Age and Socio Economic Issues as Risk Factors of Obesity

There are many diseases that have taken over, some are even considered epidemics. In the U.S. some of the deadliest diseases that are taking over are obesity and cardiovascular diseases. Both of these diseases are actually very related. People that are overweight or obese are in danger of having heart problems in the future. They are in danger of suffering more because of the unhealthy habits they have had their entire lives. There are many risks into becoming obese some of the big ones are social and economic issues, age, lack of sleep, pregnancy, family lifestyle, inactivity, unhealthy dieting, medical problems, smoking and many more. So the question is how can we do better as a country, as parents, as family members to save our friends and loved ones from getting obese? Obesity can harm anyone that does not take care of themselves, even children. It is up to the parents to inform and educate their kids on healthy habits and healthy eating. Parents are failing to do this, which is making more children overweight and obese. Obesity and the illnesses like diabetes, hypertension, strokes are created by unhealthy living, but also what else? Is it in our foods? Can the dead animals and all the chemicals that are inserted in them affect us? The answer is definitely, the government has tricked many humans into thinking we need meat, dairy, and some sort of protein to be healthy, but those are the foods that cause us to become more overweight. They cause us to get diabetes, and many other deadly diseases.

The diabetes industry is one of the wealthiest industries in the world, because many people spend money in medicines, treatment, and dieting. The thing that a lot of us need to get informed on is what we are consuming, and how unhealthy some of the foods that we have had all of our lives can cause us to get diabetes, cancer, and many other health issues. As people what we need to do better is take classes on nutrition, because nutrition is something so important for all of us to stay healthy and sane. I am not one to force a certain lifestyle on someone, but I think it is really important that people know that they do not only need meat or poultry to get their protein. They need plants, fruits, and carbs to have a good diet without getting diabetes. When pigs, cows, or any other animals are being killed many do contain diseases, but what do butchers do? Cut out the cancer or anything else that is infected. Meat contamination can cause death, yet many love it and praise it. Animal meat contains bacteria, hormones, and other toxins that can cause death. More disgusting to discuss is how these animals die simply because farming is one of the most successful business, they even sponsor big associations like the American diabetes association, and the cancer associations. Are these associations okay with everything that causes harm being fed to the American people? It seems like they do not care as long as the money is flowing in.

Age

The two risk factors that are truly scary to me have to be how age and social and economic issues affect humans. No matter the age, anyone can get obese. To me it is insane that parents do not learn about certain foods they are making for their kids, I do not understand why they put their children in danger when they feed them fast food, microwave foods, or food that they think are healthy, but are actually the most dangerous. The World Health Organization (WHO) has named red meat and processed meat as carcinogens, yet this food is highly eaten daily and encouraged to be eaten because meat is protein. Websites like American cancer society and American diabetes society still encourage others to eat meat. To me it is very confusing because people that are supposed to be helping us, are actually making us obese. There are many people who are in danger when they follow what the doctors say, people that are important to me are tricked into this as well. As a future educator, I want to be one that knows everything that can harm my future students or kids of my own. I never really knew about the harms meat and dairy do, I always thought they were healthy for us, but as soon as I got informed I tried a plant based diet and it honestly changed my life. The most important we can do for children is make them follow a healthier diet, of course we should not limit all of their favorite foods, but we should limit what we know harms them. We must also involve our children in physical activity, if they do not want to do it, we must encourage them. We must keep our future leaders healthy.

