High-Risk Nutritional Risk - Free Paper

Food habits are complex human behaviors that are affected by a range of factors. Culture is one of those influencers that affect nutritional behavior either directly or indirectly. As a result, for most people, food is more of a cultural aspect than it is a nutritional aspect. These food cultures become evident through nutritional differences that are present in different cultures. While other cultural behaviors are suitable for the overall nutrition of the community, some of them have had negative consequences. The actions that harm the diet of the respective community are referred to as high-risk nutritional behaviors. Like most cultural practices, these dietary behaviors have been influenced by the historical perspectives, belief systems, and environmental conditions in which the culture developed. Therefore, this paper is going to discuss the high-risk nutritional behaviors associated with the African American and Puerto Rican cultures and identify the historical perspectives, belief systems, and environmental conditions related to the high-risk behavior among the said cultures.

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African American High-Risk Nutritional Behaviors

The diet of the African American culture varies according to geographical location. However, there are still some common grounds among the African Americans that live in different geographic regions of the United States. According to Reddy & Anitha (2015), some of African American nutritional behaviors include low consumption of dairy products. There is also High consumption of meat products that include pork, fish, poultry, and small game. Frying is their most famous cooking technique. According to Reddy & Anitha (2015), corn is the preferred grain for the African American community. Their preferred snacks include honey, sugar products, and molasses. Based on the nutritional behavior mentioned above, one can identify some high-risk behaviors which could lead to chronic conditions such as hypertension, obesity, and other heart conditions.

According to Vance (2018), the African American community is the most affected group in America by chronic diseases. They have a high prevalence of cancer, obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke when compared to their white counterparts (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). The prevalence of these conditions, such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases, can be improved by changing the nutritional behavior of the respective community. According to Satia (2009), African American culture tends to be comfortable with large body sizes. In some cases, they even prefer large body sizes as compared to smaller or slender body sizes hence limiting the extent to which healthy eating efforts can be sustained. Also, they feel less guilty about overeating and consider it as a social experience.

Puerto Rican High-Risk Nutritional Behavior

The Puerto Rican culture also has some high-risk nutritional behaviors that make them susceptible to certain health complications or conditions. A study conducted by Siega-Riz et al. (2014) compared the dietary practices of Puerto Ricans to that of other Hispanic groups such as Cubans, Mexicans, and Dominicans. The study results indicated that Puerto Ricans had the lowest intake of Vitamin C and fiber (Siega-Riz et al., 2014). Also, Puerto Ricans had the least consumption of fruits and vegetables among all the Hispanic groups compared in the study. On the other side of the scale, Puerto Ricans recorded the second-highest intake of fat, saturated fat, and sugar. These dietary behaviors by Puerto Ricans are considered high-risk nutritional behaviors and leave them susceptible to specific health conditions.

The high-risk nutritional behaviors associated with the Puerto Rican culture have resulted in high rates of Cardio Vascular Diseases (CVD) among the Puerto Rican communities in the mainland United States. Siega-Riz et al. (2014) note that health differences pointed out among the Hispanic and Latino communities that took part in the study correspond to their food group differences and nutrients, as identified in the study. Puerto Ricans have a high intake of foods that are associated with CVD, such as refined sodium carbohydrates, saturated fat, and total fat. They also had low consumption of low-risk foods that include fiber, fish, and fruits. These feeding habits emanate from historical perspectives, belief systems, and environmental factors associated with nutritional behaviors.

Historical Perspectives, Belief Systems, and Environmental Factors

African Americans

African Americans’ nutritional behavior has been influenced by several cultures. From their homeland in Africa to the European masters that enslaved them and shifted them to America. The African American culture picked up a little bit of the food practices of the different cultures that they interacted with, through their history. According to Vance (2018), “no aspect of culture is developed in isolation.” Instead, culture develops as a result of intertwining practices, with food customs being one of the most notable (Vance, 2018).

The African American population was forced to adapt to the new environment by adjusting their food culture in a way that can increase their chances of survival. Faced with limited resources and increased physical activity due to slavery, the African American population developed food patterns that have impacted their nutritional behavior to the modern period.

