Living in a poor area increases the risk of obesity and diabetes

by Fancycrave.com

The causes of obesity and type 2 diabetes are known as irregular life, unbalanced diet, lack of exercise, and genetic factors. However, experiments conducted in the United States also show that "living in an area with many poor people increases the risk of obesity and diabetes," suggesting that environmental stress can adversely affect health.

The Stress Around You Could Cause Obesity or Diabetes
http://nautil.us//issue/61/coordinates/why-living-in-a-poor-neighborhood-can-change-your-biology-rp

In 1994, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development conducted a grand experiment on poor families living in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York. In the experiment, 4600 poor households, mainly African Americans, were randomly divided into 3 groups, one group being a house voucher that could be relocated to a region with fewer poor people, and another group being a variety of products. We did not give any redeemable vouchers, and no benefit to the last group.

In this experiment, which examined what would happen if people were given the opportunity to move to a better environment, as a result of 10 years of observation, it was discovered that "changes in the living environment did not affect most people" . Not only did many people not exercise the right to relocate in the first place, but even those who relocated to areas with fewer poor people had no change in their lifestyle and academic performance such as eating habits.

However, as the experiment progressed, changes were found to surprise researchers among those who moved to a better living environment. People who moved to poorer areas had a significantly lower rate of obesity and type 2 diabetes compared to those who did not move from poorer areas. "Moving to a less stressed environment has led to a reduction in obesity and type 2 diabetes," said Robert Whitaker of Temple University , who wrote an article in 2011 about this finding.

by Tatiana

Participants in the study who moved to areas with fewer poor people reported improvement in the environment, such as “safe to move, less repression, less anxiety,” and moving to a better environment is stressful. It is expected to reduce. "Somehow the social environment surrounding people is getting under the skin and affecting the body in various ways," said Rebecca Hasson of the University of Michigan .

When people feel stressed, they release the stress hormone cortisol . Cortisol helps to transfer energy to the body in an emergency, and plays an important role when fighting against danger or when trying to escape from danger. For example, if a human meets a bear, Cortisol will help you get the energy out of your blood sugar and run away at full speed.

However, cortisol is not only secreted when you meet a bear, but is secreted even if you feel stress everyday. For example, if researchers want to promote the secretion of cortisol in experiments, they will do tasks such as math tests and public speech to make people feel stressed. Similarly, the human body is cortisol, even with stress that does not involve immediate physical threats, such as being late to school, being late to pay a loan, running out of food, or having racial discrimination. Promote the secretion of

If cortisol secretion continues for a long time, it is known that the risk of depression and other psychosis increases. Physiologically, it is also known that cortisol is associated with an increased risk of diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Because cortisol supports the breakdown of proteins and carbohydrates to supply energy, chronic cortisol secretion increases the desire for foods rich in sugars and fats, causing the body's cells to absorb more sugars. .

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Hasson says, "Being belonging to a poor household with an annual income of less than $ 20,000 (approximately 2.2 million yen) is a strong stressor," and there are more minorities such as blacks and Hispanics who are prone to poverty. Being stressed, you may be more vulnerable to health problems. On the other hand, the higher the social and economic status, the minority people are likely to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. In addition, white people belonging to the poverty line have a higher rate of type 2 diabetes than white people who do not.

In addition, there is also a study that "the first generation of immigrants is healthier and lives longer than their offspring," which means that Americans born in Africa are better than African Americans born and raised in the United States. It suggests that you may not feel discrimination. Thus, the increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes may be largely related to the stress that the person is receiving daily.

On the other hand, researches have also been made that genetic factors increase the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. However, there is also the opinion that genetic factors can not be ignored. Professor Jose R. Fernandez of the University of Alabama says it is premature to rule out genetics as a factor in obesity, and stress such as housing conditions and discrimination may be linked to genetics and lead to obesity. I said there is.

by Sandra Cohen-Rose and Colin Rose