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 ...
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... 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
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Obesity is more prevalent among African American women in the lower socioeconomic status. Characteristics of being subject to lower economic status included poorer education, income levels, less likely to have private insurance with no real source of regular medical care (Rajaram, 1998). Therefore low-income African American women are less educated on proper diet and exercise. The U.S. Department of Agr...
The American Public Health Association. (2003). The obesity epidemic in U.S. minority communities (Issue Brief ). Retrieved from : : .
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.
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).
Ogden, C.L., Carroll, M.D., Kit, B.K., & Flegal, K. M., (2012). Prevalence of obesity and
Buchholz, Todd. "Are Fast-Food Establishments Making Americans Fat?." Journal of Controversial Medical Claims 10.4 (2003): 1-10. Print. 1 Feb 2011.
Obesity has increasingly become a significant public health concern in the United States. In the past four decades, the numbers of overweight children, adolescents, and adults has shot to high margins, and the rise cut cross all ages, races, and ethnicities for both males and females. A recent analysis by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that 30% of the American adult aged over the ages of twenty, which is a representation of over 60 million adults, was obese. Still the same survey indicated 16% of those between the ages of 16years and 19 years, which is over 9 million children and teenagers, were obese. This has come with its share of repe...
Obesity among Hispanic Latino women between the ages of twenty and sixty-four years old is a current health disparity in the United States. Nutrition, physical activity and obesity are one of the twelve leading health indicators categorized as significant public health issues by Healthy People 2020. Obesity is classified as anyone who exceeds body mass index (BMI) of thirty. According to Women’s Health, three in four Latino women are overweight or obese ("Overweight and obesity," 2010). Compared to other ethnicities, Hispanic Latino women were 1.36 times more likely to be overweight/obese than non-Hispanic white women (Vahratian, 2009). The primary causes of the obesity epidemic is generally an excessive amount of caloric intake, unhealthy eating habits, and lack of physical exercise (“Obesity in latino,” 2006). Obesity in this minority group causes many underlying health issues such as high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and some forms of cancers. Obesity not only effects the wellbeing of individuals, but also has an economic burden on society and healthcare. According to the CDC (2012), indirect and direct costs of obesity within the United States cost approximately 147 billion dollars. A study conducted by the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health found a positive correlation between the amount of time Hispanic women lived in the United States and the increase in obesity and body mass index (Wolin, Colangelo, Chiu & Gapstur, 2009). This study exemplifies the severity of obesity among Hispanic females residing within the United States. Public health interventions to reduce obesity are challenging and require a significant amount of time to successfully complete. The “American” way of li...
Obesity moved across the nation without regard to sex, race, and age, or so it seemed. However, it strikes some groups more than others. Furthermore, 69 percent of non-Hispanic black women are overweight or obese and 58 percent of non-Hispanic black men are overweight or obese (?Overweight and Obesity?? np). Studies show that minorities in a lower socioeconomic bracket are more likely than whites in a higher socioeconomic bracket to become obese (?
...9). Different in prevalence of obesity among black, white, and Hispanic adults-United States, 2006-2008. Morb. Mort. Weekly. Rep. 58, 740-744.
In a study from 2010, the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) found that the number one cause of death, killing 597,689 people each year, is heart disease. A major cause of heart disease is obesity, meaning that obesity kills many people in the united states each year. “In 1999-2000, 27.5% of men were obese, and by 2009-2010 the prevalence had increased to 35.5%” (Ogden, et al. 4). It is obvious that obesity is on the rise in our country. “the most recent national data on obesity prevalence among U.S. adults, adolescents, and children show that more than one third of adults and almost 17% of children and adolescents were obese in 2009-2010.” (Ogden, et al. 6). If the trends continue, obesity will become an epidemic, killing thousands of people. The CDC defines obesity as having a BMI (body mass index) of 30 or higher. In some instances, this can be misleading. For some people, say athletes that have plenty of muscle and not much body fat, their BMI can indicate they are overweight. Nevertheless, it is still a good indicator for the general public. And studies have shown, using the BMI system, that obesity in America is on the rise.
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.
Obesity is a big social issue in America. Due to the popularity of fast food and other unhealthy foods, more and more Americans are developing health diseases and disorders. We should be getting the correct daily nutrition amount, but because of our fast paced lifestyles we sometimes do not have enough time. Fast food restaurants make it possible to grab a meal and go. We often do not pay attention to the nutrition amount, but are simply looking for a quick bite to eat that will fulfill our hunger. Fast food is assisting in the increase of obesity in America (“Phrase” par.2).
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
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.