- Obesity: As a Hispanic women this is the most important concern of mine, since women in my family battle overweight and obesity. Many women and men have trouble with obesity. According to the CDC over 60 million people are obese. (CDC Website) When I graduated high school I gained almost 50 pounds. I was already a little overweight but this put me at a high risk of having serious health problems. With determination and hard work I lost 63 pounds in a year and a half. Not only has my quality of life improved physically but emotionally I feel like a better person. I feel better about myself and gained loads of confidence on many different levels.
- Stress Management: Students already have enough to deal with having deadlines and school work to worry about. I also work full time and just a baby. My time and stress levels are all over the place. I find it hard to have time for myself. Because of this my stress causes many problems. Stress can influence a number of health issues.
- Lupus: Both my mother and my grandmother suffer from Lupus. Since this health issue has been linked to genetic factors I am very concerned with this problem.
Health issues that concern other women:
- April Palomino, Age 22 (Caucasian): April is most concerned with the issue of health insurance. She is currently in graduate school and cannot hold a full time job. Since she is married she cannot not be on her parents insurance . In order to have medical insurance she has to pay outrageous monthly payments. The part time job that she has onyl pays for her insurance every month. She is upset that all her money goes to one place, even though it's for a good reason.
- Catherine Salguero, Age 28 (Hispanic): Catherine's health concerns included obesity and anemia. She is currently overweight and is afraid of becoming obese. She claims that she is constantly stressing over what she is eating, which can cause other health problems. Anemia is a concern of hers because her mother struggles with anemia. Because Catherine is anemic she cannot give blood as frequently as she would like. Furthermore, she is tired through most of the day even thorugh she has had ample sleep the night before. Anemia can cause other issues such as vision problems.
References:
Unknown Author. (2006). Overweight and Obesity: Home. Retrieved January 17, 2007, from
CDC Website: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/index.htm
6 comments:
Adult obesity is currently on the rise and I am glad you brought it up on your blog. We are also currently observing an increase in childhood obesity which is not only causing distress to health care workers, but to the population in general. Obesity seems to be the link between health issues such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. Diet and exercise has never been stressed more in our days and times. My hope is that everyone will get the message of the factors that increase obesity and the remedies for obesity.
Stress management is also imperative for physical wellbeing. As students, parents and full time workers, we cannot seem to avoid stress. I am guilty of stressing over a lot of things. Learning effective ways to reduce stress will not only improve our lifestyle, but it will greatly affect our moods and how we related to our loved ones. I have found that exercising, eating right and planning ahead greatly reduces stress. However, I will admit there are days no matter what I do, I cannot avoid stress.
My husband recently accepted a position as a contractor in an Information Technology company. His job pays much more than his old job did, however, he does not get medical insurance. This has proven to be quite a challenge for us trying to shop around for affordable health insurance. I do agree that something has to be done to ensure that adequate health insurance is available and affordable in order to make certain everyone is covered.
a lot of people are concerned about appropriate, affordable healthcare.... and health insurance plays such a vital role. people bypass healthcare--going to the doctor/hospital, filling prescriptions--because of the price and they have to weigh what is most important to them food/gas or health.
some of the problems might be attributed to lack of health education, the inappropriate use of the ER (using it as a clinic), and the lack of preventitive measures in use. if the latter 2 problems were not an issue, healthcare costs would decrease dramatically leading to a trickle down effect for everyone. if people were educated on the impact of lifestlye choices and its affect on health, the effects of not taking care of yourself, and how to prevent health problems... maybe they would take a vested interest in their health, leading to fewer health problems and decreased costs of healthcare and insurance...
those things will never touch the instances that are out of our control--like breast/uterine cancer, familial polyps/gi cancer, congenital diabetes, hereditary obesity, alzheimers.....
anyways... the other day, one of my co-workers (who is from canada) was talking about socialized medicine. in theory it sounds great, but the problems are ridiculous. she said that in the province she is from there is only 1 mri machine. there is a waiting list 9 months long to use it. 9 months may be too long for someone with cancer...
the imperfection of our world is sad. we try to overcome the flaws with plans that are flawed... but, the good thing is that we try... and we hope for something better.
HI Susan. I can relate to the stress related and insurance issues you mentioned in your blog. I agree with some of the other commenters that health care in general is lacking in this country. While I'm not sure socialized medicine is the answer, a huge overhaul seems to be in order. By the way, congratulations on losing all that weight. I have a couple of dear friends who struggle in this area and one in particular who has overcome and been overcome by it alternately. Her battle inspires me in many areas of my life. Way to go for winning.
I am glad to know that I am not the only stressed out person in this group! I don't have any human kids so I cannot even imagine what that adds to the mix. I am finding it very difficult to manage family, work and school. I think that the stress in my life contributes a lot to my weight issues. Many days I am so tired, the idea of putting forth effort to cook a healthy meal is daunting - it is easier to order Dominos! With my family history, I cannot afford to be lazy. I was very reassured after reading many posts about stress - maybe all we need is to support one another!
Celestina-
Obesity is such a serious issue. It is good that you are already trying to keep up with this because it can lead to such serious issues later on such as elevated blood pressure, diabetes, and heart issues. Controlling stress is also so important, especially as a new mom and full time student. You seem to be doing such a great job. Keep it up.
Jenn
Well first of all I would like to commend you on a beautiful page and overall blog layout. You stayed on topic and even managed to back up your work with CDC facts. This site is a regular helper in any health course or major. I understand your fear of weight control and of course anything genetically linked is a major concern. I wish you luck with stress management this semester since I feel pressure and I?m a single dependent student I could only imagine your stress fluctuation.
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