Where you live and how you live counts in how healthy you are. Whoda thunk?

[RDKirk]

Perhaps the most illuminating part of the research has to do with the role of racial discrimination in healthcare outcomes. Over the last 28 years, researchers were able to link racism aimed at Black women to increased risks of diabetes, hypertension, accelerated aging, asthma and heart disease.

Another major healthcare determinant — which researchers attributed to structural racism — is one’s zip code. Access to parks, grocery stores, and higher levels of air pollution impacts Black women’s health regardless of their income levels, researchers found.

“We’ve come to realize how much one’s neighborhood environment and social structures, rather than genes, prescribe health outcomes,” said study co-lead Yvette Cozier in a recent report from the university.

“Structural racism affects where people live, how they can exercise, the foods they eat, and the resources available to them,” said Julie Palmer, who co-founded the study. “We didn’t have a name for it 20 years ago, but we have always acknowledged its influence on health, and we are continuing to examine how these racial experiences uniquely affect Black women.”

MSN

This amounts to is a realization in individuals that "This place sucks" and a determination to do whatever it takes to move.

 

[Laodicean60]

"The psychological trauma of racial discrimination may increase cortisol (the body’s stress hormone) and weaken the immune system, potentially leading to elevated blood pressure, memory problems, and other conditions."

Boy if this ain't the truth! If your mind ain't right it doesn't matter how well you eat or exercise stress caused my heart attack in September. The funny thing is or not, God kept warning me throughout the year by scripture popping into my brain but I chose to remain in my psychosis. Peace

 

[RestoreTheJoy]

MSN

This amounts to is a realization in individuals that "This place sucks" and a determination to do whatever it takes to move.

We have a friend who just moved to Florida from a dreary state in the midwest and says her entire life is different and the people are much happier - and thinner. So sounds about right to me.

 

[iluvatar5150]

Here's the actual report:

Racism, Sexism, and the Crisis of Black Women’s Health

For nearly 30 years, Boston University has led the largest and longest-running study of Black women’s health, shining a light on tragic disparities and showing women their lives matter

www.bu.edu

 

[B Griffin]

I would think the stress of living in a virtual warzone because of minority on minority crime (e.g., Chicago), always being in fear of your life, with no meaningful restraint of crime by politicians and law enforcement would have a much bigger negative effect on health than racism, especially for those who are shot or shot at. Did they look at that? What are the statistics?

 

[KCfromNC]

I would think the stress of living in a virtual warzone because of minority on minority crime (e.g., Chicago), always being in fear of your life, with no meaningful restraint of crime by politicians and law enforcement would have a much bigger negative effect on health than racism, especially for those who are shot or shot at. Did they look at that? What are the statistics?

This Connecticut Metro Area Has the Longest Life Expectancy, Edging Out the Bay Area for No. 1 in the US

In 2021, the average American life expectancy at birth declined by almost a year. Which metro areas fare the best and worst for longevity?

www.moneygeek.com

​

all ten metros with the shortest life expectancies were in the Southeast. Jackson, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama, tied for the worst metros overall, with the average age of death at 74.4. Looking at the lowest 20 metro areas more generally, the South occupied nineteen of the lowest 20 spots, with only Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (76.1) representing another part of the country.​

​

Meanwhile, the Chicago MSA was in the top 20 life expectancy. Seems like whatever might be going on in the few square blocks that right wing media blows out of proportion doesn't make things more dangerous than living in the deep south.

 

[RDKirk]

"The psychological trauma of racial discrimination may increase cortisol (the body’s stress hormone) and weaken the immune system, potentially leading to elevated blood pressure, memory problems, and other conditions."

Boy if this ain't the truth! If your mind ain't right it doesn't matter how well you eat or exercise stress caused my heart attack in September. The funny thing is or not, God kept warning me throughout the year by scripture popping into my brain but I chose to remain in my psychosis. Peace

Racial discrimination is a miniscule fraction today of what it was 60 years ago. Moreover, these people aren't actually on the front lines of direct racial discrimination...if anyone is on the front lines, it would not be those spending all their time around other black people in inner cities, but those who are out in integrated environments. We're at a point where we're using microscopes to find racial aggression.

