Why are African Americans the Leading Race of Obesity and What Can Be Done to Help Change - Research Paper Example

 Why are African Americans the Leading Race of Obesity and What Can Be Done To Help Change? Introduction The objective of this paper is to identify the causes of increasing number of obesity cases in the African Americans. The African American race has the most number of obesity cases than any other race. This paper will investigate and discuss the reasons for the lead of African Americans in obesity. The paper will also explain the steps and actions that can be taken to help this change. Obesity has become a root cause of major health issues that are observed after the age of 50. Heart failure incidents before the age of 50 for the African Americans are the most common in the USA. The reasons for the highest rates of obesity in African Americans will be identified and discussed in the paper. Then steps will be illustrated that can be taken to reduce this rising rate of obesity cases in African Americans. Reasons for the Lead of African Americans in Obesity rates High Dietary Fat Intake Dietary fat should consist of around 20-35% of the total energy intake (Watters and Satia, 2009) as recommended by the current dietary guidelines. Extending the guideline, not more than 10% of the total energy should be from saturated fats (Watters and Satia, 2009). Many people tend to bypass the dietary guidelines and consumer more fatty meals than recommended. However, the African Americans tend to consume a higher percentage of dietary fats than the whites. The research study done by Watters and Satia in 2009 examined the association of dietary intake patterns with psychological factors in African Americans of age range 18 to 70. Diets which are lower in dietary fat especially the saturated fat, have a lower risk for obesity (Bray and Popking, 1998). Almost 70% of the African Americans are suffering from obesity. The main reason for obesity in blacks is high fat diet intake, but other reasons such as environment, genetic factors and metabolism also contribute to obesity. According to the research carried out by Watters and Satia in 2009, psychological factors such as social life, sex, education, motivation and diet related knowledge also contribute to being overweight. High education was inversely related with saturated fat intakes according to the research. This can be captured and related to the factor of African Americans being more obese than any other race. This is because the African Americans have the least educated people in America. 76% of the total people surveyed were obese and majority respondents were women. It was found that the blacks lacked the self motivation to fight obesity and they had a lesser knowledge about the nutritional program than the whites. Disrupted Parenting and Child Obesity Ch The obesity rates in the children have increased in the past few years. These rates have specially been observed in the African American children. African American girls are the most obese and overweight than girls of any other race. The African American girls have obesity rates twice that of the European American girls (Simons et al, 2008). The research paper developed by Simon in 2008 gives the proof of the existence between family issues and obesity in childhood. Also it has been argued that poor parenting trends in the US cause obesity in children. The study done by Simon showed that the child’s Body Mass Index is directly related to the quality of parenting whereas for European Americans but the same statement is not true for the African Americans. Therefore for the African American race, the quality of parenting is one of the contributing factors to the obesity rates of this race. The study for African Americans showed that more monitoring, warmth and inductive feelings by fathers were directly related to the obesity in male children. Therefore the children who are parented effectively are less likely to become obese in their childhood (Simons et al, 2008) as well as at the later stages of their life. Rise in Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Consumption of sugar and increase in the trends of sugar-sweetened beverages has always been linked to obesity (Bleich, Wang, Wang, & Gortmaker, 2009). According to the research paper by Bleich, Wang, Wang, and Gortmaker, the young African Americans are the highest consumers of sugar-sweetened beverages. The objective of this research was to examine the national trends in America among the adults to consume sugar-sweetened beverages which lead to obesity. The survey revealed that the sugar-sweetened beverages drinkers increased by 58% from the period of 1994 to 2004 (Bleich, Wang, Wang, & Gortmaker, 2009). The sample size was around 16,000 individuals who were above the age of 20 years. The research also revealed that sugar-sweetened beverages consumption per capita increased by 46kcal per day (Bleich, Wang, Wang, & Gortmaker, 2009). The blacks were the highest percentage of sugar-sweetened beverages consumers and had the highest per capita consumption of these beverages among the other races such as whites and