Adults are in the verge of getting obese soon as well, because I know when someone starts growing they let go of taking care of themselves, they do not stay in shape as they should, they do not keep up with a healthy diet. Adults are in more risk of getting diabetes and heart diseases if they do not take care of themselves. The behaviors that contribute to obesity in adulthood are people who do not put time for physical activity, especially in the generation where most of their jobs are desk jobs. Desk jobs are some of the jobs that contribute to making someone get obese or unhealthy. Older people that already have medical issues will fall into obesity more than others because doing simple tasks like walking, running, is already a hassle for them which is very sad because many want to have a healthier life in order to be alive to watch their family grow. Adults and children of color are more likely to experience obesity, people of the social status they are in, and because some of them cannot afford medicines, dietitians, or any sort of treatment. In my own experience I have seen a group amount of my family members get diabetes, or hypertension, it is truly devastating because I have a cousin that is just 5 years older than me already lose most of his sight. I have seen my grandpa get stomach cancer, and honestly seeing that was so heartbreaking because there is truly nothing else we could do to help him. The only advice I want adults and older people to do, is take care of their diets, and maybe cut out some bad foods. Age is something that we all take for granted, especially our bodies, we should never stop taking care of our bodies, and we should always strive to be healthier than the day before, it is possible. We must take care of the future generation, the older generation, and our generation no matter what.

Social and Economic Issues

Poverty is always something that is looked down on, because it is something that can easily affect anyone. One mistake can ruin everything, losing a job can cause a whole family to go down as well. People who are middle class are in danger of being more obese, simply because they do not have the resources wealthier families do. They cannot easily get chefs, or nutritionists to help them and their kids. They cannot afford all the vitamins, and medicines that they need. As someone that was born into a middle class family I have struggled and so has my family. We have all fallen to obesity at one point in our family because of how expensive healthier foods are, fruits and vegetables are more expensive than frozen meals or snacks. Being in a family with parents of color I know they struggled way more than others to make ends need. Lower income people tend to be obese, than higher income people. Higher income people can afford gym memberships, they can afford organic food, they can afford some of the best treatment to maintain a healthy lifestyle. On the other hand, there are people that survive on food stamps, there is definitely people who buy fast food simply because it is quick and fast food is honestly cheaper than the ingredients to make a healthy meal which is honestly insane to me. Health insurance is also granted to the ones that can afford it, without health insurance many people struggle in knowing if they are decent in their weight, some live with diseases and they may never get the care they need. United States needs to do better in taking care of everyone, not just the wealthy.

My parents always taught me to never leave a plate full, this is so unhealthy especially at a young age. This is definitely a culture thing, especially with Hispanics and Blacks. This is why we are some of the people that have way more diseases and are more obese than white people.

We cook our food with love, and we must love that food and leave nothing behind. Although, culture is a beautiful thing there is some toxic parts about it, especially when the food is the toxic part. As someone that has experienced the pressure of always eating everything I want to be an someone who can spread knowledge to our family members, and to everyone in the world with these things, we must be healthier and change some of our ways. We must not force all kids to finish everything on the plate. Culture indeed divides us, other people see blacks and Hispanics as the ones that are always sick, we are the ones that need more welfare, the ones that are going to be the failures. We are identified as the ones who have to work twice as harder to make it, we are the ones that go through the struggle. There has to be more people that care, in the future I would love to see doctors and nutritionists go out to these neighborhoods and inform people. This would be such a huge advancement, nobody really goes to the lower income homes because one thing, they are scared. People in these areas just need more information on what they can do to become healthier, people of color need to be looked at the same and they need to be helped because at the end of the day they are still citizens of America and should receive the same benefits everyone gets. We should receive all the information, and help we can from the government and we should appreciate instead of ignoring and abusing it. Although, most older generations are stubborn and do not want to take care of themselves or know what they can do better, the younger generation must stand with them and help because those are our parents, uncles, aunts.

Society does enough to make kids and teenagers feel fat, we must not make them feel worse, even if we think we are doing no harm. Society and economy are always going to be risk factors to being obese, where we live, how we live, how much money we make matters. What the US needs to do in the future, is have better healthcare, and it has to be affordable to everyone not just white people. The US has to focus on all their citizens, because nowadays they are just focusing on white people which is not the direction we need to be heading towards. As someone that is a minority I want to see change, I want to see our people understanding the risk factors that can lead to obesity. There has to be more awareness into social and economic statuses because we are the ones that are getting forgotten. I have seen many colored people get affected by these deadly diseases, I no longer want this to be a normal thing in our culture. I want us to be healthy, and get benefits that help us maintain a healthy diet. We must all unite and work harder and stricter to help people get healthy, and to end the obesity epidemic we have in our country.