“Obesity is not exclusively about overconsumption of food. Factors including the higher cost of healthy meals and the lack of access to recreational spaces also play a key role in understanding why many Americans, particularly the poor, struggle with obesity (J. 420).” Some don’t understand the concept of keeping the poor, poor and much that is contributed to and resulted by those means. The results of those effects can lead to or contribute to obesity. I, myself have not ever been obese but majority of my family suffer from such conditions, resulting in diabetes, high blood pressure, lack of energy, minimal exercise, and poor eating habits. I chose to learn from their behaviors enough to change the pattern to live a different and healthier lifestyle, resulting in maintaining a slimmer physique, and healthy eating habits. I also believe that my spending and purchasing habits as well as my living situation has helped to keep me on a healthier and more knowledgeable path. I do not force my habits upon my family members but I do offer advice when they seek it from me. The major difference, to me, is all about the mindset of individuals. If we change the mindset of individuals, we can change the course of obesity, which some members of my family have recently discovered.
Social factors such as poverty, which can result from living in public housing, can lead to environmental factors, such as fast food consumption, inexpensive, cost effective meals and lack of availability to physical activities contribute to my family’s obesity problem. Many of my family members chose to stay within that type of environment, I chose to leave and separate myself. Their mindset is stuck on their means of survival by what they are limited to do based on the terms of their housing contract. They are shown that the more they try to better themselves and free themselves from governmental help, the harder it becomes for them to survive, because it gets more expensive to live as they gain more income, due to benefits being lessened before they get a chance to save enough money to not live paycheck to paycheck. It sounds backwards but that is the reality of their situations.
One way to overcome obesity, as I stated earlier, is to change their mindset. They must want to lose weight and choose to live a healthier and more productive lifestyle. They must understand how excessive weight effects more than just their body. They must look beyond the point of reference of their environment to know that what is easily accessible doesn’t necessarily means that it is good for them. There are nutritional disparities between the rich and the poor in America. As I took notice myself, the price of food is higher in poorer communities as well. “Walter Willett, chair of the department of nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, said in a press statement that the widening gap is related to income and education (Hamblin, 2014).” Many people who live in Public Housing have some college education or some sort of certification for specific trades, however their level of salary is much less than those within wealthier communities. Some choose to keep their income at a minimum level, or work part-time jobs just so that they can receive enough governmental subsidies to help feed their children. The more they make, the higher their rent, and the less government subsidies they will receive. The goal of governmental help is said to allow families to become “self-sufficient”, but how can they sustain if they aren’t given an adequate amount of time to save a few paychecks to get them ahead? There will always be a conflict of interest and people must learn how to not place themselves within the conflict, possibly through financial education. Financial education is what many of the poor lack and by learning financial management, they can learn to make changes in their habits to stray away from foods that can cause their families to become obese. Learning money management can provide families with healthy ways to save, which can help them make better choices and decisions when purchasing healthier food that is within their budget. If the rich already knows this, why aren’t these efforts and information pushed towards poor people who can learn to have everyone, rich and poor, on the same healthy accord?
“Social conflict theory draws heavily from the work of Karl Marx, which divides society into two broad classes: workers and capitalists, or proletarians and bourgeoisie. The workers do not possess nothing of real value except their labor power (J. 173).” The labor power of the poor is limited to their means of survival. If America focuses on the right actions to realistically help people become self-sufficient, the disparities will begin to shrink and people can be on a healthier path to losing weight and straying away from obesity. This is a very important step because the problem is often generational and someone down the line, such as myself, must break their family trends and cycles, for the goal to be successful. Although society may be placed into two separate categories, when it comes to health we can all stand one the same level. We can still have workers and capitalist; however, the poor can be working more towards a healthier lifestyle as opposed to survival.
References
J., Chambliss, W., Eglitis, S. (01/2015). Discover Sociology, 2nd Edition. SAGE Publications, Inc, VitalBook file.
JAMES HAMBLIN. (9/2014). The Food Gap Is Widening. Retrieved from: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/access-to-real-food-as-privilege/379482/
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