Hispanic (Bleich, Wang, Wang, & Gortmaker, 2009). The individuals suffering from obesity having weight loss intentions were less likely to consume sugar-sweetened beverages but still consumed a significant amount of around 278kcal per day. Availability of sugar-sweetened beverages more than water is one of reasons that the consumption of these beverages is increasing and is leading to obesity. Vending machines have been installed at every step on the footpaths. These machines contain sugar-sweetened beverages most of the times, therefore a person who wants to quench thirst is more likely to drink sugar-sweetened beverages rather than search for water. African Americans are mostly doing jobs which require being on the street physically. This is the reason that the per capita consumption amongst the blacks for sugar-sweetened beverages is increasing. Watching Television Excessively Television watching excessively is also one of the causes of obesity among the school going children. According to the research carried out by Dennision, Erba and Jeckins in 2002, the mean television watching time for the African American children was much higher than white children and it increased with age. Almost 40% percent of the children in the US have television sets in their rooms (Dennision, Erba and Jeckins, 2002). These children were more likely to get obese and spend more time watching television than the children without a television set in their rooms. The main reason for the children to watch television and limit their activities outside their house is the racial discrimination. Even if racism is not practiced on individual basis, still the child feels complex about his skin color. This entices the child to limit physical activities and spend most of the time in the house in front of the television. As the child has more time at home, the child consumers more snacks and junk food which is single large source of saturated fat and dietary fat. Rejection of the child by his class fellows to accept him as a friend also causes the child to stay away from physical activities. Whites have more friends are more likely to engage in neighborhood activities therefore the white children are able to burn their intake fats. Hence their chances of becoming obese are reduced. The African American children play less and spend fewer hours in neighborhood activities which cause them to get obese. They are not able to consume all the calories they took and hence gain more and more weight. Frequency of Exercise The research done by Clarke and his team in 2009 concluded that frequency of exercise had a high correlation with the weight of the individual. African American women showed a decline in exercise practices in comparison to the white, Hispanic and women from other racial groups (Clarke et al, 2009). Also, the African American women in the US demonstrated a significant rise in the frequency of taking breakfast over the period of 1984 and 2006 (Clarke et al, 2009). This is one of the factors of increase in the obesity of the African American and their lead in the race to obesity in the USA. There is a trend in the US population to exercise and tone up their bodies. This trend however is not so prevalent in the black women of the United States. This was illustrated in the research of Clarke and his team as they found out that the frequency of exercise among the young adult women was consistently lower than young adult men. Socio-Economic Status Leading to Obesity African American women and men with lower socioeconomic status are demonstrating falling trends in positive weight related activities (Clarke et al, 2009). When compared to the white young adults with higher socioeconomic status, the activities undertaken by African Americans in the US to control their weight is limited (Clarke et al, 2009). This is because the white youngsters with higher socioeconomic status are highly engaged in weight controlling and fitness activities (Clarke et al, 2009). The study performed by Croft, Strogatz and their team in 1992 describes the relation of socioeconomic factors and obesity in the African American population. The relation obesity to socioeconomic status in women was inversely related but in men it was directly related (Croft et al, 1992). The socio-economic status here consists of the education level of the individual and his occupation. This study shows that the black women who have low socioeconomic status are more likely to be obese than the black women with higher socio-economic status. The positive relationship of obesity in men and the socio-economic status (Croft et al, 1992) has been demonstrated by black men. The reasons for this probably are the specific behavior patterns (Croft et al, 1992) of higher socio-economic class and a broader environmental exposure as well. The relationship of a lower socio-economic status with increased smoking and alcohol consumption, increased unemployment and a higher intake of calories have been demonstrated by the African American population in the area where the survey was taken place. Urbanization and Obesity The obesity rates have increases very rapidly in the last thirty