims to achieve their goals by the year 2020 with the aid and collaboration of state, government, communities, and public/private sectors (Healthy People, 2014). Healthy People 2020 advocates for the progression of health disparities and the health objectives are categorized into Leading Health Indicators (LHI), which determines the topic areas that need strengthening (Healthy People, 2014). The topic area that I will discuss in this paper is on Nutrition, obesity to be specific.
Obesity is a risk for all groups of Americans, but what is often forgotten is the exposure most of the needy groups have. Obesity is especially widespread among Americans with the lowest levels of education and the highest poverty rates. Given the growing economic insecurity many people in America are dealing with, it is important to understand poverty and how it improves the increase of obesity among youth. Less fortunate families mostly have fattening foods that supply more energy like sugary cereal, potatoes and processed meats. This is because these foods are more affordable and last longer than fresh vegetables and fruits and healthy meats and fish. Only if we understand the causes at work can we effectively design strategies to reduce this major health risk to already vulnerable people.