Poverty and Health

Poverty and Health

Poverty has been a struggle many face in different areas around the world. Poverty is not just about not having money but also about poor health that has led to multiple deaths. A risk factor that lies within poverty is underweight; it is the leading cause of diseases among millions of children and adults and a major cause of death. "All ages are at risk, but underweight is most prevalent among children under five years of age, and WHO estimates that approximately 27% of children in this age group are underweight. This caused an estimated 3.4 million deaths in 2000, including about 1.8 million in Africa and 1.2 million in countries in Asia. It was a contributing factor in 60% of all child deaths in developing countries. In other words, the report says, deaths from underweight every year rob the world's poorest children of an estimated total of 130 million years of healthy life." (WHO, 2002).

Furthermore, poverty can not only be felt and experienced without money but with low health and with risks of many diseases. This can be prevented by having the right information and knowing where to go and what to do to change your lifestyle. A lot still can’t afford health insurance and live check by check and have little or no money to afford healthy eating. That is another main topic that leads to poor health, all healthy foods cost more than a sandwich or hamburger in all fast foods. The more expensive things get the less easy it is to keep on top of our health. Prices go up but pay rates stay the same.

Our community and even our first lady has engaged in promoting healthy activities and promoting healthy eating habits. Everyone realized that poor health has been one of the main causes of many diseases and many risk factors to our health. Obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and so on are main causes of poor health. "High blood pressure and high blood cholesterol are closely related to excessive consumption of fatty, sugary and salty foods. They become...