Hunger Situation of Low-Income-Earning African Americans in the State of Mississippi - Essay Example

The Epidemiological Cycle: Insights into the Hunger Situation of Low-income-earning African Americans in the of Mississippi alAffiliation: Introduction In this paper, I have presented a review of the hunger situation of African-Americans in the State of Mississippi, in an attempt to draw the linkage between the hunger and malnutrition. Having the bleakest chance at employment among other racial groups, African Americans remain the most financially challenged group, a situation that inevitably makes them the most vulnerable in terms of hunger and its consequent outcomes, including malnutrition. A historical background to the low income and hunger situation among members of this group has been presented in light of the epidemiologic cycle, necessitating the requisite integration of a complex socio-economic problem into the public health sphere. Background African Americans in the State of Mississippi. The 2013 population estimates for the state were 2,991,207, comprising 0.9462% of the US population. The state had a 6.6% of population below age 5, 24.7% below 18 years, 13.9% above 65%, and 51.4% females (Gable, 2013; United States Census Bureau, 2014). Further, Whites comprised 59.8% (57.5% excluding Hispanics and Latinos against a national figure of 62.6%) of the state’s population, against 77.7% for the country. African Americans make up a significant proportion of the population of Mississippi, comprising 37.4%, much higher than the national average (13.2%). 2.2% of the population comprised foreign-born individuals, while the national average for the same was 12.9%. 81% of the residents above 24 years have attained high school certificates, and 20% had a bachelor’s degree and above. These figures were both lower than the national tallies, recorded at 85.7% and 28.5% respectively. 1,087,791 households were identified in 2013. Each household was estimated to have 2.64 individuals, almost similar to the national tally (2.61) (United States Census Bureau, 2014). There are noticeable facts about this state that set it aside from the other states. In terms of the median earnings, the state ranks lowest (as reported under income). These low payments in the state are indicative of the high poverty rates, which are coupled with hunger and its accompanying ailments. Another noticeable fact is the low numbers of Whites compared to other states, and the national average. On the contrary, the state has the highest numbers of African Americans, which surpasses averages in many other states. Based on the fact that African Americans have traditionally been at the bottom of the pyramid in terms of employment and earnings, it is realistic to hypothesize that they are the most affected by the low income levels in the state. Furthermore, by the state having more than the average number of persons from this group, it is apparent that the state could be harboring not only the poorest African Americans, but also the largest number of members of this particular group. This implies that consequences of sustained hunger, such as malnutrition are most likely to be diagnosed amongst members of the African American community in Mississippi. These realizations make the state a good example for research, based on available data. Factors for the Epidemiologic Cycle The Epidemiologic Cycle for Hunger The epidemiologic cycle refers to the path through which an agent, the environment, and the host relate to perpetuate the occurrence of an undesired health problem. Each of these components of the cycle plays a remarkable role, which leads to worsened health conditions for the host. The general path is shown below. (Source: http://www.umncphp.umn.edu/preparedness/site/lesson1/screen4.htm). In the present review, hunger is the agent for hunger-related illnesses and conditions, including malnutrition. Low incomes are considered the basis of inadequate food and nutritional rations, implying that low compensation rates are the perfect environment that breeds hunger, and malnutrition by extension. Based on the fact that the review attempts to place the lesser endowed African Americans in the cycle, this group, therefore, comprises the hosts. The role played by low incomes and unemployment is extremely negative. This is why measures are put in place to overcome the effects of these two situations in society. Besides depriving the individual of their ability to live comfortably, inadequate income spells a chain of related but unfortunate instances, among them lack of enough food in the family (Weisfeld-Adams & Andrzejewski, 2008). On its part, lack of enough food has immediate impacts on the body of the individual. For instance, highlighting the issue of malnutrition, it is possible to evaluate the impacts of the lack of choice among the host community, in this case African Americans in Mississippi. This group is statistically cutout, leaving a greater percentage of its members with inadequate supply of basic amenities, and inability to meet basic human needs. Besides poor housing, the group also has to contend with rising costs of living