Aaw Case Studies

An estimated 97 million adults in the United States are overweight or obese (Klein 2000). “"Affecting one in five Americans – or more than 22 percent of the U.S. population – obesity is one of the most pervasive health problems in our nation right now," said George L. Blackburn, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of surgery and associate director of the Division of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School/Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. "We need to implement steps to slow the progression of this national epidemic” (NAASO 1999). But the problem of obesity does not only affect the United States. "We now know that the growing prevalence of obesity is creating major health problems worldwide," said Dr. James O. Hill, president of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO) and Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Obesity was once regarded as unique to Americans, but it is now seen as a global health risk affecting developing and underdeveloped countries (AOA 2000). Obesity is increasing at an epidemic rate in the United States - 1.3% a year for women over 20. Rates of obesity among minority populations, including African-Americans and Hispanic Americans are especially high (AOA 2000). There is also a marked increase in obesity among children.

UCM: CPSW did a home visit again and talked with Annette regarding her relationship with her mother Ms. Clifton. Annette stated that some times that they both disagrees on things and that and than Annette gets upset with her mother. CPSW talked about therapy with Annette and Ms. Clifton. Annette looked at her mother when this therapy talked about family therapy with her mother Ms. Clifton. Ms. Clifton refused to participate with Annette any family therapy. Ms. Clifton stated that Annette has anger issues and that they don't need family therapy at this time. Annette was very quite and mostly was looking her mother's responses regarding family therapy. CPSW told Ms. Clifton andf Annette to think about it and that we will talk about it on next

Poor nutrition in the United States is indeed a scary factor that continues to lead our citizens to chronic healthcare conditions. The article notes “Health People 2020 states the most affected are non-White, Hispanic adult populations are disproportionately affected by obesity” (Kaiser Foundation Hospital, 2014, p. 6)

Traditionally, the African American diet consisted of leafy green vegetables, fish, poultry, and beans. However, the cooking methods, such as deep frying, the heavy use of gravy, pork fat, and butter add a large amount fat and cholesterol to an otherwise heart-healthy diet. “Soul food” with its fried chicken, fried pork chops, and corn bread have become the traditional comfort food, and there is a large significant placed in the African-American culture on community and family gatherings centered around food. Historically, African-Americans lived a highly active lifestyle that compensated for a higher than average fat content in their diet. As modern trends swing toward a more sedentary lifestyle, the direct result is heart disease rising to be the leading cause of death among African-Americans (Cowling, 2006, p8).

However, due to the United States’ aging population, along with an increasing prevalence of obesity, diabetes is on the increase. Of the approximately 313 million population count in the United States, 97 million adults are overweight or obese. “Both excess body fat and physical inactivity predispose to type 2 diabetes. Several ethnic groups are particularly susceptible to Type 2 diabetes” (Scott 1134). Hispanics, blacks,

American Indian elders have lower rates of death than whites for the top four leading causes of death (heart diseases, malignant neoplasms, cerebrovascular diseases, and chronic obstructive lung disease), but higher death rates for all other causes of death.The 4 leading causes of deaths reported among older American Indians are for tuberculosis, diabetes, pneumonia, and cirrhosis These causes of death have implications for the health care providers and educators, as most are preventable to some degree and could be addressed by culturally congruent intervention programs.American Indian males over 65 reported higher proportions of diabetes (1.5 times), gallbladder disease (1.4 times), and rheumatism (1.3 times) than older men in the general population. American Indian women over 65 had 2.4 times the rate of diabetes as older women in the general population. In comparison

Obesity is associated with sever chronic diseases such as Type-II diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, osteoarthritis and other health problems (Cook). Native Hawaiians have a higher percentage of adults with obesity than other racial groups (Cook). In 2007, Native Hawaiians had the highest percentage adult obesity percentage than any other ethnicity at a shocking 43.5%. Obesity among the Native Hawaiian population can be due to many factors. One factor being their genetic and cultural influences.