Before the arrival of slaves to the United States in 1619, their nutrition was mainly made up of healthful, plant-based, and natural components. However, they were exposed to the harsh conditions of slave ships and working in plantations. They changed their foodways and compositions to a diet that would protect them from the diseases in the new world, increase their strength to work in the plantations, and still maintain a sense of taste. The slavers would feed them inexpensive food, but sweet enough for them to willingly eat to survive the journey across the Atlantic. Starches were popular because they deceived the body into feeling fuller while containing a high amount of energy. Even after the abolition of slavery, the African American community continued facing institutionalized racism, which prevented them from accessing proper education, housing, and access to financial resources, negatively influenced their diet as they adopted high-risk nutritional behavior.

Puerto Ricans

Just like their African counterparts, the Puerto Rican food culture was also influenced by the cultures they interacted with. Some of the cultures that have shaped the Puerto Rican nutritional behaviors include the Spanish, African and American cultures. Puerto Rican cuisine was well developed by the end of the 19th century. They had spent a considerable amount of that time under Spanish rule, and that means the Spanish culture has the most significant contribution to Puerto Rican nutritional practices. However, the study wasn’t able to establish how the historical perspective might have negatively contributed to the high-risk dietary behaviors among the Puerto Rican community.

Instead, most of the high-risk nutritional behaviors seem to have developed as a result of belief systems and environmental factors that include economic conditions. The research conducted by Siega-Riz et al. (2014) indicates that the Puerto Rican community enjoys a low rate of employment as compared to other Hispanic and Latino groups such as Cubans, Mexicans, and the Dominicans. Also, at least one-third of Puerto Ricans have reported less than high school education. Such economic conditions prevent the Puerto Rican community from accessing proper diet due to the financial constraints.

As part of their beliefs, the Puerto Rican culture is less tolerant of communal living or sharing of a homestead. They are less likely to be married or to be living with their partner. A study conducted by Hanna & Collins (2015) indicated that those people who are living alone are more likely to be having an unhealthy diet. In the survey conducted by Siega-Riz et al. (2014), only 32% of the Puerto Rican participants reported being married or living with someone. In comparison, the Mexicans, whose culture encourages communal living, had a higher percentage of 63%.

Role of the Health Care Provider

A healthcare provider has a vital role to play when caring for individuals with high-risk nutritional behavior. Since dietary behavior is a cultural aspect, the provider has to be very careful not to violate the cultural issues of any of the respective cultures. The evidenced-Based practice provides for the provision of a culturally appropriate form of care that conforms to the cultural needs of the patients.

The healthcare provider can reduce high-risk nutritional behavior from both an individual level and a societal level. The healthcare provider can educate his or her clients on the contribution that dietary behavior is making to their health at an individual level. Some people undertake these nutritional behaviors for the lack of knowledge of how it affects their long-term health. The health care provider should provide dietary counseling, which entails giving alternative measures, as well as coming up with intervention measures for the target population. The intervention measures should take into account the psychosocial factors, demographic characteristics, and environmental attributes (Satia, 2009).

For example, the paper has indicated that socioeconomic conditions are an essential part of the nutritional behavior of a specific group. The intervention measure has to consider that fact and come up with a recommendation that doesn’t conflict with the socio-economic status of the patient. It should seek to address the culturally salient features that affect food preferences in the first place (Satia, 2009). For instance, in the case of an African American patient, the program should seek to eliminate institutionalized racism that has kept the African American community on the back foot of society and prevented them from accessing the same amount of resources in regard to nutrition and healthcare information. It should also provide some healthy modification to traditional food preferences such as meat and sugar which is common among African Americans and Puerto Ricans. They should make sure to increase the palpability of the food as a way of combating the stereotype that characterizes healthy foods as lacking taste.

From a societal level, public health officials and other healthcare providers should push for policy changes that ensure the availability of healthy food options for low-income communities. The same kind of options should be made available in schools and create a built environment that considers the needs of low-income communities. The study by Vance (2018) indicates that the low-income areas of the African American communities tend to have fewer grocery stores that sell, fruits, and vegetables. At the same time, these neighborhoods have an overrepresentation of fast-food chains and liquor stores.

Conclusion

A large part of high-risk nutritional behavior emanates from low socio-economic conditions. Based on the dietary practice of the African American and Puerto Rican cultures, it seems the two groups can significantly benefit from an equal distribution of resources. That access to nutritional education as well as economic resources.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). African American health. Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/aahealthHanna, K. L., & Collins, P. F. (2015). Relationship between living alone and food and nutrient intake. Nutrition reviews, 73(9), 594-611.