In my grandmother's day, even in my mother's day, a black woman working as domestic help, was subject to rape by her employer...and there was nothing she could do or say about it. The authorities didn't care, and telling her husband would either get him killed or shame him, because he couldn't do anything about it either.

I get what they're saying is that the urban environment is stressful, and that's true, but that stress is created by culture and economics...and is overcome by changing one's culture and environment.

Stress is also a matter of not observing the Philippian Prescription. After all is said and done, people can work themselves into the same level of stress over "first world problems" as a people living in the worst of the worlds environments.

 

[RDKirk]

This Connecticut Metro Area Has the Longest Life Expectancy, Edging Out the Bay Area for No. 1 in the US

In 2021, the average American life expectancy at birth declined by almost a year. Which metro areas fare the best and worst for longevity?

www.moneygeek.com

​

all ten metros with the shortest life expectancies were in the Southeast. Jackson, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama, tied for the worst metros overall, with the average age of death at 74.4. Looking at the lowest 20 metro areas more generally, the South occupied nineteen of the lowest 20 spots, with only Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (76.1) representing another part of the country.​

​

Meanwhile, the Chicago MSA was in the top 20 life expectancy. Seems like whatever might be going on in the few square blocks that right wing media blows out of proportion doesn't make things more dangerous than living in the deep south.

The Chicago MSA is all of the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area, a population of 9.5 million people that includes some neighborhoods of the highest economic levels of the country. Jackson, MI (population less than 150K) and Mobile, AL (population less than 185K) are both completely depressed areas.

That's not an apples to apples comparison.

 

[RDKirk]

I would think the stress of living in a virtual warzone because of minority on minority crime (e.g., Chicago), always being in fear of your life, with no meaningful restraint of crime by politicians and law enforcement would have a much bigger negative effect on health than racism, especially for those who are shot or shot at. Did they look at that? What are the statistics?

I found this true even back in the early 60s when I was a kid. We took a family trip from a small black population area where we lived in Enid, OK (near Vance AFB) to visit some relatives in Chicago. The difference was shocking and frightening even to me as a kid. Getting mugged by an larger kid the first day I walked out of their apartment certainly didn't help, but the overall standard of living in a project apartment was far more callous and barbaric than I knew living in a small house in a black neighborhood in Oklahoma.

And I didn't see a better situation when I was in my 30s assigned to Washington DC. Getting mugged at gunpoint twice in 72 hours also didn't help, but the more barbaric existence of SE DC (where the base is located) was still clear.

Yeah, that's a lot of stress. There's no argument about that. But it is "structural racism," or do people just need to do better?

 

[KCfromNC]

The Chicago MSA is all of the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area, a population of 9.5 million people that includes some neighborhoods of the highest economic levels of the country. Jackson, MI (population less than 150K) and Mobile, AL (population less than 185K) are both completely depressed areas.

That's not an apples to apples comparison.

Given the pretending that the entire greater Chicagoland area is a literal war zone in the post I was responding to it seemed reasonable to play along.

And at least my post had some data that might be interesting.

 

[Laodicean60]

Stress is also a matter of not observing the Philippian Prescription. After all is said and done, people can work themselves into the same level of stress over "first world problems" as a people living in the worst of the worlds environments.

That and Romans, take a thought captive but I flat refused. I feel God gave me the heart attack as a slap in the face to wake up but I was also healed. Praise God

Racial discrimination is a miniscule fraction today of what it was 60 years ago.

You ain't lying. I remember when I first saw a black man in 1966, I was six or younger and I freaked. Growing up I saw the change in movies no more segregation, a couple of black friends in my neighborhood. But in the Army when I watched my kids play with black kids I realized that kids had to be taught racism. A racist will be a racist no matter what color he is and this crap (systematic racism) the media is trying to teach my kids is plain wrong. It's just used to divide. Peace

 

[RDKirk]

Given the pretending that the entire greater Chicagoland area is a literal war zone in the post I was responding to it seemed reasonable to play along.

And at least my post had some data that might be interesting.

