Hispanic Obesity: Homogenizing and Accuracy Influences
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
The huge obesity crisis has increased as the years go by in the United States obesity has “[raised] dramatically in recent years, from 15 percent during 1976-80 to 30.9 percent during 1999-2002” (Cawley 452). Many articles present statistical data about the increase of obesity among Hispanics. Such articles like John Cawley’s, The Impact of Obesity on Wages, basically states that a person’s BMI is not a genetic factor but “in turn be affected by wages and personal characteristics”(Cawley 452). Nevertheless, Mike Powers’ article says otherwise, he states in his article, Hispanic Growth, he points out other factors such as socioeconomic factors, acculturation, dietary and nutritional factors are contributors as well as the genetic factors that correlate with being “overweight and obesity are huge problems among Hispanics. Obviously diet plays a role, but there might also be a genetic susceptibility that makes Hispanics put on weight” (Powers). Nevertheless, Cawley completely avoids the factors of genetics while Powers’ addresses it as a possible factor to the increase of Hispanic obesity in the United States. Both authors point out great factors that contribute to Hispanic obesity, nonetheless, neither differentiate the Hispanic groups both authors “homogenizes” the Hispanic community. In this paper, using my articles I want to refute the idea that not just wages and obesity correlate but also genetic factors can come into play in the high rise of Hispanic obesity in the United States. The other argument that is addressed in Lang’s article she points out whether “homogenizing” the Hispanic ethnicity in statistical data affect the accuracy or even the credibility of statistical data considering that not all Spanish-speaking people adapt the same to acculturation of American lifestyle like for example Puerto Ricans.
Genetics versus the Impact of Wages and Obesity:
In John Cawley’s article, The Impact of Obesity on Wages, he presents the idea that obesity is caused by lower wages, thus linking the impact of obesity with wages or the impact that lower wages has on obesity in America. He basically states “that low wages cause obesity. This would be true if poorer people consumed cheaper more fattening food” (Cawley 452). Therefore, relates both obesity and wages as variables that correlate to the outcome of “how obesity correlates with labor market outcomes, and why is important in part because the prevalence of obesity in the United States had risen dramatically in recent years, from 15 percent during 1976-80 to 30.9 percent during 1999-2002” (Cawley 452). Nevertheless he says that a person’s BMI which is how individuals are classified as overweight or obese, has nothing to do with genetic factor but “in turn be affected by wages and personal characteristics’” (Cawley 452). Cawley has obviously disregarded the socioeconomic aspects, the health care issue, the exposure to acculturation specifically from Hispanic immigrants assimilating to American life and many other factors that many of the articles I researched have touched upon.
On the other h and Mike Powers’s article, Hispanic Growth, he integrates many of the other factors including the genetic factor which is one of the factors that many of the other articles avoid to discuss. Powers’ addresses the key idea that not only Nurture but Nature come to play with the obesity factor in the Hispanic community. He addresses the fact that diabetes which is also linked to obesity could be because “increased levels of obesity are associated with elevated risk of degenerative cardiovascular and metabolic disease, hypertension, stroke, and adult-onset diabetes […] the fact that diabetes is higher among Mexican Americans makes one wonder whether if there is a connection with the Spanish-Indian heritage that so many Mexican Americans come from” (Powers). Genetics do have an important role in obesity but it is not entirely a big factor in obesity, nevertheless, Powers’ does addresses the genetic predisposition factor which Cawley refutes as a contributor to the issue of obesity. Instead he says that it is the impact of wages, specifically lower ones that are linked to obesity in the United States, he then links this idea to the fact that the access of cheaper fattening foods nevertheless they don’t consider the fact that many of the statistical data homogenizes the data therefore the accuracy of the data is in question.
