Obesity among African-Americans in the United States (Essay Sample)

Obesity among The African-American Community
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Introduction
According to Redinger (2007), obesity refers to an exaggeration of the normal fat content of the body. Redinger further explains that this exaggeration of the body fat content leads to various complications such as "diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and atherosclerosis." (Redinger, 2007). He adds that obesity also contributes to metabolic dysfunction, which involve fats and glucose, which in turn causes dysfunctional cardiac rhythms, liver, intestinal, endocrine, and reproductive systems complications. Obesity has become a phenomenon in today’s world. Almost all parts of the world experience the obesity problem. This essay will highlight the obesity problem in the world, but more specifically among the African Americans living in the USA. The aim is to analyze the extent of the problem among the chosen population, the causes of obesity, and the potential remedies that would address this problem effectively. Specifically, this essay will analyze how lack of access to adequate health care facilitates obesity among the African American population. In addition, this essay will critic the suggested remedies to determine the strengths and weaknesses of each, and will finally recommend what, in the opinion of the author, is the most practical remedy.
Obesity among African-Americans in the United States
In the United States of America, the obesity situation is similar to that in the UK, where the population of the obese population has doubled over the last twenty-five years (Noo.org.uk, 2015). According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, today, almost two-thirds of all men and women in the UK are overweight. According to US News and World Report (2011), the number of obese persons in the UK is expected to rise to 26 million from the previous 15 million figure.
The situation is similar in the US. According to a study conducted between the years 1988 to 2008, obesity in the US has risen by double digits. The study predicts that the number of people who suffer from obesity will rise from the current 100 million, which was the figure that the study reported in 2008, to about 165 million people that will be obese in 2030. The report also indicates that the US and the UK have the highest number of obese people as compared with the other members of the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) (US News & World Report, 2011). The population of obese people in the United States will rise from the current 32% to about 50% for men and from 35% to about 50% for women (US News & World Report, 2011).
According to Leslie Friday (2012) obesity among the adult population of the African American population stands at 70%. Of these, four out of five adult African-American women are obese. These data are obtained from the Center for Disease Control. According to Black Women Health Study, a study that has been tracking the health of 59,000 black women, breast cancer, diabetes, and glaucoma are more prevalent among the black women as compared to the white women.
In his article, Bernstein (2011) explains that of all the obese people in the United States, the African-American population obesity levels supersede the other ethnic groups. 16.1% of African American men are overweight, and 78% of the women are either obese or mildly overweight. These data are obtained from the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Lack of adequate access to health facilities, culture, the environment, and upbringing of the African American population contribute to their high levels of obesity (Bernstein, 2011). He explains that African-American adults have been culturally programmed to tolerate being overweight. He asserts that the African-American culture accepts larger body sizes. He further explains that there are stereotypes that suggest that black women are generally built differently from white women. These stereotypes serve to encourage women to put up with obesity at their own detriment.
Melnyk and Weinstein (2012), who assert that cultural tolerance of overweightness has facilitated the increase of obesity, especially, among women, corroborate Bernstein’s assertions. She further states that the family and social network have a crucial task to disseminate health education to the women to combat the growing levels of obesity. In addition, she offers that obesity can be eliminated if obesity-reducing programs can be applied during the adolescent years of the women.
Inadequate Health Care Access Influence on Obesity
Inadequate access to healthcare is among the main reasons that have been identified as contributing to the obesity menace among the African-American community. This inadequacy of access to health care arises from healthcare disparities that serve to enhance the difficulty of accessing healthcare services especially among the minorities, where the African-Americans fall. Some of the healthcare disparities that affect access to health care services among the African-American population include racism in the healthcare industry, existence of "food desserts" in minority neighborhoods, and lack of insurance cover among the African-American population.
Racism affects the quality of health care services that the white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and other persons obtain. This fact was concluded in a study that was conducted recently.
"For instance, new studies have shown that there are stark differences in health outcomes of black and white patients with the same conditions even when they are treated by the same doctor. Studies have shown that diagnoses, treatments, and quality of care can vary greatly depending on a number of factors that affect minority communities including language barriers, lack of insurance coverage, and differential treatments based on the population group." (Medicareadvocacy.org, 2015)
When this differential treatment happens, the obese people fail to obtain the support and medical attention that is supposed to alleviate their problem. In fact, racism has been shown to contribute to obesity by facilitating depression. "Psychological and social factors also have an impact. Women who report more experiences of racism have been shown to be more likely to become obese," (Zimmerman, 2012).
Food desserts also affect the quality of health that most minorities face. Food Desserts refer to neighborhoods that lack fresh produce such as fruit and vegetable due to poor transport and supporting infrastructure. People living in such neighborhoods are forced to eat unhealthy foods that contribute to the obesity problem because they have little or no access to healthy foods (Medicareadvocacy.org, 2015).
Lack of health insurance is another major cause of obesity in the sense that the minority, especially African-Americans, who are very poor, lack the necessary funding to afford medical insurance. In fact, nearly one-third of all African-Americans were uninsured in the years 2007 and 2008, as was discovered by a study that was conducted then. The income levels, with those in the lower income brackets failing to afford the health insurance policies, which are deemed expensive, influence lack of insurance (Medicareadvocacy.org, 2015).
Addressing the Obesity Problem
To address the obesity problem among the African American community, various authors have suggested possible approaches that may address the problem. Family and social networks could be utilized to disseminate the crucial health education that would serve to assist the obese people address the problem. Social networks may disseminate information concerning the dangers of obesity, and offer guidance and counselling services. Guidance and counselling services would greatly assist some individuals whose obesity arises from discrimination and other social-economic factors. There is need to fund small and local level initiatives to help people make the changes that their lives need (Zimmerman, 2012).
In addition, there is need to eliminate health disparities and inequities. This may be achieved by enhancing social justice mechanisms. Social justice refers to the equitable distribution of the societies benefits, duties, obligations, and the consequences they have on the communities. Therefore, social justice may be used to alleviate the racism and health disparities that facilitates differential treatment in healthcare. Social justice may be useful in altering social policies in healthcare to ensure that only policies that are positively responsive of the needs of the entire society are adopted (Medicareadvocacy.org, 2015).
The Pros of Using Social Networks and Social Justice to Resolve the Obesity Problem
Social justice mechanisms and social networks are effective in addressing the obesity problem, each in its own way. Social networks, for instance, may be effective in ensuring a communal and society based approach towards solving the obesity problem. The social networks may be important in disseminating life changing information to the obese people. For instance, they may be vital in sensitizing people about their right to adequate health, and information on where they may obtain these services.
Social justice mechanisms on their part may be crucial in ensuring that social policies are adopted and implemented in a way that addresses the circumstances of every individual. For instance, the government may enforce strict non-discrimination policies. When non-discrimination policies are implemented, access to health care would be facilitated for all individuals, especially the African-Americans suffering from obesity.
The Cons of using Social Networks and Social Justice Mechanisms
Using social networks and social justice mechanisms can be expensive and slow. Rallying people together towards a common underta...