Cardiovascular Disase

In my family there's no history of cardiovascular disease, but there is a high incidence of high blood pressure, high cholesterol,and diabetes; all common factors of CVD. What I believe to be interesting is that these the majority of my family that express one or more of these conditions are men. This makes me feel somewhat better about myself, but I still want to take measures that will benefit me.

The factors that might play in my family is the cultural and environmental factors. I grew up in a neo-traditional south Indian home where the men eat before the women, they also eat a lot more. While the women typically spend more time in the kitchen and eat whatever is left over.  I believe this may have played a part in the reason why men in my family are more prone to CVD.

Physically, I believe that the men are generally bigger than the women before pregnancy, but after pregnancy, women tend to be bigger than the men. This may be because the men try to keep the baby healthy by fattening up the mother, and as a result, the women are left with extra unnecessary weight. 

Socially, the women were always closer to the kitchen and would wait on the men, until they had enough food.

Socioeconomically, when I compare the health status between my dad's side of the family and my mom's side of the family, my dad's side of the family has all the high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes. I found this interesting because my dad's side of the family is generally a bit more wealthier than my mom's side of the family. I am sure that because of their wealth, they were more prone to buy the unhealthier foods. In comparison, to the American society, I've noticed that its the other way around. Generally, it is the unhealthy foods that are cheaper, such as the dollar menu at McDonald's; the healthier foods are more expensive, such as at Schlotzsky's a sandwich is generally about 6 or 7 dollars.

Educationally, both my parents' families have had the education about the risks of cardiovascular disease. I believe money played a big part in how they ate their meals despite the education they had on CVD. Now that my families are living in America, they know how to eat healthy and are willing to spend the money on it, but it might be too late for some of my family members.

I have seen the measures my families are taking to make sure they eat healthy. They're eating more lean meat, vegetables, fruit and less sugar and fats. I am proud of my families and the change they have willing done.