why do african americans eat a poor ,high fat diet that leads to a greater rate of heart disease?

Question

i have read that african americans ,on average have poor deit conscious lifestyles. as a result they suffer a disproportionate amout of diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.Is it just a cultural thing where they were raised in households that had poor dietary choices?

Answer 1

They eat it for the same reason i do, it tastes better. Fatty foods are very good tasting. I think they have the same attitude i do, have a good time while you are alive. If i had the choice to have a lot less fun and live longer or more pleasure and have a shorter life, I would choose the latter. It's more of a cultural thing than a race thing by far.

Answer 2

Both cultural and poor diet choices. Southern women love to cook and fried food and fatty foods and high starch foods is part of that culture. Eating is a big part of the mechanics of the family. I think that education is the key and parents being accountable for what their children eat. It is not just the african americans that eat so poorly, the majority of americans from all races and both male and female. We have become a lazy society where TV, computer dictates how we live. I see a trend with healthy eating, now if the tv was turned off a few nights a week and was replaced with exercise we may all live to be a 100.

Answer 3

First of all, most American's have poor diets.

But there a few reasons any person could have a poor diet, african or otherwise. Socio-economic status could play a factor, whether it be because of limited income, being on a government program that only allows you to buy certain food, lack of education to know how to have a "proper diet," lack of resources around town where you could actually buy good food...etc etc....but again - this can apply to whites OR blacks.

Obviously, culture can also play a part in it.

But for some diseases, a higher percentage of blacks get the disease because of stress and poor diets (hypertension, for example). The stress of living in a systematically racist society, plus the stress of everyday life, in combination with crappy diets and limited activity that is common to American life, leads to more of a risk of developing a disease.

Answer 4

I do believe that it is a cultural thing. African Americans have the great tradition of "Soul Food", which is a diet rich in high fats. Foods such as fried chicken, shredded pork, ribs, any part of the pig for that matter, and they cook it in gallons of oil. Don't get me wrong it tastes good and everything, but its very high in saturated fats. And culturally African Americans make a tradition out of having big Sunday dinners with the family with these food. But since these foods are high in saturated fats, they are at a greater risk for heart disease. Because saturated fats have been directly linked to heart disease.

Answer 5

why just lump African Americans.
what about the Native Americans who drink alot of alcohol? the poor white trash who spend each meal at Burger King and Taco Bell? don't forget about the upper middle class Whites who eat alot of red meat and over butter their bread? how 'bout the Mexicans who cook everything in corn oil and eat very few vegetables? the Indians who cook with oils, cheeses, and breads? ............

Answer 6

Sadly enough, a lot of them are unskilled and have low paying jobs. Sometimes they don't have the proper fundation or guidence to show how thing should be done the right manner; when they were younger!

Answer 7

it's called economics. statistically "african americans" earn less. by extention they have less purchasing power. eating well costs more. not a race thing, although that can certainly be a factor. no, it's an economic minority thing.

Answer 8

its mainly because the poorer poplations, not just african-americans, have more access to processed, fatty foods,