Essay about High Prices of Healthy Foods Prevents Control of Diabetes

The incidences of diabetes are growing annually, and predicted to increase within the coming decades. The number of cases yearly is not only increasing, but the age of onset for diabetes has decreased. This means more individuals are developing diabetes at an earlier age. Diabetes not only affects individuals and communities but countries as well. The prevalence of diabetes has gathered billions of dollars in healthcare costs. [1]Type 2 diabetes also leads to other serious medical conditions such as heart disease, renal failure, blindness, and tissue damage in extremities that will eventually lead to amputation. These illnesses, as a result, result in further costs in the form of disability and the loss of a portion of our workforce. However, incidences of type 2 diabetes are in higher occurrence amongst Hispanic groups. According to the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Mexican Americans have an unusually high prevalence of diabetes compared to that of the general population [2]. Hispanic females have the highest lifetime risk of becoming diabetic – 52% [3], compared to that of the average risk of

Hispanics households with low socioeconomic status and low education coupled with low diabetes awareness have high type 2 diabetes prevalence 9. The high prevalence rates of type 2 diabetes can be attributed to a number of reasons such as; the Latinos have a genetic tendency to develop insulin resistance and they face high risks for abdominal obesity. The study emphasized that the strongest predictors of developing type 2 diabetes in Hispanic population are impaired insulin sensitivity, low insulin secretion and and glucose effectiveness 1. In addition, the prevalence rates are high in poor families who have poor nutrition and lifestyle behaviors. Since poor families have low access to education, they tend to have low awareness for diabetes hence these results in high diabetes prevalent rates. The results of the study indicated that incidence of diabetes decreased with rising educational level in Hispanic population

Several nationwide programs and incentives were administered in the last couple of decades to promote awareness of diabetes and hopefully help prevent millions of Americans from developing diabetes. Health Agencies, such as World Health Organization (WHO) and Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have developed objectives to tackle diabetes. Some of these objectives include conducting surveillance and obtaining diabetes data to identify trends in the population, spreading awareness about the condition, and developing programs that will enhance diabetes care and ensure the longevity of the patients. Various programs have been developed but while some excel, others fail to benefit the lives of the patient.

The rate of diabetes in the United States is one of the highest compared to other developed countries. An estimate of 9.3% of the population have diabetes, of those with diabetes 27.8% have yet to be diagnosed (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014). This means that approximately 8.1 million people are currently living with diabetes, but are unaware of it. As of 2012, 12.3% of people with diabetes were 20 years old or older, the largest population diagnosed with diabetes were adults 65 years old or older. 25.9% of this population lives with diabetes (CDC, 2014). On a national level, the CDC have launched initiatives that focus on prevention and disease management. The National Diabetes Prevention Program is an example of one such initiative. This program focuses on lifestyle changes,

Based on the United States census, it is estimated that by the year 2050 one in three people living in the United Sates will be of Hispanic/Latino origin which include sub groups like Puerto Rican, Mexican, Cuban, Central Americans, and South Americans (Heart Association, 2014). Within those subgroups, the prevalence varied for people of Mexican descent from as high of 18.3 percent to as low as 10.3 percent for people of South American descent, Dominicans and Puerto Rican descent 18.1 percent, Central American descent and Cubans descent 13.4 percent all living in the United States with diabetes type 2. On another commentary being published in the same issue of Diabetes Care, the author wrote, “the differences in diabetes and obesity prevalence among Latinos subgroups are marked when all individuals are combined into a single group” (Heart Association, 2014). Diabetes in Latino Americans has become more prevalence with aging, by the time they reach the age of 70 years, 44.3 percent of Latino men age 70 years old to 74 years old will have develop diabetes. The same study also indicated that the longer Latino Americans live in the United States the more likely they will develop diabetes, that is according to the education and income level of the person. The study also shows

While only 7.6 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 9 percent of Asian-Americans have diabetes, 12.8 percent of Hispanics have diabetes. Other high-risk ethnic groups are non-Hispanic blacks (13.2 percent) and American Indians/Alaskan Natives (15.9 percent). For Hispanics living in the United States, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes is lower in those coming from Central and South America (8.5 percent) or Cuba (9.3 percent), but higher for those who are Mexican American (13.9 percent) and Puerto Rican (14.8 percent), who comprise the majority of Hispanic immigrants in the U.S. (Valencia, Oropesa-Gonzalez, Hogue & Florez,

