Disparities in health and disease between various minorities, such as certain racial and ethnic groups, are the main focus of HealthNeedsRx as a whole. For many of the diseases and health issues that we discuss, diet and nutrition are key contributors. Therefore, in order to address and ultimately eliminate health disparities, it is important to understand how various factors, including diet and nutrition, contribute to these disparities. This article, written by Alexa Mendez, will tackle the disparities in diet and nutrition between racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. As we all know, the present-day United States is often regarded as a melting pot of different cultures and races. The US Census Bureau projects that by the year 2050, only 53% of the population will be non-Hispanic white (NHW) [5]. With the steady increase in non-white population, disparities, particularly in healthcare, affecting these populations have been uncovered in the past few years. Especially since people of color, especially Black, brown, and Indigenous people, are more likely to be poor, and low socioeconomic status has been known to lead to poorer healthcare and thus more diseases, it is important to investigate disparities affecting these vulnerable populations. First and foremost, in terms of diet-related disparities, they are formally defined as “differences in dietary intake, dietary behaviors, and dietary patterns in different segments of the population, resulting in poorer dietary quality and inferior health outcomes for certain groups and an unequal burden in terms of disease incidence, morbidity, mortality, survival, and quality of life.” Though racial minorities are likely to have poorer diets and therefore poorer nutrition, the link between diet-related disparities is more between socioeconomic groups than between racial groups [4]. In terms of diet and nutrition-related disparities, Black people are one of the most greatly-affected groups. According to the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey conducted in 2000, only 21.3% of African-Americans consumed fruits and vegetables more than 5 times per day, the lowest of any racial or ethnic group in the United States [4]. Furthemore, according to the results from the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey also conducted by the CDC, non-Hispanic Black people were 43% less likely than whites to meet USDA fruit and vegetable guidelines, while Hispanics were 5% less likely [6]. Additionally, there is also a disparity between immigrants and non-immigrants in terms of diet and nutrition in the US. A study conducted in 2006 found that Black Americans born in the US were more likely than both Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black people born outside the US to consume unhealthy amounts of total and saturated fats, as well as less fiber and calcium [3]. The disparities between immigrants and non-immigrants can be attributed to different cultures and eating habits in non-Western nations. Other countries typically house traditional food high in protein and produce levels, unlike the United States, which is notoriously known for many foods with high saturated fat, oil, sodium, and sugar content. Additionally, fast food and other unhealthy forms of junk food are cheaper and more accessible than fresh produce and healthier alternatives, meaning that those who are poor are more likely to be unhealthy. As previously stated, the link between race and diet-/nutrition-related disparities can more likely be attributed to socioeconomic factors, primarily education and income. In prior articles, it has been suggested that effects of socioeconomic disparities are greater than those of racial or ethnic disparities [1], [2]. Though economic status is more obviously connected to nutrition, even education can affect this as well. For example, the level of education impacts knowledge of official dietary recommendations and which foods are healthy or not. Also, level of education coincides greatly with income, thus feeding into the cycle of poverty and therefore poor diets. Also worth noting is the role of environmental factors in diet and nutrition-related disparities. Factors such as proximity to fast food restaurants, convenience of purchasing healthy foods, access to healthy foods, and cost of healthy foods, arguably are the greatest contributions to these disparities [4]. All in all, the racial and ethnic disparity in diet and nutrition can be mainly attributed to racial disparities in socioeconomic situations more so than racial concerns. However, this problem is still one that should be addressed. The most appropriate way to address disparities concerning diet and nutrition is to help bring healthier food into poorer, more vulnerable communities, especially communities of color. Though it is understandable that prices of fresh produce cannot be drastically reduced, America must take big strides towards improving global health by ultimately making healthy food and health/nutrition education more accessible to all. Works Cited:
Adler, Nancy, and David Rehkopf. “U.S. Disparities in Health: Descriptions, Causes, and Mechanisms.” Annual Review of Public Health, vol. 29, no. 1, 2008, pp. 235–52. Crossref, doi:10.1146/annurev.publhealth.29.020907.090852. Bahr, Peter Riley. “Race and Nutrition: An Investigation of Black-White Differences in Health-Related Nutritional Behaviours.” Sociology of Health & Illness, vol. 29, no. 6, 2007, pp. 831–56. Crossref, doi:10.1111/j.1467-9566.2007.01049.x. Lancaster, Kristie, et al. “Dietary Intake and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease Differ Among Ethnic Subgroups of Black Americans.” The Journal of Nutrition, vol. 136, no. 2, 2006, pp. 446–51. Crossref, doi:10.1093/jn/136.2.446. Satia, Jessie. “Diet-Related Disparities: Understanding the Problem and Accelerating Solutions.” Journal of the American Dietetic Association, vol. 109, no. 4, 2009, pp. 610–15. Crossref, doi:10.1016/j.jada.2008.12.019. Schmid, Randolph. “U.S. Population to Double by 2100; Minorities, Older People Will Be a Larger Percentage.” Lewiston Tribune, 13 Jan. 2000, lmtribune.com/nation/world/u-s-population-to-double-by-2100-minorities-older-people-will-be-a-larger-percentage/article_cc7371fa-988d-5900-b7a8-490abee9ff4.html. Stark Casagrande, Sara, et al. “Have Americans Increased Their Fruit and Vegetable Intake? The Trends Between 1988 and 2002.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, vol. 32, no. 4, 2007, pp. 257–63. Crossref, doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2006.12.002.
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Welcome to our blog, Medquity!Here we will post extra articles on health disparities to display the profound health inequities in our healthcare system. These are updated every other weekend, so check back regularly! Archives
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