High-Risk Nutritional Practices of African American and American Children

High-Risk Nutritional Practices
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High-Risk Nutritional Practices
In the world today, people practice different nutritional behaviors which continue to change with the information that is made available. The eating habits of people continue to be influenced by factors such as education, changing times, family factors, and finally culture. Often, people pick or adopt habits while growing up and tend to stick with these habits to their old age unless they move to a different place and are forced to learn different things. What the above statement implies is that one’s habits get to change only when culture changes or when the external environment changes. Culture and nutrition go hand in hand meaning that the latter is greatly influenced by the former. However, what many communities or societies fail to realize is that their nutritional practices greatly influences their health. What people choose to eat or drink regardless of their cultural practices will, in the end, determine how healthy they turn out to be. There are some cultures which practice healthy nutritional habits. However, the majority do not know or understand how important it is to practice healthy nutritional habits. In the end, society ends up with a large number of people with issues like cardiovascular diseases and obesity. This paper seeks to address some of the high-risk nutritional practices in two cultures while trying to understand the historical perspectives and belief systems that influence the high-risk nutritional behaviors in these cultures.
Summary of the high-risk nutritional behaviors practiced among two or three different cultures
African American Culture
High-risk nutritional practices among African Americans have become rampant over the past few years. This has led to an increase in a number of issues including obesity as well as cardiovascular diseases. As per the CDC fact sheet (2014), “Americans suffer more than 1.5 million heart attacks and strokes” every year. The article continues to say that “nearly 44% of African American men and 48% of African American women have some form of cardiovascular disease that includes heart disease and stroke.” One should keep in mind that African Americans are not the largest race in the United States. So, such percentages show that the community does need a change in its nutritional practices. When it comes to obesity, the statistics about African Americans are shocking as well. As per the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (2017), “in 2015, African Americans were 1.4 times as likely to be obese as non-Hispanic whites.” These are numbers which showcase how the community needs to change its nutritional practices.
In the African American culture, it is customary to adopt diets which are high in total fat, salt, lower fiber, and saturated fat. A good example of a food that is popular among the African American community is soul food. Belle (2007) notes that “soul food typically involves fried foods and lots of fatty meats prepared with rich gravies.” Soul food is quite popular among African Americans, and even though it is not healthy, it is still difficult to dissuade or discoura...