PLEASE TYPE YOUR RESPONSE You are working with a medical non-profit organization

Question

PLEASE TYPE YOUR RESPONSE

You are working with a medical non-profit organization is starting a campaign to combat Type 2 diabetes among poor single mothers in Chicago. Recent studies have found that this is a particularly high risk group, and you are looking for ways to combat it. One factor that your group has found is that individuals who are under high levels of stress in their lives are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes. Having highlighted life stresses as a particular risk factor, your organization wants to find a way to address it. Whenever you are dealing with food insecure families, the children need to be considered. In this case, many of the stressors affecting the mothers will also impact the children.

1. What impact will the stress have on the children long-term? Consider the behavioral and metabolic impacts of stress.

Explanation / Answer

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. If you have type 2 diabetes your body does not use insulin properly. This is called insulin resistance. Stress is one of the major factor and can affect people differently. The type of stress that you experience can also have an impact on your body’s physical response. When people with type 2 diabetes are under mental stress, they generally experience an increase in their blood glucose levels.

For women in the lowest-income category the risk of developing type 2 diabetes is further more. For them, the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes is more than triple the risk of women in the highest-income category.

The studies point to living conditions that put low-income adults and children at risk for several diseases, not just diabetes. First of all, there is the chronic stress of low-income living that can adversely affect health. The strain of being short on money and living in inadequate housing, or not having any housing at all, can spike levels of cortisol, a hormone released when the body is under stress. While cortisol helps the body deal with stress, constantly elevated levels can cause a wide range of negative side effects, such as high blood sugar levels or high blood pressure.

If you’re stressed, you may experience: headaches, muscle pain or tension, sleeping too much or too little, general feelings of illness, fatigue. Childrens under stress may feel: unmotivated, irritable, depressed, restless, anxious. People who are stressed may also get engage in behavior that may be out of character. This includes: withdrawing from friends and family, eating too much or too little, acting out in anger, drinking alcohol to excess, using tobacco.

Residents of lower-income neighborhoods also often find it difficult to access fresh, healthy foods and programs that promote physical activity, both of which are key to managing stress, controlling weight and, therefore, preventing disease.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse P
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.