Introduction
Miami is a city found in the southeastern part of Florida. It is the capital of Miami-Dade County. The town has a high Hispanic influence. Miami is the eighth-most populous urban region in the United States, being home to about 5.5 million people. The population of the city is largely white (7.87%). The Blacks comprise about 19% of the entire population. This paper will discuss the obesity challenge faced by black people in Miami.
Vulnerable Population
The black community in Miami can be described as a vulnerable population because of certain unique challenges it is facing. One of the main challenges for the black residents is poverty. While the economy of Florida has been growing steadily, the black population in Miami remains entirely poor (Bandell, 2016). High levels of poverty and unemployment has resulted in poor living standards and crime. It is estimated that 29% of the black population in Miami lives below the poverty line (Bandell, 2016). Poverty also limits economic participation of this group of people. In addition, due to the high poverty concentration in the black neighborhoods, cases of crime and violence remain high. Besides, literacy levels are much lower compared to the white population.
The black population in the US has been historically disadvantaged since the slavery era. The 15th Amendment granted male African-Americans voting rights. Although it was ratified in 1870, the promise of this amendment was not realized until almost a century later. The southern states remained largely uninterested in allowing Blacks to exercise voting rights. Racial profiling by police has also been another challenge that the Blacks in Miami have to go through. Many of them in this city list police shooting as the biggest challenge they face today. Poverty among the black population has also led to high rates of obesity.
Strengths, Risk Factors, and/or Barriers
Racial segregation and poverty have been linked to high incidences of obesity among the black population (Kershaw, Albrecht, & Carnethon, 2013). Kershaw et al. (2013) observe that although obesity has been on the increase for the last 30 years, the rate of increase among Blacks is abnormally high. This trend has been primarily attributed to the neighborhood poverty. Among toddlers, it has been observed that lack of sleep increases the likelihood of child obesity (Hager et al., 2016). According to Hager et al. (2016), the incidence of obesity is much higher in black children compared to their white counterparts. On average, children from poor families sleep for fewer hours relative to those from able backgrounds (Hager et al., 2013).
Poverty is closely related poor eating habits and pitiable diet among black populations (Kershaw et al., 2016). It leads to fewer healthy food options. A healthy diet is usually expensive. As a result, people in the poor neighborhoods depend on the cheaper unhealthy foods. Processed and higher fat foods are more cheaply available in poor neighborhoods where they form the main diet. Environmental stressors may also cause people to resort to food as a coping mechanism that leads to obesity (Kershaw et al., 2016). Limited access to health care facilities also plays a great role in the rise of obesity. Most poor neighborhoods have limited healthcare facilities. This situation restricts the Blacks from accessing proper health care. According to Verweij, Proper, Weel, Hulshof, and van Mechelen (2012), healthcare facilities may provide valuable information on the prevention of obesity.
Community Resources
Overtown area is the biggest black neighborhood in Miami. This region was designed for black settlement in the segregation days. However, it continues to be the residence for many Blacks to date. Jefferson Reaves Sr. Health Center, located in this area, is the main healthcare facility in Overtown. This facility cannot effectively address all the health challenges of the entire black population living in Overtown. Lack of adequate health care facilities in this area is a major contributor to poor health among black residents. Therefore, obesity incidence is high in Overtown.
Community Health Problem Diagnosis
As observed, poor feeding habits form a major health challenge among the blacks in Miami. The number of malnourished and obese people continues to rise steadily. There is a need to come up with intervention strategies to counter this health challenge. Proper nutrition is required in addressing the problem of obesity. Another suggested strategy is physical activity. The intervention mechanisms should be aimed at preventing unhealthy weight gain while also facilitating weight loss for the already obese people. These interventions should be availed in multiple settings where they can be readily accessed. Such settings include health care facilities, worksites, and schools.
Summary
Miami is the eighth most populous urban region in the United States. About 19% of the population is black, 29% of who are poor. Poverty among the Blacks has resulted from historical factors such as slavery and the post-slavery segregation. One of the major problems facing this population is obesity. Obesity is closely connected to poverty. Poor-quality diets limit an individual’s healthy feeding options, thus leading to the consumption of cheaper highly processed foods. Intervention strategies are needed to address the challenge of obesity. Healthy People 2020 recognizes the need to tame instances of obesity as part of the larger goal of promoting health.
Reference List
Bandell, B. (2016). State of black Miami forum delivers solutions for economic challenges. Web.
Hager, E. R., Calamaro, C. J., Bentley, L. M., Hurley, K. M., Wang, Y., & Black, M. M. (2016). Nighttime sleep duration and sleep behaviors among toddlers from low-income families: Associations with obesogenic behaviors and obesity and the role of parenting. Childhood Obesity, 1(1), 1-9.
Kershaw, K. N., Albrecht, S. S., & Carnethon, M. R. (2013). Racial and ethnic residential segregation, the neighborhood socioeconomic environment, and obesity among Blacks and Mexican Americans. American Journal of Epidemiology, 177(4), 299-309.
Verweij, L. M., Proper, K. I., Weel, A. N., Hulshof, C. T., & van Mechelen, W. (2012). The application of an occupational health guideline reduces sedentary behavior and increases fruit intake at work: results from an RCT. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 69(7), 500-507.