Food Insecurity Is Real!

You would be amazed at the reality of food insecurity among Hispanic-Americans in the USA...

[nutritionnut201]

Coexistence of Obesity and Hunger among Mexican-American Children

 The International Journal of Obesity published a very interesting study examining the coexistence of obesity, hunger, and limited food group consumption among Mexican-American children. Anthropometric data was collected among children living at the border of Baja California (Mexico) and California. 

BMI measurements were used to measure obesity data on hunger was collected through interviews by trained research assistants. Children were classified as "hungry" or "at risk for hunger" if they answered positively to four or five out of the five food insufficiency (FI) questions. 

The highest prevalence of overweight and obesity was found in children aged 6 years- 8 years. According to BMI, abdominal obesity increased with  age in boys and girls. On the other hand, 46.5% of children were at risk of hunger or with hunger. 

The results indicate that there is a simultaneous coexistence of obesity and hunger in the same population, in the same area. The association between height-for-age with waist circumference suggest that abdominal obesity in these children is result of overconsumption of caloric intake. High density foods are common source of caloric intake in this geographical area, children are either overconsuming this food, or lacking this food. However, these high density foods are not completely nutritious. Therefore, there also exists limited food group consumption across the entire population! 

[schoolmealsandobesity]

In the National School Lunch Program a provision that allowed students to refuse some of the food offered to them at lunch and breakfast was implemented. Reforms such as this one in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was headed by the First Lady, Michelle Obama and signed into action by President...

[nutritionnut201]

I had not idea about this new reform!  I am glad to see that it is strongly being implemented. Michelle Obama seems to have made a large impact in the school lunch and breakfast programs. Reducing food waste is a very important issue to be tackled as well. I would also like to see the Let's Move program be implemented. Thanks for sharing!

[ejhk1-deactivated20150424]

Accelerating Nutrition Improvements in Sub-Saharan Africa

Strengthening nutrition surveillance and scaling up action in nutrition

The topic of World Health can be broad and somewhat intimidating. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been very helpful in looking at world health through...

[nutritionnut201]

Thanks for sharing, ejhk1, this article is very enlightening! I did not know that WHO worked with so many different organizations. I would be curious to know how and in what ways WHO is working with the CDC. Maybe WHO will be trying to implement more vaccinations in Sub-Saharan African countries.  

[nutritionnut201]

Health Issues and Disparities For Hispanic/Latinos

It is important to note that federal agencies are required to use a minimum of two ethnicities in data collection and presentation; "Hispanic or Latino" or "Not Hispanic or Latino." For these reasons, all studies conducted and data collected regarding Hispanic-Americans are very accurate. 

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains several health issues and disparities for Hispanics and Latinos in the United States. In 2012, 29.1% of Hispanics lacked health insurance, which is very alarming because there a several leading causes of death for this population. Cancer, heart disease, unintentional injuries, stroke, and diabetes are the top 5 leading causes of death.

Furthermore, there are many disparities between Hispanic/Latinos Non-Hispanic/Latinos that have been reported. The prevalence of obesity among female Mexican American adults was larger than the prevalence among female white, non-Hispanic adults during the same time frame (2007-2010). Teenage birth rates among Hispanic females was also larger than that of non-Hispanic females. Also, we continue to see a larger percentage of Hispanic workers employed in high-risk occupations than white, non-Hispanic workers. 

In conclusion, with the growing population of Hispanic/Latino people in the US, it is very important that they have access to health insurance (especially worker's compensation). Do you think the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) has helped with this issue? 

[kylieedwards1]

An online survey conducted by Yale during the years of 2009, 2010, and 2011 reported parents agreeing, 60%, that their children’s epidemic of obesity rests with the parents. Data was gathered from 2,454 parents of children aged 2 to 17 with an average income of $59,000, who had some college...

[nutritionnut201]

Associations of Household Characteristics and Food Insecurity

There is little published data that provides insights and information to the associations and correlations between household and community characteristics and food insecurity. There are even fewer published facts examining these ideas among the hard-to-reach Mexican-origin families who reside in the growing communities along the Texas border with Mexico. 

The International Journal for Equity in Health published a study examining these correlations. The small communities along the Texas border are called colonias, and this study used data from the 2009 Colonia Household and Community Food Resource Assessment. Interviews were conducted in Spanish which included demographic characteristics, food access and mobility, and perceived quality of food environment.