Homogenizing Hispanic ethnic groups and the accuracy in statistical data on obesity:
In Susan S. Lang’s article she points out a very interesting aspect when it comes to statistical data about ethnic groups. Lang specifies the issue of Hispanic obesity in the United States, she addresses the fact that most of the statistical data on Hispanics dietary and nutritional facts and how acculturation is affected by the different cultures. She says that many homogenize Hispanic culture and ethnicity, meaning that all of the Hispanic have been grouped together not considering that “U.S. Hispanics are a diverse collection of cultural groups each having its own traditional diet with strengths and weaknesses that may be compounded when they move to the U.S. and are influenced by American food patterns”(Lang). Well obviously this would affect statistical data because even though this particular ethnic group speaks the same language it doesn’t precisely mean that they have the same dietary or nutritional beliefs or thoughts about the way they eat, of course this creates bias and possibly incorrect sampling of the ethnic population which of course puts into question the accuracy of the statistical data. For example in Liz Castells and Becky Ebenkamp’s article called Living La Vida Large, both of the authors address the fact that “Recent U.S. immigrants tend to be healthier, thinner and blessed with longer life expectancies than long-term Hispanic residents, upon whom junk food acculturation has taken its toll. Latinos are even experiencing a higher prevalence of obesity than the increasingly jumbo-fled general population” (Castells& Ebenkamp 18). This shows the differences in culture and of course the concept of acculturation in different ethnic groups such as Hispanic Immigrants who gradually adapt to American lifestyle versus to their counterparts that are inborn Hispanic Americans. This exactly the point that Lang is trying to point out, that not all Hispanics are the same in the sense of dietary and nutritional intake.
Conclusion:
Many of the scholarly articles and journals do not go into enough depth specifically seeing the difference among these groups, which then shows that maybe the statistics aren’t really accurate therefore they might not even be detailed enough to come to a consensus. Nevertheless, it’s hard to get accurate data from real life situations into an experiment because there are many factors that can influence differently in the “real life setting” versus a controlled experiment where all variables are identified. For example in this case I could say that genetic factors are the independent variable but the factor of wages is the dependent variable but both variables links to obesity. Cawley and Powers present interesting ideas of what the contributing factors might be that have increased the level of obesity among the Hispanic community, especially since this minority is one of the fastest growing groups in the United States but it’s also one of the fastest that is being affected by this issue of obesity in the United States.
Source:
Castells & Ebenkamp, Liz & Becky. “Living La Vida Large.” Brandweek 22 September 2003: 18.
Cawley, John. “The Impact of Obesity on Wages” The Journal of Human Resources XXXIX (2003): 452-474.
Lang, Susan S. “Understanding Hispanic Diets.” Human Ecology 20 (1992)
Powers, Mike. “Hispanic Growth .” Human Ecology 20 (1992)
This is an article written by my dearest and best friend, Flor Bolainez. She has lots of great topics which she created in regards to Hispanic woman and the society. This is one of her own beautiful creation. She has given rights to www.dauglydevil.com to post it in its page.
Genetics versus the Impact of Wages and Obesity:
In John Cawley’s article, The Impact of Obesity on Wages, he presents the idea that obesity is caused by lower wages, thus linking the impact of obesity with wages or the impact that lower wages has on obesity in America. He basically states “that low wages cause obesity. This would be true if poorer people consumed cheaper more fattening food” (Cawley 452). Therefore, relates both obesity and wages as variables that correlate to the outcome of “how obesity correlates with labor market outcomes, and why is important in part because the prevalence of obesity in the United States had risen dramatically in recent years, from 15 percent during 1976-80 to 30.9 percent during 1999-2002” (Cawley 452). Nevertheless he says that a person’s BMI which is how individuals are classified as overweight or obese, has nothing to do with genetic factor but “in turn be affected by wages and personal characteristics’” (Cawley 452). Cawley has obviously disregarded the socioeconomic aspects, the health care issue, the exposure to acculturation specifically from Hispanic immigrants assimilating to American life and many other factors that many of the articles I researched have touched upon.
