Summary:
In this video, Dr. Fouad (Director of the UAB Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center, Director of the Division of Preventive Medicine) discusses the issue of obesity and how it impacts the minority/low-income population the most. She stated that social determinants and environmental factors negatively impact the behavior and health of the low-income/minority population. They are limited in resources, so they're pushed to make unhealthy choices. She also discusses the importance of looking at the critical points of development in a life's course understanding how the exposure of the social determinants triggers a change in our biology. It's important to think about partnerships with other entities to address this issue, such as health departments or food organizations. She believes that understanding the social network and support system will help minorities to make the right choices for a healthy lifestyle and behavior. It's important to improve our media resources in promoting more models for our minority population. There should be more focus on influencing the youth and children community because they are our future.
Analysis:
Dr. Fouad's video discusses important issues affecting the health of our minority population. She focuses on the problem of obesity, which is a huge problem for our minority community because of environmental factors and lack of resources to make the right choices in a healthy lifestyle. In her nature vs. nurture discussion and analysis, she stated, "It's not your DNA code, it's your zip code." This shows her assumption of how social determinants and environmental factors are the main components in shaping our body and health. Although genetics have been found to be strong determinants for illnesses, she makes strong points of how the environment is the main factor that shapes our behaviors, actions and beliefs when we grow up. Our community affects our access to healthy food, recreational facilities, education, transportation and healthcare. Also, she does a good job at providing options for eliminating health disparities. Her ideas of starting a partnership with other entities displays a step forward in helping eliminate this problem. This will give minorities additional resource for knowledge into a healthier lifestyle and ultimately lower disease rates. She also points out how understanding the social network and support system in minority communities can help us to educate healthy behaviors and lifestyle from an environment they are comfortable in. Overall, her analysis of minority health disparities is strong and her video displayed reliable resources in my research on minority healthcare.
Response:
The video is a credible source for understanding minority health and health disparities. I strongly agree with Dr. Fouad that minorities are more at risk of obesity and other health problems because of the environment they live in. In order to build more healthy communities for minorities to live in, the government plays a big role in making changes for the better. If the government strongly believes that health disparities is big problem that should be addressed in minority health, they should consider building large supermarkets in low-income communities and have more nutritious food at lower cost. This will give minorities the option to be healthy and eliminate the problem of obesity. Although I strongly agree that the minority population experience health disparities and they are affected the most with obesity because they don't have the access and resources for a healthy lifestyle, I am also a believer that this problem don't only affect the low-income minorities, it happens everywhere. Even with the available resources, it ultimately depends on our decisions on what choices to make. In modern day society, most working parents choose the shortcut route in serving their children fast food instead of cooking them a healthy meal. There are disadvantages to having all the available resources in the world because it influences the people to be inactive.
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