High-Risk Nutritional Practices of African American and American Children

High-Risk Nutritional Practices
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High-Risk Nutritional Practices
In the world today, people practice different nutritional behaviors which continue to change with the information that is made available. The eating habits of people continue to be influenced by factors such as education, changing times, family factors, and finally culture. Often, people pick or adopt habits while growing up and tend to stick with these habits to their old age unless they move to a different place and are forced to learn different things. What the above statement implies is that one’s habits get to change only when culture changes or when the external environment changes. Culture and nutrition go hand in hand meaning that the latter is greatly influenced by the former. However, what many communities or societies fail to realize is that their nutritional practices greatly influences their health. What people choose to eat or drink regardless of their cultural practices will, in the end, determine how healthy they turn out to be. There are some cultures which practice healthy nutritional habits. However, the majority do not know or understand how important it is to practice healthy nutritional habits. In the end, society ends up with a large number of people with issues like cardiovascular diseases and obesity. This paper seeks to address some of the high-risk nutritional practices in two cultures while trying to understand the historical perspectives and belief systems that influence the high-risk nutritional behaviors in these cultures.
Summary of the high-risk nutritional behaviors practiced among two or three different cultures
African American Culture
High-risk nutritional practices among African Americans have become rampant over the past few years. This has led to an increase in a number of issues including obesity as well as cardiovascular diseases. As per the CDC fact sheet (2014), “Americans suffer more than 1.5 million heart attacks and strokes” every year. The article continues to say that “nearly 44% of African American men and 48% of African American women have some form of cardiovascular disease that includes heart disease and stroke.” One should keep in mind that African Americans are not the largest race in the United States. So, such percentages show that the community does need a change in its nutritional practices. When it comes to obesity, the statistics about African Americans are shocking as well. As per the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (2017), “in 2015, African Americans were 1.4 times as likely to be obese as non-Hispanic whites.” These are numbers which showcase how the community needs to change its nutritional practices.
In the African American culture, it is customary to adopt diets which are high in total fat, salt, lower fiber, and saturated fat. A good example of a food that is popular among the African American community is soul food. Belle (2007) notes that “soul food typically involves fried foods and lots of fatty meats prepared with rich gravies.” Soul food is quite popular among African Americans, and even though it is not healthy, it is still difficult to dissuade or discourage African Americans from preparing it. The main reason is that it “signifies the history of African Americans in America” (Belle, 2007). So, in the end, it becomes a major problem especially when the community appears to consider it a part of their culture. However, Belle admits that this type of food is not healthy and could be one of the major reasons why African Americans appear to be falling victims to heart diseases and obesity. The problem here, however, is that this community views soul food as part of its culture and adopting anything different would be switching or giving up on one’s culture.
American Children
American children are another group which needs to be closely examined especially in this discussion of high-risk nutritional practices or behaviors. In his article, Nojas (2018) notes that “obesity rates continue to soar among children in the United States, with the most severe cases affecting those below age 5.” Such a statistic should cause panic in a country that boasts to be the world’s superpower. The main reason for the above is junk food. Children and the youth in the U.S. continue to develop the habit of eating junk food on a daily basis. Junk foods include salted snacks, fried fast foods, hamburgers (depending on ingredients), candy, sugary carbohydrate beverages, gum, tacos, etc. These foods continue to flood the market and children continue to be partakers while unknowingly putting themselves in the line of fire. As per data from the Health and Human Services (HHS) (2017), “12.5 million (16.9%) children and adolescents are obese.” However, it is crucial to note that these numbers are influenced by race as well as the economic conditions of the parents. HHS supports the above notion while noting that “nearly 45% of children living in poverty are overweight or obese compared to 22% of children living in households with incomes four times the poverty level.” The repercussions of the above statistics are widespread. For example, HHS notes that “obesity is also a growing threat to national security – a surprising 27% of young Americans are too overweight to serve in our military.” So, the issue is not local or in the homes only. The long-term repercussions are felt on a larger scale. Junk food may be readily available, but parents need to step in or else the society will raise a generation of obese children who are also not confi...