Obesity: The Weight of the Matter by Cynthia J. Hickman (1221 hits)
The Fort Bend County Black Nurses Association celebrates the 10th anniversary of their fight against today's most serious public health problem, obesity.
It is often said, "We are a product of our environments." In many respects this is true. In the African American culture, we tend to embrace the habits and behaviors of our surroundings. We don't think of our childhood or adulthood lifestyles as unhealthy because we tend to repeat the behaviors we have always known.
Fast-paced and stressful workdays, a lack of physical activity, poor nutritional choices, and sedentary downtime are all factors that have led to skyrocketing levels of obesity, but are the norm in the American lifestyle. Consequently, problems like hypertension, heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, some forms of cancer, pulmonary disease, depression, and conditions involving the musculoskeletal system plague obese populations. Additionally, the study of obesity reflects underlying economic and income inequalities, community disadvantages, and social class divisions. With the rapidly increasing pace of obesity, the weight of the matter is both individual and societal.
