Nursing Research About High-Risk Nutritional Practices

HIGH-RISK NUTRITION CULTURES
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High-Risk Nutritional Cultures Around the World
Healthy nutrition is an important part of a healthy society. Cultural factors influence the nutritional intake among members of diverse communities based on social, political, geographical and economic factors. Almost all communities have common menus loosely referred to as cuisines. Any community therefore has a standard cuisine which influences their standard nutritional intake and influences the average health standards of that community. High risk nutrition can be driven by cultural factors which are pertinent to a specific community. Communities with high-risk diet have common factors that influence their affinity to the specific menu that lacks recommended quality and quantity of nutritional value. High risk diet can lead to obesity of underweight issues and the conditions associated with these conditions thereof. Thus, the purpose of this essay is to examine ten cultures that expose its people to high risk nutritional behaviors and the factors pertinent to them thereof.
Nauru
Nauru is a tiny island country in the south pacific that has become the fattest nation on earth. The country has an average body mass index of 34-35 which is alarmingly high CITATION Kha11 \l 1033 (Khambalia, et al., 2011). The tiny island has a population of less than 10000 people and its health problem has started affecting the social and economic development of the country. the obesity trend stemmed from importation of western fast food. The food was paid by proceeds from their phosphate mining economic activity and in relatively short period of time the whole island caught on. Popular western foods with high calorie value like chicken and cola became a norm and led to its current health crisis. Scientists also show that these islanders are genetically wired to be obese which further escalated the obesity issue. Currently, the nation is struggling with obesity related conditions like diabetes and huge resources being channeled to create awareness and reverse the trend.
American Samoa
American Samoa is a pacific island controlled by the united states. It has a population of roughly 700,000 people. 658,000 of the Samoans are overweight or obese which is a worrying trend CITATION Hel13 \l 1033 (Collis, 2013). Recently, the problem became so dire that airlines operating to this tiny island started charging an extra fee for overweight people. The overweight trend in this island is fueled by their appetite for imported food which is mainly highly calorific. Almost all of the food here is imported and expensive, so fast food chains are popular because of their fixed, low-cost menus. These factors coupled with relatively poor population who opt to consume food from the fast food chains has escalated the obesity problem. Just like Nauru, scientists have tracked down a gene in this country that is responsible for increased body mass CITATION Rya16 \l 1033 (Minster, et al., 2016). This gene coupled with the nation’s appetite for imported food mainly fast foods, has booked the people as one of the fattest nations on earth. Notably, traditional Samoa diet is rich in fiber and healthier than the fast food options.
Marshall Islands...