Seek the Truth
by Yugen
Fardan Rashad |
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Research teaches that the first rule to good health begins with what we eat. That means counting calories; stay hydrated with water and fluids, and choosing to eat fresh fruits, vegetable, meat, poultry, or seafood. Additionally, eating at regular times daily, and watching those in between snacks. We also know access to nutritionally rich foods is a problem, depending on what part of town you live in. Fast, cheap foods are more readily available in areas where low-incomes and high unemployment exist that guides and shape choices. Yet, there are general rules to follow even when taste supersedes nutrition.
As we grow older, the body’s metabolism slows, which is a culprit for chronic disease. Does this mean carrying a few extra pounds, like most of us do, is a bad choice? Besides, conventional wisdom says a larger body mass ward off disease. But what we also need to know is a larger body makes you a risk factor for heart disease, stroke, kidney problems, and diabetes. And for some men erectile dysfunction is often an overlooked symptom of a diabetic condition, according to Diabetes Health Center at Oregon Health & Science University.
In older adults inactivity, and unregulated food intake can lead to obesity. According to the BMI (body mass index) a formula (weight and height) can reveal if one is at a higher risk. Obesity is defined as 20 percent greater than the desirable weight. Overweight is an increased body weight above the standard defined in relation to height and sex.
(Go to http://www.nhibisupport.com/bmi/ - enter height (feet, inches) and weight).
On the average most Americans spend more time sitting then most other industrialized nations. So, when you measure food intake versus physical inactivity, and the number of hours we spend sitting in our cars, at the computer, or in front of the television, a sedentary lifestyle is a risk factor to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. According to research more then one third of American adults are overweight or obese.
A 1997 intentional statement from the World Health Organization (WHO) summarized that “…the principal causes of the accelerating obesity problem worldwide are sedentary lifestyles, high-fat, and energy dense diets.” For some populations the impact is alarming. That would be Americans.
Control for social economic status (SES), the stats show overweight among Black women (64.5), followed by Hispanic women (56.8), White women (43 percent) and Asian Pacific Islanders (25.2). But obesity estimates reveal that black women (33.2) almost double that of white women (17.3). Even here the bad news doesn’t stop. A recent report indicates almost 80 percent of adult black females are overweight or obese, compared to 62 percent of the total female population.
According the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, poor diet is cited as the culprit why since the 1960s black women are getting shorter. While family heredity, racism, unemployment, and health care access are determinates, food choices play a major role and a gateway to chronic disease.
Ironically the pharmaceutical industry creates apathy with a marketing campaign that promotes popping pills as the silver bullet for treating everything from a headache, to weight loss, and hair growth.
But nothing succeeds like prevention and healthy food intake, and physical activity. Not to ignore the value of regular medical check-ups, which will reduce emergency room visits – that will break the risk cycle which leads to chronic conditions. This points to a serious need for more education, prevention, and improved access to fresh food, healthcare, and a re-ordering of the built environment.
While the government has a role to play, state and county health departments are taking measures in this area to change the built environment and make it easier to for access to fresh fruits and vegetable, and menu labeling for most chain restaurants. Profit margins play a key role in why cheap and non-nutritional foods are more attractive and consumed by poor segments of the population, which register higher percentages of health disparities.
The organic and natural food movement is beginning to raise the dual impact production of processed food has on people and the ecosystem. Our society is very efficient at producing cheap, abundant food that is also unhealthy for the environment.
Changes are in the works in terms of what’s available at your corner convenience stores, where you find high volumes of cigarette and alcohol ads, and virtually no access to fresh fruits, veggies, meats, and poultry.
Healthcare savings is the engine to drive reform in these areas that ultimately will reduce alarming disparities among underserved populations with poor access to healthy foods and medical care.
Even while there is a linkage to mental health, the criminal justice system, and education, moving further upstream to normalize access to fresh foods and making them affordable, is the difference these healthy options will provide.
On an individual level, watching calories, limiting TV viewing time, walking or riding a bike, and paying closer attention to the relationship between emotions and eating can make a big difference in weight, and an improvement in health.
Yugen Fardan Rashad’s writings deal with culture, aesthetics and spirituality. His topics, opinions and insights pay homage to the scholarly search for truth, which leads to personal responsibility and preservation of community life.