On the other h and Mike Powers’s article, Hispanic Growth, he integrates many of the other factors including the genetic factor which is one of the factors that many of the other articles avoid to discuss. Powers’ addresses the key idea that not only Nurture but Nature come to play with the obesity factor in the Hispanic community. He addresses the fact that diabetes which is also linked to obesity could be because “increased levels of obesity are associated with elevated risk of degenerative cardiovascular and metabolic disease, hypertension, stroke, and adult-onset diabetes […] the fact that diabetes is higher among Mexican Americans makes one wonder whether if there is a connection with the Spanish-Indian heritage that so many Mexican Americans come from” (Powers). Genetics do have an important role in obesity but it is not entirely a big factor in obesity, nevertheless, Powers’ does addresses the genetic predisposition factor which Cawley refutes as a contributor to the issue of obesity. Instead he says that it is the impact of wages, specifically lower ones that are linked to obesity in the United States, he then links this idea to the fact that the access of cheaper fattening foods nevertheless they don’t consider the fact that many of the statistical data homogenizes the data therefore the accuracy of the data is in question.
Homogenizing Hispanic ethnic groups and the accuracy in statistical data on obesity:
In Susan S. Lang’s article she points out a very interesting aspect when it comes to statistical data about ethnic groups. Lang specifies the issue of Hispanic obesity in the United States, she addresses the fact that most of the statistical data on Hispanics dietary and nutritional facts and how acculturation is affected by the different cultures. She says that many homogenize Hispanic culture and ethnicity, meaning that all of the Hispanic have been grouped together not considering that “U.S. Hispanics are a diverse collection of cultural groups each having its own traditional diet with strengths and weaknesses that may be compounded when they move to the U.S. and are influenced by American food patterns”(Lang). Well obviously this would affect statistical data because even though this particular ethnic group speaks the same language it doesn’t precisely mean that they have the same dietary or nutritional beliefs or thoughts about the way they eat, of course this creates bias and possibly incorrect sampling of the ethnic population which of course puts into question the accuracy of the statistical data. For example in Liz Castells and Becky Ebenkamp’s article called Living La Vida Large, both of the authors address the fact that “Recent U.S. immigrants tend to be healthier, thinner and blessed with longer life expectancies than long-term Hispanic residents, upon whom junk food acculturation has taken its toll. Latinos are even experiencing a higher prevalence of obesity than the increasingly jumbo-fled general population” (Castells& Ebenkamp 18). This shows the differences in culture and of course the concept of acculturation in different ethnic groups such as Hispanic Immigrants who gradually adapt to American lifestyle versus to their counterparts that are inborn Hispanic Americans. This exactly the point that Lang is trying to point out, that not all Hispanics are the same in the sense of dietary and nutritional intake.
Conclusion:
Many of the scholarly articles and journals do not go into enough depth specifically seeing the difference among these groups, which then shows that maybe the statistics aren’t really accurate therefore they might not even be detailed enough to come to a consensus. Nevertheless, it’s hard to get accurate data from real life situations into an experiment because there are many factors that can influence differently in the “real life setting” versus a controlled experiment where all variables are identified. For example in this case I could say that genetic factors are the independent variable but the factor of wages is the dependent variable but both variables links to obesity. Cawley and Powers present interesting ideas of what the contributing factors might be that have increased the level of obesity among the Hispanic community, especially since this minority is one of the fastest growing groups in the United States but it’s also one of the fastest that is being affected by this issue of obesity in the United States.
Source:
Castells & Ebenkamp, Liz & Becky. “Living La Vida Large.” Brandweek 22 September 2003: 18.
Cawley, John. “The Impact of Obesity on Wages” The Journal of Human Resources XXXIX (2003): 452-474.
Lang, Susan S. “Understanding Hispanic Diets.” Human Ecology 20 (1992)
Powers, Mike. “Hispanic Growth .” Human Ecology 20 (1992)
This is an article written by my dearest and best friend, Flor Bolainez. She has lots of great topics which she created in regards to Hispanic woman and the society. This is one of her own beautiful creation. She has given rights to www.dauglydevil.com to post it in its page.
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