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Obesity in African Americans . By: Eric Campos & Davontay Jacob. What exactly is Obesity?. Obesity is an abnormal accumulation of body fat , usually 30% or more over individual’s body weight. Obesity-a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or higher. There are exceptions, for example, athletes
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Obesity in African Americans By: Eric Campos & Davontay Jacob
What exactly is Obesity? • Obesity is an abnormal accumulation of body fat , usually 30% or more over individual’s body weight. • Obesity-a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or higher. • There are exceptions, for example, athletes • Obesity is being classified as an epidemic.
What is a Disparity? • A Disparity is when something is not equal. • A health Disparity is when a certain group (race) has a greater percentage of a condition compared to the entire information givers as a whole (state). • Our Disparity is Obesity among African Americans in Massachusetts.
Why is Obesity a Disparity? • Obesity is a disparity among African Americans in Massachusetts, in 2009 64.2% of African Americans were Obese, compared to the 42% cumulative of the rest of the state.
What does Obesity cause? • Obesity leads to many health complications, for example: • Heart Disease • Stroke • Type 2 diabetes • High blood pressure • Allergies • And even Cancers • Prostate cancer • Colon Cancer
The Severe complications The Cholesterol build up among people that are obese also causes heart disease. High blood pressure comes into play because of the high levels of salt that many people consume. Obesity is the second leading preventable cause of death in the united states and may soon overtake tobacco usage as leading cause
Factors of Obesity • There are many factors that contribute to Obesity and that makes it a very complex health issue. • Among the most important causes and factors; • Behavior and Culture • Environment • Genetics • Lack of Sleep • Emotional Instability
Behavior • Spend many hours in front of the Television. • Less demand for physical activity in school. • Passive and Active exercise are both becoming harder to get around to.
Culture • Soul food that has been passed down from slave ancestry is a big factor. Soul food contains a lot of salt and grease as it was survival food and that energy was needed. • African American men tend to look for women of larger body sizes.
Environment • Lack of recreation areas like gyms , parks, and trails. • Work loads and long shifts tend to take time from physical activities. • Over sized food portions in America from restaurants and fast food. • Wealthier communities have three times more super-markets that lower income communities.
Genetics • A called “thrifty gene” that came from ancestors whose environment was unpredictable and where food was scarce has been passed on and now it is unnecessary and causing obesity in large numbers. • Your genes also may affect the amount of fat you store in your body and where on your body you carry the extra fat.
Emotions and Lack of Sleep • Emotional instability has a huge impact on weight gain and obesity • Sleep loss has been seen to correlate to weight gain as well.
Prevention • There are many ongoing efforts to control this widespread disease. • Exercise and healthy eating are the root of the prevention. • 30-60 minutes of exercise a day, 4-5 days a week, or 150 to 250 minutes of exercise a week.
Big steps • Michelle Obama’s “Lets move” campaign has launched as an effort to end childhood obesity in America. • By making healthy food more affordable • Focusing on exercise • Improving the quality of school lunch • And getting informed on nutrition.
In Conclusion:Why does it affect African Americans more? • The socioeconomic status of African Americans has a big impact on the food that they consume. And their lifestyles • Some African American cultures are less prone to start unhealthy dieting and exercising habits, or even starting to exercise at all • African American societies don’t judge as harshly about body weight as do other societies.
Sources • National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. What causes overweight and Obesity. (July 9, 2011) Retrieved from; http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/obe/obe_causes.html • Buzzle.com. Causes of obesity in America. (July 9 2011) Retrieved from; http://www.buzzle.com/articles/causes-of-obesity-in-america.html • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overweight and Obesity. (July 9, 2011)Retrieved from; http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/causes/index.html • StateHealthFacts.org. Overweight and Obesity Rates for Adults by Race/Ethnicity, 2010. (July 12 2011) Retrieved from; http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparetable.jsp?ind=91&cat=2&sort=a&gsa=2 • The Office of Minority Health. Obesity and African Americans. (July 15, 2011)Retrieved from; http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/content.aspx?ID=6456 • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Differences in Prevalence of Obesity Among Black, White, and Hispanic Adults --- United States, 2006—2008. (July 15, 2011) Retrieved From; http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5827a2.htm • IMDiversity.com. Obesity, Lifestyles and African Americans - What are the Correlations?. Date N/A) Retrieved From; http://www.imdiversity.com/villages/african/family_lifestyle_traditions/bpr_obesity1127.asp • NETWellness. African American Health, African Americans and Diet. Retrieved From; http://www.netwellness.org/healthtopics/aahealth/healthybody.cfm