years as did urbanization and globalization. The report by Gracey published in 2002 comments on the effects of urbanization on the health of children and the well-being of infants. This globalization and urbanization is causing negative effects on the health of children and infants which will in turn affect the future generations (Gracey, 2002) when they grow up. These changes are now not only limited to the larger towns and cities (Gracey, 2002), but globalization has caused all the individuals to adopt a similar culture. These changes are also affecting the rural areas and transitional societies because globalization and urbanization has changed the diet and lifestyle of infants (Gracey, 2002). There are alternatives present now in the infant feeding practices (Gracey, 2002). Environmental pollution in the cities causes bad affects on the health of children and infants. Globalization has bought with itself changes in the food culture and most of the people have become busy. These people like to consume something which is tasty and fills up the stomach. Fast food and junk food is the answer to this requirement and therefore prevailing in most of the developed and developing countries of the world. This junk food culture that has been introduced around the globe in the past is the main cause of obesity in the African Americans as well as other races. What can be Done to Help Change Trends towards Nutritious Snacks According to the research conducted by Hoerr and Louden in 1993, there is a demand for healthy and nutritious snacks in public schools (Hoerr, 389). In their research, they placed vending machines labeled ‘healthy snacks’ near to the junk food vending machines in a number of public schools. They recorded more sales from the vending machines selling healthy and nutritional snacks than the one selling junk food. This clearly shows that the youngsters have a preference for nutritious snacks over junk and fast food. Although some nutritious snacks are available in the market, but they have not been able to eye the competent junk and fast food brands in the market. One reason for the poor success of nutritional snacks is the unavailability of vending machines at the places where junk food vending machines are placed. Another reason for their failure is that not many nutritious snacks have been developed for unrefrigerated vending machines (Hoerr, 389). To save the African Americans from leading the race to obesity, it is necessary that snacks should be introduced which have little or no dietary fiber. Education on Health Issues Related to Obesity Investment on education of the nutritious food and how to assess the nutritional value of the food can have a profound prevention in the African American youngsters. The black population has a limited access to good schooling and education system therefore a system should be introduced where the children are taught about the ill effects of obesity as these black children do not get a chance to study in good public schools. The health issues related to obesity such as diabetes, stroke, cardiovascular diseases (Read, 2009) and laziness should be promoted in interesting ways. This will prevent the children to take in fatty meals and think twice about having junk food. Programs should be introduced by the government that keeps the children active and healthy. The children and the youngsters should be taught the joy of playing in the fields and interacting with their neighbors. They should be taught about the ill effects of watching too much television or playing video games to our health. Curbing Racism The youngsters of today and the children who do not have so much idea of the world and the races should be taught about racism. They should be taught in the schools that race is just a socially created concept to differ different skin types. The children should be taught that this concept was created by wrong doers who think that they are superior to all skin colors and are the best race. They should be educated about the biological process that create human beings and that the differences in skin colors resulted as an adaptation process to survive in different environments. The blacks and the whites share a common ancestor who may have been brown skins. Therefore the concept of race is not biological as all the races have been spurred from the same ancestors. These concepts can erase the long living racism in our community because of which the minorities such as the African Americans are suffering so much. They had to go through mental torture in the past when racism was institutionalized. But now they have to face physical problems and health problems because of their skin color. The socio-economic status of the African Americans should be brought at the same level. Initiatives should be taken by the government to target those factors which are responsible for this inequality and castigate those targets. Promotion of Physical Exercise Physical exercise and physical activities should be promoted at every level of our lives. This promotion should not be limited to only a particular age. But it should be an ongoing process for everyone in