A proponderance of statistics derived from scholarly sources corroborates the notion that minorities who have a low socioeconomic position or have an significantly low income suffers many atrocious health disparities this includes obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases thus projecting a direct correlation between the two variables. In addition, minorities, specifically African-Americans that live in low income neighborhoods have less access to fresh, healthy and organic foods. In particular, supermarkets are sparse in their area and sometimes is not within walking distance or within the vicinity of their homes. On the flipside, these neighborhoods have the highest levels of fast-food restaurants and convenient stores. These barriers

Environmental barriers, such as, not having access to healthy food can have an adverse impact on a person health, especially if their lives are further complicated by a chronic illness. For instant, diabetes which is a disease that affects at least 16 million Americans; African Americans and Latinos are the groups that are affected the most, as compared to the White population (Horowitz, Colson, Hebert & Lancaster, 2004). African Americans and Latinos are more likely to have more complications due to diabetes as well as a higher mortality rate (Horowitz et al., 2004). Some populations of people are prone to having a high prevalent rate of diabetes; therefore, research done at a community level is necessary to help figure out why

Chronic illnesses are a vicious cycle where one illness often leads to another. Think about people being obsese due to inactivity and eating habits. Which in turns into hypertension, diabetes and heart disease and obsesity if not monitored. Not one disease can come alone. African American men are 30% more likely to die from heart disease. 3.7 million (14.7%) of all African Americans aged 20 years or older have diabetes and or suffer from Hypertension. Stress is also a factor in heart disease and hypertension. Obesity is assumed to pose a risk for diabetes. On the other hand, blacks are less likely to report a number of conditions so the mortality rate is

The Mississippi Delta has many good aspects: heavenly food, ideal land for farming, the culture, and being the home of the Blues are just a few. However, there are many downsides to living in the delta, such as the racial segregation that still exists today, the poverty levels, the percentage of people alcohol and drugs, and health issues. These health issues include obesity, cancer due to the pesticides used in farming, drug/alcohol abuse, and diabetes. Diabetes is such a problem in the South that that it affects majority of the population, Dr. Joseph Assini said, “The Delta is the epicenter of the worldwide diabetes epidemic.” There are nearly twenty seven million people in the United States with Type 2 Diabetes, the disease prohibits the

In general, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) bear a disproportionately higher prevalence of many chronic medical conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity, collectively known as cardiometabolic disorders (Mau et al., 2009). Native Cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke, is the leading cause of death and disability in the world (WHO, 2012). This is consistent with Native Hawaiians having a higher prevalence in different types of CVD and its various risk factors. Among CVD risk factors, hypertension is the most common (Kaplan & Opie, 2006; Pieske & Wachter, 2008). The high rate of hypertension among NHPP may be explained in part by the high rate of obesity and other factors that affect blood

African American women have the highest prevalence of being overweight and obese in the United States, at 82%. A primary goal of Health People 2020 is to eliminate health disparities for populations that are at higher risk of developing chronic conditions related to obesity, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers. Contributing health factors that cause obesity, such as decreased physical activity, stress, and poor nutrition, is also an area of focus. Church is a long-standing source of support for African American women and is a good place to promote faith-based healthy lifestyle programs (Kyryliuk, Baruth, &

Many low income communities, dense of minorities and people of color, struggle to find fresh healthy produce readily available to them. These communities lack access to farmers’ markets, full service grocery stores, and other vendors of fresh healthy produce. Instead they are impacted with an abundance of cheap, high-fat, high-processed fast food restaurants. Without access to fresh healthy foods, a full nutritious diet is hard to achieve. The discrepancies within the food system are leading to harmful impacts on individuals’ health. These discrepancies have led to significantly higher rates of diabetes and complications amongst racial and ethnic minorities. Along with an increase surge of diabetics within marginalized groups, these groups are also faced with more diabetic related complications. For example, “African Americans have 2-4 times the rate of renal disease, blindness, amputations, and amputation-related mortality of non-Hispanic whites. Similarly, Latinos have higher rates of renal disease and retinopathy” (NCBI). The systematic oppression of marginalized groups within the food system has detrimental effects on the health of ethnic and racial minorities.

Do you know what’s the number one cause of death in America? Well the number one cause of death is heart related diseases. Many of these heart related diseases are caused by obesity. Obesity is “the condition of being grossly fat or overweight.” It is not just being thick boned, or even hereditary. Obesity has become a growing epidemic around the world! A very colossal problem here in the untied states of America; What is sad is that it is a disease one has caused due to their own choice of life style.