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Sick and Poor: How Poverty and Diet Can Impact Health
We Explore 4 Important Areas
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One of the disadvantages of being poor is that it increases your risk for certain health problems.
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Such people often cannot afford the best medical care and must scrimp and save when shopping for food. They often have health challenges that are related to their economic condition.
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Let’s look at 4 areas on how poverty is related to issues such as poor nutrition and health problems.
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1. Poverty and Stress
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Stress has been linked to many health problems such as high blood pressure and heart disease.
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There’s little doubt that poverty and stress are connected. When someone finds it difficult to buy essential items and pay bills, his or her life is inevitably stressful.
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This is one reason that poor people are more at risk than others for many illnesses. Health professionals should, therefore, seek ways to help such people reduce stress in their lives.
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2. Lack of Nutritional Information
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There’s a strong correlation between hunger, poverty and lack of education. In many cases, poor people are not well-informed about nutrition and other aspects of healthy living.
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Seeking the help of experts can help such people make healthier choices when they shop.
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For example, people who have completed BSN to MSN programs online could offer helpful nutritional advice.
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3. Unhealthy Working Conditions
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Poor people have always tended to work in unhealthy and sometimes dangerous work environments.
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Some employers take advantage of impoverished employees and don’t provide them with benefits demanded by law.
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Another problem faced by many poor people is lack of health insurance. Or, if they do have insurance, it’s very minimal and doesn’t cover all of their needs. Such working conditions are another factor that links poverty to health problems.
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4. The Challenge of Homelessness
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At the extreme lower end of the economic spectrum, people may face the challenge of homelessness. With the rising cost of housing in many cities, even working people may not be able to afford rent.
The conditions faced by homeless people, whether they live in the street or in shelters, presents many health challenges. .
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They may not get regular meals and the food they do get may be low quality. Shelters that house many people are often dirty and full of disease-carrying vermin.
These are some of the reasons that combatting homelessness is an important aspect of improving the health of poor people.
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These are some of the ways that poverty is connected to health issues. Those who live in poverty are more likely to suffer from poor nutrition, above-average stress and unhealthy working conditions.
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If we want to improve health conditions for people facing poverty, we need to address such issues.
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Article by Anica Oaks
anicaoaks@gmail.com
Freelance writer
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Do share with us below your viewpoints on this topic.
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What are your views on this topic?