the society. Bicycles should be promoted instead of cars and the parents should themselves use bicycles so that their children also do the same. For travelling short distances, bicycle use will ensure that fat intake by your body is burnt. These activities can surely prevent obesity but not remove it from the society because there are many uncontrollable factors prevalent which cannot be controlled by the humans. Conclusion According to most of the surveys that we studied, almost 70% of the total American African population is suffering from obesity. Obesity itself is a disease which causes many other diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and many other diseases that cannot be easily cured. The main reasons that we came across for the African American’s race lead in obesity are lower socio-economic status, lower education, urbanization, lower frequency of exercise in blacks, racism and rise in the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and fatty meals. All these factors cannot be controlled but some can be easily reduced by the promotion of physical exercise, reducing racism in our society, educating the African Americans about health education and by introducing more nutritious snacks and fast-food. References Watters, J L, & Satia, J A. (March 25, 2009). Psychosocial correlates of dietary fat intake in African-American adults: a cross-sectional study.  Nutrition Journal, 8, 15. p.15. Retrieved December 09, 2009, from Academic OneFile via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.macewan.ca/gtx/start.do?prodId=AONE&userGroupName=edmo87290 Bray, G A, & Popkin, M B. (1998). Dietary fat intake does affect obesity! American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 68, 6. p.1157. Retrieved December 09, 2009, from Academic OneFile via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.macewan.ca/gtx/start.do?prodId=AONE&userGroupName=edmo87290 Bibbins-Domingo, K., Pletcher, M J, Vittinghoff, E., Gardin, J M, Arynchyn, A., Lewis, C E, Williams, O. D., & Hulley, S B (March 19, 2009). Racial differences in incident heart failure among young adults.  The New England Journal of Medicine, 360, 12. p.1179(12). Retrieved December 09, 2009, from Academic OneFile via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.macewan.ca/gtx/start.do?prodId=AONE&userGroupName=edmo87290 Simons, L. G., Granberg, E., Chen, Y.-F. , Simons, R L, Conger, R D, Gibbons, F X, Brody, G R, & Murry, V M (Autumn 2008). Differences between European Americans and African Americans in the Association between child obesity and disrupted parenting.  Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 39, 4. p.589(22). Retrieved December 09, 2009, from Academic OneFile via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.macewan.ca/gtx/start.do?prodId=AONE&userGroupName=edmo87290 Bleich, S N, Wang, Y. C., Wang, Y., & Gortmaker, S L (Jan 2009). Increasing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages among US adults: 1988-1994 to 1999-2004.  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 89, 1. p.372(10). Retrieved December 09, 2009, from Academic OneFile via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.macewan.ca/gtx/start.do?prodId=AONE&userGroupName=edmo87290 Dennision, B A, Erb, T A, Jenkins, P L. (2002). Television Viewing and Television in Bedroom Associated With Overweight Risk Among Low-Income Preschool Children. Pediatrics, 109, 6. P.1028(8). Retrieved December 09, 2009, from Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition Database. Croft, J., Strogatz, D., James, S., Keenan, N., Ammerman, A., Malarcher, A., et al. (1992). Socioeconomic and Behavioral Correlates of Body Mass Index in Black Adults: The Pitt County Study. American Journal of Public Health, 82(6), 821-826. Retrieved from Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition database. Clarke, P J, O'Malley, P M, Johnston, L D, Schulenberg, J E, & Lantz, P. (Oct 2009). Differential trends in weight-related health behaviors among American young adults by gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status: 1984-2006.  The American Journal of Public Health, 99, 10. p.1893(9). Retrieved December 09, 2009, from Academic OneFile via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.macewan.ca/gtx/start.do?prodId=AONE&userGroupName=edmo87290 Gracey, M. (2002). Child health in an urbanizing world. Acta Paediatrica, 91(1), p.1-8. Retrieved December 09, 2009, from Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition Database. Hoerr, S. M., & Louden, V. A. (Nov 1993). Can nutrition information increase sales of healthful vended snacks?.  Journal of School Health, 63, n9. p.386(5). Retrieved December 09, 2009, from Academic OneFile via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.macewan.ca/gtx/start.do?prodId=AONE&userGroupName=edmo87290 Read, A. (Dec 2009). Count obesity as a threat! Obesity prevention is a community investment.  Public Management, 91, 11. p.22(1). Retrieved December 09, 2009, from Academic OneFile via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.macewan.ca/gtx/start.do?prodId=AONE&userGroupName=edmo87290 Read More