Socioeconomic Status and Prevalence of Obesity
This research article covered a
study that was done from 2004 to 2007 in Cameron County, Texas. This county is
near the border of Mexico and has a large Mexican American population. The
population of people surveyed was 810 Mexican American people aged 35 to 64
years old. The study documented statistics that the Mexican American population
was at a higher risk for obesity, and wanted to test if any minor economic
advantages had any affect on health factors such as obesity and diabetes.
Various factors can affect obesity
and the health of a population. These can range from economic class to the
country a studied population is from, and the culture surrounding that area.
Rates of obesity in bordering areas to Mexico are found to be some of the
highest in the whole United States (Fisher-Hoch et al., 2010). The study was documented in a way that
randomly selected the participants, and then divided them into four
socioeconomic strata (SES).
This study (Fisher-Hoch et al.,
2010) found that those participants belonging to the lower socioeconomic
classes had significantly amplified chances of having undiagnosed diabetes,
while people in the higher classes were significantly less likely to have undiagnosed
diabetes. They also found that an improvement in income had a positive
beneficial impact on health in this community. Furthermore, rates of obesity
with a BMI of ≥30 kg/m^2 was 57% in the lower four socioeconomic divisions
(Fisher-Hoch et al., 2010).
Even the poor in the United States
are among some of the most obese people in the world, and this amount of
obesity is caused by multiple factors. These include the fact that cheap food
is particularly calorie dense, but often nutritionally deficient. In addition, cheap
food is also very convenient to obtain in the United States and affordable, but
depending on the food it can be more time consuming to make. For example, rice
and beans are cheap, nonetheless take time to prepare, while buying an also equally
cheap meal at McDonald’s is very unhealthy, but requires no preparation on your
part.
Another issue of obesity is malnutrition. Even if a person doesn’t appear
obese or unhealthy to the naked eye, it does not guarantee they are in optimal
health. They could appear “skinny” but be deficient in essential vitamins and
minerals. All these factors lead to obesity in American Populations, but
Mexican American populations are particularly hit hard by these factors because
of their proximity to low income areas in Mexico, the socioeconomic statuses of
many of the population, and some may be immigrants from Mexico and not
settled into life in the United States yet.
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Fisher-Hoch, S. P.,
Rentfro, A. R., Wilson, J. G., Salinas, J. J., Reininger, B. M., Restrepo, B.
I., ... & Hanis, C. M. (2010). Peer Reviewed: Socioeconomic Status and
Prevalence of Obesity and Diabetes in a Mexican American Community, Cameron
County, Texas, 2004-2007. Preventing chronic disease,7(3).
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While reading this I thought you did well in explaining the relationship between socioeconomic class and obesity rates. This post was also informative in discussing the possible implications of obesity, such as diabetes and malnutrition.
ReplyDeleteIs there any possible misinformation given to make this point in the study? Overall was convincing.
ReplyDeleteHow might socioeconomic status and obesity be correlated? Maybe lack of access to good healthcare? Or that cheaper foods might tend to be less healthy?
ReplyDeleteI'm from one of the counties adjacent to Cameron County and have seen this reality firsthand. The prevalence of obesity along the border of Mexico is strong, and it's an area of the country that is among the poorest, least educated, and highest concentration of minorities. I'm sure obesity rates would be similar in other low income, minority areas of the country, which speaks volumes about the way the U.S. handles healthcare and availability of healthy foods. Many of these areas are also food deserts.
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