Diabetes is a prevalent health disparity among the Latino population. Diabetes is listed as the fifth leading cause of death among the Latino population in the website for Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, in 2009. According to McBean, “the 2001 prevalence among Hispanics was significantly higher than among blacks.” (2317) In other words among the Hispanic or Latino community, there is a higher occurrence of diabetes as compared to other racial/ethnic groups such as Blacks and Native Americans. The prevalence of diabetes among Latinos is attributed to the social determinants of health such as low socioeconomic status and level of education. Further, this becomes an important public health issue when it costs the

The Hispanic population is constantly growing and we have an estimated 13.7% of Hispanics making up the United States. “The annual percentage of patients with prediabetes in whom overt type 2 diabetes develops is about 5% in the general US population and may reach 15% in the Hispanic American population” (Idrogo & Mazze, 2004, para. 7). This a community health issue because of the percentage of Hispanic individuals that may end up with diabetes. These individuals need to be educated to help the promotion, protection, and maintenance of diabetes in this group. That is why I have created the intervention program for this ethnic group.

The information cited in this paper provides an insight into the health disparities that exist in the Hispanic population. It shows that Hispanics have increased rates of health problems when compared to other racial groups in the United States. These disparities have been shown to be connected to socioeconomic status. The information cited in this paper show that Hispanics have lower socioeconomic status than whites and their low socioeconomic status is implicated as a risk factor for health status. Furthermore, Hispanics face increased barriers to accessing care, receive poorer quality care, and ultimately experience worse health outcomes. For example, Hispanics have higher morbidity rates for diabetes, obesity, cancer, asthma and proliferative

Type II diabetes is a disease that affects millions of people in the United States and is also a disease that is continually growing in numbers. The cost of the individual and national health care systems is also a number that is growing. Policy for prevention of diabetes and pre-diabetes is something that while has changed some in the past, has been basically the same for the past 20-25 yeas. This disease affects many throughout the country, but effects those in the middle and lower classes due to the cost of eating healthier being greater than the alternative and also due to the fact that these groups are less likely to go for routine health care.

The Hispanic community is the largest minority in the USA and the fastest growing, It is also one with a high incidence of preventable diseases such as diabetes, periodontitis, colorectal cancer and HIV. Obesity and teenage pregnancy are significantly more prevalent in Hispanic population as well. (Crowie, 1989) Reasons for this discrepancy are many and varied, so different and varied approaches will be needed. Addressing their health care makes good public health and economic sense.

The medical conditions associated with Latinos include diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. Diabetes is a large problem for Latino communities: it affects them almost double the amount that it does non-Hispanic whites (Rodriguez, 2013). Although there is no cure for diabetes, it can be treated and controlled. A large problem with this is that 25% of Latina women do not believe there is a problem with their weight and see being overweight as “normal” while only 15% of non-Latino white women (Rodriguez, 2013). This creates an idea that since there is no problem, there is nothing to fix; Latinos believe they do not have to visit a healthcare professional to either test for diabetes or to treat it if they are aware they have the condition.

In the assigned reading article, researchers propose that minority populaces are at higher risk for diabetes than the social majority. This risk is directly linked to a decreased sense of educational attainment and high levels of

According to Healthy People 2020 (2014), diabetes affects over 29 million people in the United States, with another estimated 28 percent of the population having undiagnosed cases. Of those at risk, African Americans are almost 2 times more likely to be diagnosed as opposed to their Caucasian counterparts. Many preventable associated factors include limited knowledge regarding disease processes, healthy diet, and limited knowledge of one’s own body. Our goal is to provide our African American community the opportunity to learn more about diabetes and how to reduce the risk of type II diabetes and signs and symptoms of diabetes during a community event.

In order to create change healthcare providers must work together to educate their communities. According to a study found that Type 2 Diabetes is the highest among all Hispanic/Latino groups in which 16.9 percent for both men and ladies, contrasted with 10.2 percent for non-Hispanic whites. It is evident communities are not being educated on preventing Type 2 Diabetes and their risks (American Diabetes Association, 2014). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the summary of the teaching plan, epidemiological rationale for topic, evaluation of teaching experience, community response to teaching, areas of strengths and areas of improvement.