Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
3 ways to fight obesity essay
How to combat obesity paper
Discussion 6.1: Fight Against Obesity
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
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.
Traditionally-prepared soul food have the tendency to be very high in starch, fat, sodium, cholesterol, and calories. This has been very problematic for the black community because it increases the risk of diet-related diseases such as obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. The preparation of soul food is the key element of diet-related diseases. Some preparations would include reusing lard, increasing the acceptable amount of sugar, large quantities of salty meats, and overcooking greens. Collectively, have an increased impact of the overall health in the African-American community. Yet because of the fine print terms and conditions behind the health risk of soul food many still
African-American women have the highest rates of obesity in the county (Gaston et al., 2011). Not only are there disparities prevalent between African-American and Caucasian women, research found a disparity between African-American men and women (Ogden, 2009). African-American women have the highest prevalence of the major risk factors-physical inactivity, poor nutrition, and stress-which contributes to poor health outcome (Gaston, 2011). Understanding the causes of this disparity will assist in the development of targeting the African-American population for appropriate weight-loss intervention (Ogden, 2009). This study focuses on obesity in African-American women and the impact of faith-based interventions on weight loss.
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.
Obesity in America is a very serious problem affecting many Americans currently and is a problem that continues to grow each year. “Over the past 40 years, the prevalence of obesity has more than doubled in the United States” (Wimalawansa). This issue is known to many but believed not be an issue to care much about but this is not true. Obesity in America affects everyone regardless if they are obese or not. In order to resolve the problem, we can slaughter all the adults that are currently obese in America.
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 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.
...9). Different in prevalence of obesity among black, white, and Hispanic adults-United States, 2006-2008. Morb. Mort. Weekly. Rep. 58, 740-744.
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.
Levine, James. "Poverty and Obesity in the U.S." Diabetes 60.11 (2011): 2667-2668. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.
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.
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 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
(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...