While this image “You Are What
You Eat” may be offensive to some, it speaks volumes. It is no secret that
obesity has tripled over the past three decades. Nor, is it a surprise that more
and more people are being diagnosed with high blood pressure, diabetes or heart
disease. So, it is very unlikely that
you do not know someone that has been diagnosed with diabetes, high blood
pressure or a health relate disease or illness. For that reason, it is
important to understand the concept behind the image before concluding that it
is offensive.
The purpose of the image is to bring awareness that your food choices
become you. Therefore, if you make the choice to eat healthy you will be healthy and vice versa. The outline of the person to the right symbolize a healthy individual. This individual is less likely to have health concerns and they have a healthy mental status. Should this person be a parent they are ingraining the same eating habits into their child(ren). As a result, that child(ren) will continue the same eating habits into adulthood and they are less likely to becoming obese and suffer from complications that derive from unhealthy eating habits.
Whereas, the person to the left has made the decision to consume unhealthy foods. Consequently, the person is obese. While health issues vary from person to
person can an obese individual honestly
say “that there weight does not
impact their overall health”?
Think about it! An obese person can not walk for an
extended period of time without, eventually, becoming short winded (out of
breath). Maybe, you are that obese person. Obese parents with young
children complain that they can not keep up with their children because they
are tired. Subsequently, the obese parent self – esteem or your own self - esteem is impacted. But most
disheartening, the child or children of an obese parent, is most likely to become
obese (University of Rochester Medical Center, n.d.). Or, the parent could possibly die before the child reach
adulthood and miss out witnessing their child achieve developmental milestones in their overall development.
But it is not the one's that eats unhealthy that experience healthy problems, but people who do not consume enough food experience health problems too. With that in mind, the next section will discuss the impact of malnutrition, as it relates to health and disease.
References:
"You Are What You Eat" [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from
The lack of
nutrition impacts health and contributes to disease too. While in the United
States you would hope that no child has to go without food or has a limited supply of food; however, that is not
the case. In the United States nearly 13 million children depended on government assistance in the year 2012 (Louisiana
State University, 2012) but , less then one per 1% of
children in the United States suffer from chronic malnutrition (John
Hopkins Children Center, n.d.). While that may
not appear to be significant, new studies tend to suggest that children that
depend on government assistance and have limited food supply overall health
is poorer (Louisiana State University,
2012).
Malnutrition according to John Hopkins Children Center
is defined as “the condition that
develops when the body is deprived of vitamins, minerals, and other
nutrients it needs to maintain healthy tissues and organ function”. A child or adult can be either under malnourished or over malnourished (John Hopkins Children Center, n.d.).
Under nutrition is a form of malnutrition -- a condition resulting from
not consuming enough nutrients
(Livestrong, 2014). Although a individual overeats they
can still be considered malnourished, and that is because your body requires a
balance of different foods (Livestrong, 2014).
Medical conditions associated with malnutrition are:
physical and mental disabilities, illness and death (MedlinePlus, 2014).
Shockingly enough being over nourished
contribute to obesity (Livestrong, 2014). As a
result, an individual that is obese chances of being diagnosed with diabetes,
high blood pressure and heart related concerns increases.
In children malnutrition can impacts the cognitive and
physical development of young children. Consequently, a child may be diagnosed
with a cognitive or physical disability or delay. While a child may not suffer
from a disability or delay they tend to perform poorly academically (Louisiana
State University, 2014). Therefore, it
is important for educators to
identify signs that would conclude that
a child or family lack adequate food supply.
Young children that lack nutrition oftentimes become ill, more frequently. Illnesses include: sore throat, colds, stomachaches, headaches and iron deficiency anemia (Louisiana State University, 2012). Nevertheless, there are ways to promote healthy eating and the characteristics will be identified in the next post.
References:
http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Malnutrition.aspx
Malnutrition. (2014). Retrieved from MidlinePlus website: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000404.htm
"The song of the stomach is hard to bear" [Photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.pic2fly.com/Adult-Malnutrition-in-Canada.html
What Is Overnutrition and Undernutrition? (2014). Retrieved from Livestrong website:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/518819-what-is-overnutrition-andundernutrition/
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