against stagnated compensation rates (Gable, 2013). Based on the closeness among the factors (African Americans in the state of Mississippi, low income rates for this group, and hunger levels related to low income among the host community), it is possible to derive a epidemiological model that can be used to explain the high incidence of hunger-related illnesses and conditions. Through such a simplified model, it is possible to reduce the impacts of hunger or such other observed phenomenon through eliminating its root cause (Gable, 2013). In the following section of this review, the epidemiologic factors that make up the hunger cycle are explained. Hunger Hunger is a situation in which an individual is unable to manage to eat adequate amounts of food to accomplish basic nutritional needs of their bodies. This situation is largely associated with poorer countries, mainly in the third world. In extreme situations, hunger leads to starvation. For instance, reporting for the Guardian, Rice (8th August, 2011) noted that after many years of fleeing Somalia into Kenya and Ethiopia (all countries are categorized as third world) in search of peace, Somalis were turning to refugee camps in attempts to escape their hunger-laden homeland. Elsewhere in the continent and South East Asia, cases of extreme famine have been reported to lead to excessive hunger, starvation, and displacement of populations. However, these extreme cases are hardly ever recorded elsewhere, and it would look strange for many people in the rest of the world to think that populations in the US face hunger as well. But according to many reports, hunger is also prevalent in the country. The Washington based World Hunger Education Service (2014) notes that in 2012 alone, 17,6 million households, comprising 14.5% of the entire households tally for the year 2012 were faced with a degree of food insecurity. The report notes that these figures have remained at that level since the beginning of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. Households were further classified as either merely food insecure or with very low food security. In 2012, seven million (comprising 5.7%) of the households belonged to the latter category. The percentage of children who are exposed to hunger is much less than the entire population, mainly because adults tend to take extra steps to ensure that children are adequately provided for, both in terms of rations and nutrition (Neff, Palmer, McKenzie & Lawrence, 2009; World Hunger Education Service, 2014). Low income and poverty Income plays a major role in determining how far away or close to the food security threshold an individual is. Overall, the financial situation of the parents affects the entire household’s ranking, including the children thereof. The further below households appear against this threshold, the poorer they are, and the more prone to hunger. Consequently, members of these households are more likely to seek medical intervention for hunger related illnesses and conditions, including malnutrition, vitamin A malnourishment, and sometimes obesity (Neff et al, 2009). While each of these conditions is undoubtedly related to hunger, the realization that obesity could also emanate from hunger situations was initially met with controversy (Neff et al, 2009; Roy, 1999). However, research has shown that in instances of sustained hunger due to such distinctive aspects as financial inadequacy, families tend to compromise on the nutritional value of food intakes and dwell more on consuming “adequately large” portions. In relation to this, research also shows that junk foods are less expensive and more readily available. These foods are among the leading causes of obesity, as they lead to excessive intake of energy giving foods; energy which is rarely exploited in the normal schedule (Neff et al, 2009). This author states that healthy foods are generally considered to have high nutritional value, and low calories, fat, sodium and additives (p. 283). The National Center for Children in Poverty (2014) notes that for families to be able to meet most of their basic obligations, the total income of parents should be at least twice the federal poverty threshold. In 2012, the threshold of a four-member family was set at $46,566, implying that for such a family to adequately meet its basic needs, which include food, would have to earn $93132 or more. Several financial challenges stand in the way of low-income earning groups in their attempts to provide their households with adequately nutritional food. For instance, families that have lower earnings have been cited as having higher likelihoods of breakups, which leads to further financial complications and instability (Parke, 2003). Hunger due to financial inadequacies presents complex social-level constraints that define affordability of basic foodstuffs and other essentials that also decrease health risks for the individuals. Fifty eight percent (58%) of the children brought up in the state are growing in poverty as their parents are low-income earners. 