preview

The Constraints of Poverty Essay

Decent Essays

The constraints of poverty can cause a cycle of poor mental and physical heath (Dittmann, 2003). Poverty causes many problems for the people facing it up front everyday. Not only do they go without many necessities, they also face a tremendous amount of stress all the time. The amount of stress combined with the lack of necessities produces extreme health problems. Poor people have to deal with an unhealthy living environment that creates serious mental and physical health problems.

Economic status definitely effects health in many ways. Most people in poverty don't exactly live in the best areas. Actually, many of them reside in some of the worst places imaginable. Imagine being so afraid to walk out of your front door …show more content…

Since most people in poverty lack exercise and healthy meals they are more likely to be obese. Children are more likely to be obese because the parks are too dangerous for them to play in and the under-funded schools in the area are less likely to have physical education programs and after school programs. Bad living conditions combined with poor nutrition increases the probability that poor people will contract a disease. Also, poor people are more likely to smoke in return causing cancer and other ailments. Early pregnancies, linked to lack of education and unemployment, occur more frequently in underprivileged women, resulting in more poverty and decreasing the likelihood that mother and child will escape a life of poverty. Poor children are more likely to face continuing obstacles to success: schools that aren't conductive to learning, and neighborhoods with high levels of violence, asthma-inducing pathogens, and unsafe play areas (Hébert, 2003). Consequently, more poverty is created which produces more problems. High unemployment rates, stress, and many other problems create tension in within the homes of poor people that leads to abuse. Abuse is another problem that many unfortunate people have to deal with constantly. Violence and abuse experiences are both precursors to and concomitants of mental and behavioral disorders (qtd. in Myers & Gill, 2004).

Along with violence and abuse, the stress from existing in a life full of

Get Access