The results were shocking and will hopefully help to raise awareness among other communities. 78% of participants experienced food insecurity at the level of the household, adult, or child. Participation in federal food assistance programs was associated with reduced severity of food insecurity. Increasing levels of food insecurity was associated with being born in Mexico.

The Mexican-origin population is rapidly expanding, and record numbers of individuals and families are experiencing food insecurity.The rates of households with child and adult food insecurity in this border area are alarming and among the highest reported.

See the full article here:

http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1475-9276-10-19.pdf     

[aenutrition]

[nutritionnut201]

aenutrition: Thank you for sharing, learning about nitrogen balance is very important, especially for athletes. After the first 12 days of the exercise program, does the nitrogen balance begin to reach equilibrium again? 

#NUTR351

Consuming adequate amounts of protein is important and tricky for individuals beginning an exercise program. First off, nitrogen is used to measure the availability of protein for the body. If a person is taking in more nitrogen than they are excreting, then they have a positive nitrogen balance....

[nutritionnut201]

Who is part of the Hispanic population in the U.S?

The U.S. census bureau examined the population characteristics of the Hispanic population in the U.S. in 2000. At this time, one in nine people in the United States was of Hispanic origin, imagine what the ratio will be in twenty years. Nearly 65% of all Hispanics were of Mexican origin, 9.6% were Puerto Rican. The remaining 26% were of Central and South American. 

These statistics are important to know because there are many factors of health, education, and food insecurity correlated to this growing population. Dealing with education, Hispanics are statistically less likely to receive or have a high school diploma than non-Hispanic whites. In 1999, only about 11% of the Hispanic population had graduated from college. Hispanics are also more likely to be unemployed than non-Hispanic whites. The unemployment rate for Hispanics was 6.0%, comparing with 3.8% for non-Hispanic whites. 

These unemployment and and poor education rates obviously correlate with poverty among the Hispanic population.Latino children are more likely to be living in poverty than non-Hispanic white children. Based on 1998 income figures, 34% of Hispanic children under that age of 18 were living in poverty, compared with 10% of non-Hispanic whites living in poverty. 

There is a lot of negative attention that is focused on the Hispanic population in the United States. The statistics are very sad and enlightening, but how do you think these statistics can be improved? 

[schoolmealsandobesity]

Obesity in the United States of America is all the rage; but what about obesity in other countries such as China? Just as childhood obesity plagues America it is an issue in China as well. A study conducted by the Medical School of Zhejiang University found that the rates of nutritional...

[nutritionnut201]

schoolmealsandobesity:  This information is very interesting! Did you find any information about obesity rates among high-school aged children? It is crazy that malnutrition and obesity are two problems in China that have very similar statistics. The intestinal parasites probably have effects on both? Thanks for sharing!

[ejhk1-deactivated20150424]

Starvation is not meeting the daily energy requirements needed for the systems in the body to function properly. People in underdeveloped countries can be more prone to starvation due to certain factors. These factors are mainly due to the environment the people may live in. For instance many...

[nutritionnut201]

ejhk1 this article is really interesting, I like how you mentioned the physiological pathway that leads to starvation- proteins are used as the last resort before starvation sets in. It would be very interesting to know the major geographical areas that have populations suffering- this would help to gain more insight into what kinds of fat and protein sources are accessible. We are so lucky here!

[nutritionnut201]

Children along the Texas-Mexico border are at increased risk for poor nutrition

Children along the Texas-Mexico border are at an increased risk for poor nutrition as a result of household food insecurity. 470 Mexican mothers were randomly recruited in small town in South Texas participated in an in-home community assessment. Interviews were conducted in Spanish and revealed shocking results. 

Hunger among Mexican children was reported at 51% of households. Hunger status was associated with select maternal characteristics such as lower educational attainment. Hunger status was also associated with household composition, reliance on friend or neighbor for transportation, and food purchase from dollar stores.  131 households were unable to give their children a balanced meal during the school year. However, participation in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was associated with decreased odds for child hunger. 

Among children of Mexican parents, very low food security is associated with greater intakes of total calories and percentage of calories from fat and sugar added. Higher participation rates in SNAP are common because many households have children under 5 years (which make them ineligible for WIC). SNAP is a food assistance program that can drastically help decrease child hunger in Southern Texas. Further explorations are still needed to address more strategies to young mothers, but these strategies must be linguistically-appropriate. 