25% of the children growing up in low income families have unemployed parents, compared to the 3% of those living beyond the low-income threshold whose parents are not employed (National Center for Children in Poverty, 2014). According to an article published by the CNN after the release of the 2011 Census Bureau report, Luhby (September 20, 2012) noted that Mississippi has remained the poorest state in two consecutive evaluations. The state had a poverty rate of 22.6%, with families having a median household income of $36,919. These figures represented a near stagnation from the figures recorded in 2010. The median household income for Mississippi was nearly half that of Maryland, which recorded the highest figure ($70,004), and nearly two-thirds of the national figure ($50,054). The state’s poverty rate ranked above the national figure (15.0%) (par. 7). Mississippi also recorded some of the highest single parent families with poverty (63.0%), against a lower rate of single-parent households earning above low-income compensation (National Center for Children in Poverty, 2014). Race (African Americans in Mississippi) Race has been an important factor in the study of epidemiology and earning disparities in the country. The majority races have been associated with better social-economic conditions, including higher employment rates and higher compensation rates. These advantages translate into higher living standards for these groups, with minority groups getting smaller shares of employment and compensation (Roy, 1999). The consequences of these improved living standards are advantages in fulfillment of basic needs, better access to healthcare, better access to loan facilities, higher retirement packages and easier access to medical insurance and services. A combination of these factors leaves one group overly advantaged, while the minority groups have lesser access to each of these basics, translating into higher likelihoods for hunger, non-treatment, and probable death. Translated loosely, the impacts are felt in such indicators as disparities in interracial morbidity, mortality, and life expectancies. In the context of the populations under study, African Americans are much more prone to such conditions as malnutrition, based on the observed risk factors emanating from lack of enough income to cater for their basic needs, which include food. Again, owing to the fact that the group’s members have the least capacity to earn adequate income to sustain themselves, it is apparent that there is reduced likelihood of medical cover, and consequently medical help. The consequences are that, the above mentioned outcomes are bound to be more skewed towards this segment of the population. As a result, this population is not only bound to record the highest rates of malnutrition and other conditions and illnesses associated with hunger, the group is also more likely to have the lowest life expectancies, and highest hunger-related mortality rates among other racial groups in the state. References Bureau of Labor Statistics. Databases, tables, and calculators by subject. Retrieved from http://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet. Gable, M. (2013). Ongoing joblessness in Mississippi: Unemployment rate for African Americans ninth in nation, more than double the state’s White rate. Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute. Luhby, T. (September 20, 2012). The new American dream: Mississippi has the highest poverty and lowest income. Cable News Network. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2012/09/20/news/economy/income-states-poverty/. (Accessed 5th October, 2014). Ku, L., Berkowitz, A., Ullman, F. & Regenstein, M. (1998). Health policy for low-income people in Mississippi. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute. National Center for Children in Poverty (2014). Mississippi: Demographics of low-income children. Retrieved from http://www.nccp.org/profiles/MS_profile_6.html. (Accessed 4th October, 2014). Neff, R. A., Palmer, A. M., McKenzie, S. E. & Lawrence, R. S. (2009). Food systems and public health disparities. Journal of hunger and Environmental Nutrition. 4(3): 282-314. Parke, M. (2003). Are married parents really better for children? What research says about the effects of family structure on child well-being. Washington, DC: Center for Law and Social Policy. Rice, X. (August 8, 2011). Hunger pains: Famine in the Horn of Africa. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2011/aug/08/hunger-pains-famine-horn-africa. (Accessed 5th October, 2014). Roy, K. (1999). Low-income single fathers in an African American community and the requirements of welfare reform. Journal of Family Issues. 20(4): 432-457. United States Census Bureau (2014). State and county quick facts – Mississippi. Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/28000.html. (Accessed 5th October, 2014). Weisfeld-Adams, E. & Andrzejewski, A. (2008). Hunger and poverty: Definitions and distinctions. New York: The Hunger Project. World Hunger Education Service (2014). Hunger in America: 2014 United States hunger and poverty facts. Hunger Notes. Retrieved from http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/us_hunger_facts.htm. (Accessed 5th October, 2014). Read More