Obesity is a rising crisis in the United States and it has contributed to about 18% of the deaths that have occured in America (Blumenthal, M.D 2018)
About 78% of the Hispanics in the United States are either obese or overweight (Smith 2015). One of the causes of this obesity is food insecurity. Food insecurity is defined as not having access to sufficient amount of food (Hunger + Health). “In 2014, an estimated 22.4 percent of Hispanic-headed households were considered “food insecure.” (Nevarez 2015). These food insecure homes find it very difficult to provide food for their families because of low socioeconomic status.
Socioeconomic status is a serious issue that has caused consequential effects to those that fall under the category of low economic status. Obesity and socioeconomic status have a prominent relationship that everyone should be aware of. Supporting prevailing evidence indicates that socioeconomic status causes obesity among the Hispanic community because low socioeconomic status leads to food insecurity which have led to maladaptive behaviors such as stress.
People who suffer from food insecurity are primarily people who define themselves as having low economic status. A scholarly article titled “Household food insecurity as a determinant of overweight and obesity among low-income Hispanic subgroups” by Smith, who attended the College of Public Health, revealed that the relationship between obesity and food insecurity within the Hispanic community in California involved those who have a low income (Smith 2015). In this particular study, “weighted multiple logistic regressions demonstrated that household food insecurity causes obesity” (Smith 2015). Food insecurity led to obesity because foods that are typically high in calories and low in nutrients cost much less than foods that are low in calories and high in nutrition. The data was collected from the adult portion of the 2011–2012 California Health Interview Survey, which is “a biennial population-based random-digit-dial telephone survey” that is primarily for California's population and it is continually done every two years (Smith 2015). Because the survey was conducted using a random participants, it made it inevitable for the sample to be bias. The study uncovered that there is a crucial relationship between food insecurity and obesity more specifically among Mexican women in the sample of California but a relationship between food insecurity and obesity was not indicated for Mexican men (Smith 2015) (Jordan 2016). The relationship between socioeconomic status and obesity among Mexican-American women is caused by factors such as: physiological, psycho-social-cultural acts and behavior.
Although the study was not given to just parents, the relationship between obesity and socioeconomic status among Mexican-American Women and Mexican-American men could be caused by maternal behavior (Smith 2015). Low income Mexican-American women who qualified and have used “Women, Infants and Children”, a program that provides government grants to help the mothers afford supplemental food , are more likely to worry more about their children not having enough food (Smith 2015). These women who stress over inadequate amount of food within their household tend to overeat because of stress and anxiety which causes them to gain weight (Smith 2015). Another possible reason for men not demonstrating a relationship between socioeconomic status and obesity is because usually men who are have a low economic status have more labor jobs.
The maladaptive behaviors that come along with low socioeconomic status are very concerning. A scholarly article titled “Psychological Stresses associated with obesity and diet quality in Hispanic/ Latino adults” revealed that high levels of stress from low socioeconomic status cause maladaptive eating behaviors that cause obesity (Isasi 2015). The study took 5077 women and men participants from the ages of 18 to 74. The participants in the study were from different hispanic nationalities.The study was tested using a linear regression model to demonstrate the association between stress and obesity (Isasi 2015). The conclusion of the study was that there was a positive correlation between greater stress and obesity among the Hispanic populations.
There has been great amounts of evidence that defend the relationship between stress and obesity among the adult population. New evidence has demonstrated that their is a cross-section between the parental stress produced by adults and obesity in children (Isasi 2015). Latino parents who have reported high levels of stress are unfortunately more likely to have children that are obese (Isasi 2015). This new claim was investigated by Carmen Isasi MD, PhD. Isasi is from Albert Einstein College of Medicine which is found in New York. Isasi examined the data of latinos living in Chicago, Miami, The Bronx and San Diego. Isasi discovered that “Obesity and chronic stress were both prevalent among this Latino population, with more than one-quarter (28%) of children ages 8-16 with obesity, and nearly one-third (29%) of their parents reporting high levels of stress,” (Isasi 2015). Isasi’s team examined the weight of the children and the stress of the parents. The weight of the children was observed using the centers for disease control and prevention guidelines and the stress was evaluated using the chronic stress Burden Scale which is “a scale that measures eight items of stress that may include a hard time at work..” (Isasi 2015). This study depicted that obesity occurrence increased with parental stress.
To have a nutritional diet cost money and this article acknowledges the cost effectiveness of a nutritional diet and how important the governance of the food market and food supply is. There are many obstacles that are barriers between obtaining nutritional foods. The control of nutritional policies is ideal to help block obesity from occurring (Lobstein 2015). Food supply markets should not be managed by multinational corporations because ultimately their only concern is financially benefiting from the items they sell and not promoting healthy foods (Lobstein 2015). The accessibility to healthy foods will decrease obesity greatly. Accessibility to healthy foods will allow people to make better choices on the quality of foods they put into their bodies. Obesity is a concerning issue all over the world because it leads to many health problems that can unfortunately become fatal such as high cholesterol and blood pressure. Maintaining a healthy weight is something that all people should strive to obtain to help prevent this disease from growing.
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Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status and Obesity among Hispanic Populations.
(2022, Jun 29). Edubirdie. Retrieved April 20, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/relationship-between-socioeconomic-status-and-obesity-among-hispanic-populations/
“Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status and Obesity among Hispanic Populations.” Edubirdie, 29 Jun. 2022, edubirdie.com/examples/relationship-between-socioeconomic-status-and-obesity-among-hispanic-populations/
Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status and Obesity among Hispanic Populations. [online].
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Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status and Obesity among Hispanic Populations [Internet]. Edubirdie.
2022 Jun 29 [cited 2024 Apr 20].
Available from: https://edubirdie.com/examples/relationship-between-socioeconomic-status-and-obesity-among-hispanic-populations/
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