*Pubmed, article: Child hunger and the protective effects of supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) and alternative food sources among Mexican-origin families in the Texas border colonias * 

[schoolmealsandobesity]

It does not come as any surprise that school provided meals are under a lot of scrutiny because of their nutritional impacts on children. Pizzas, hamburgers, french fries, and a collection of different sweets frequented those school meal calendars that were sent home with students at the...

[nutritionnut201]

Thanks for all the statistics! Are there certain states that have better nutritional content in their school lunches? I was surprised to know that childhood obesity has such a high correlation with school lunches. 

[nutritionnut201]

How Immigration Affects Mental Health

An article was published by WebMD in 2004 discussing the affects of immigration on mental health. The National Institute of Health (NIH) says that mental health problems affect more Hispanic-Americans who were born in the US than those who are new immigrants.

Roughly 4500 Mexican-Americans participated in a mental health survey, about half of these participants were born in the US, and half were born in Mexico. Mental health was worse among US-born participants, with few exceptions. These problems included depression, anxiety, and drug or alcohol abuse. Drug problems affected eight times as many Mexican-Americans born in the US than those born in Mexico!

Researchers cannot explain these discrepancies but they do have a few theories. New immigrants often experience high stress levels adapting to a new culture and trying to make ends meet, especially when they are experiencing food insecurity.  However, despite the stress, Mexican families have very close-knit relationships and value family over many other stressors, morals, or problems. Mexican families offer vital support, even if that support is not financial. This is a cultural aspect that generally is not seen in other cultures. Additional research is needed to pinpoint the factors that hurt and help mental health for native and foreign-born Americans. This article was published ten years ago and there has not been many other research studies since. 

* Although there is a large amount of food-insecurity among Mexican and Hispanic-Americans, the immigrant populations tends to have a better state of mental health* 

[aenutrition]

As an increase in the use of protein supplementation among recreational athletes has occurred, Web MD published an article providing information regarding the correct usage of protein supplements and what consumers may be searching for.

There are three common types of protein powders: whey, soy...

[nutritionnut201]

aenutrition - Thank you for sharing! I wonder what the baseline requirements are to be a "recreational athlete" vs. an individual with a more sedentary lifestyle. I have seen whey protein in a lot of places- it is interesting how it is even an option to add this protein into smoothies at smoothie shops. 

[nutritionnut201]

Acculturation and Hispanic-Americans

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2716544/

    This article was published in 2010  by the National Institute of Health and describes some of the major problems with acculturation among Latino People in the United States.  First, it is important to note that there are close to 44 million Latinos in the USA. Second, acculturation is defined as the process by which Latinos adopt the values, attitudes, beliefs, customs, and behaviors of the 'mainstream' American culture. Acculturation is directly proportional to food insecurity in the USA!

   Wilson et. al. conducted a study in which two non-consecutive 24-hour recalls were applied to Mexican-American children. As these children assimilate more in the USA 'mainstream' culture, their sodium levels increase. Poor dietary habits are correlated with an increase in acculturation.  More acculturation also has a negative influence on breast-feeding habits and infant feeding practices. These findings indicate that several positive lifestyle behaviors associated with Latino and Hispanic cultures are not being protected as they move to the USA and get more exposure to our 'mainstream' culture. Are our cultural practices washing-out healthy habits of other cultures in the USA? As diversity expands, cultural values diminish. 

   Although acculturation seems to have a large amount of negative impacts on dietary habits of Latinos in the USA, it could potentially improve the status of food-insecurity. The longer that Latino immigrants live in the USA, the more likely they are to develop networks which can aid in an improved status to access better food choices and safety nets. However, more research is needed to validate this assumption. 

  The problem with acculturation is that it is assumed to be unidirectional, meaning that once people move away from their cultures, they adopt the 'mainstream' culture in the USA and neglect their own cultural values. There are several factors involving multiculturalism that need to be considered. The Hispanic and Latino-Americans that can function well in Hispanic and American cultures generally have proficient English skills are more likely to have positive health and economic outcomes. 

  In short, there have been several studies examining the effect of acculturation on food insecurity and dietary practices among Latinos in the USA, but further research is needed to understand the concept of acculturation as multidirectional. Food for thought... How do other cultures perceive the 'mainstream' American diet and how does it affect their diets when they move here?