Nobody has said that of all of the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area

 

[Richard T]

Correlation is not causation. Mississippi is the most obese state with poor outcomes for good reason. Source: Overweight, Obesity, and Extreme Obesity Among Mississippi Adults, 2001–2010 and 2011–2015 "Factors such as food production, food consumption, societal influences, individual psychology, individual activity, the activity environment, and biology have been found to influence obesity (15). Further research is needed to examine the influence of these factors, particularly those that relate to the environment, on obesity among Mississippi adults." I did not see what the study that considers racism a key factor controlled for in other variables, but I suspect it left some other explanatory variables out.

 

[RDKirk]

Correlation is not causation. Mississippi is the most obese state with poor outcomes for good reason. Source: Overweight, Obesity, and Extreme Obesity Among Mississippi Adults, 2001–2010 and 2011–2015 "Factors such as food production, food consumption, societal influences, individual psychology, individual activity, the activity environment, and biology have been found to influence obesity (15). Further research is needed to examine the influence of these factors, particularly those that relate to the environment, on obesity among Mississippi adults." I did not see what the study that considers racism a key factor controlled for in other variables, but I suspect it left some other explanatory variables out.

Oh, the study did include all those factors...and blamed racism as the cause of all of them.

 

[USincognito]

I found this true even back in the early 60s when I was a kid. We took a family trip from a small black population area where we lived in Enid, OK (near Vance AFB)

I lived there in the 70s when my dad was assigned to Vance.

 

[RDKirk]

I lived there in the 70s when my dad was assigned to Vance.

How well did you know the town? My world as a child was centered around "Government Springs Park." It had a very nice little zoo back in the early 60s, and from our house I could hear the lions, bears, and peacocks all night long.

 

[USincognito]

How well did you know the town? My world as a child was centered around "Government Springs Park." It had a very nice little zoo back in the early 60s, and from our house I could hear the lions, bears, and peacocks all night long.

I lived in an old house on north 9th and Chestnut across from my elementary school so I had a convenient place to play. Used to go visit my buddies John and Damon who lived north of me, sometimes being driven, sometimes on my bike. My mom used to drive me on to Vance so I could swim at the NCO Club pool. I participated in YMCA sports and day camp.

I do recall the now defunct Museum of The Cherokee Strip and visited Meadowlake Park to fish, watch fireworks and ride the train. Took a day trip to Enid with my girlfriend in 1991 and the guy who ran it then was nice enough to pull it out of the storage "station" so she and I could get photos with it.

My last year there, when I was 9/10, and dad was on remote at Kunsan, so my footprint was necessarily diminished but on the plus sides I think that year saved my parent's marriage.

 

[Laodicean60]

Romans, take a thought captive

What a dork: 2 Corinthians 10:5

 

[RDKirk]

I lived in an old house on north 9th and Chestnut across from my elementary school so I had a convenient place to play. Used to go visit my buddies John and Damon who lived north of me, sometimes being driven, sometimes on my bike. My mom used to drive me on to Vance so I could swim at the NCO Club pool. I participated in YMCA sports and day camp.

I do recall the now defunct Museum of The Cherokee Strip and visited Meadowlake Park to fish, watch fireworks and ride the train. Took a day trip to Enid with my girlfriend in 1991 and the guy who ran it then was nice enough to pull it out of the storage "station" so she and I could get photos with it.

My last year there, when I was 9/10, and dad was on remote at Kunsan, so my footprint was necessarily diminished but on the plus sides I think that year saved my parent's marriage.

You were 'way north of my environs. I was just in elementary school, so my range was limited. Government Springs Park is immediately south of the St Mary's Hospital complex...which was much smaller back then. There appears to be another medical facility splat over where my house used to be. They also paved over the park area east of the creek and put in a parking lot; that had been my primary playground. All those apartment buildings are new since then...there were no apartment living back then. The Cherokee Strip Heritage Center has replaced my beloved zoo. Black kids basically had the southern portion of the park, white kids had the northern portion. At the time there was a white-only pool on the north side and a black-only pool on the south side. But that wooded area south of the lake was a glorious Peter Pan adventureland back in those days.

The Booker T Washington Community Center and the Carver Early Childhood Center were, respectively, the black high school and elementary school. There's a Dollar General where my mother's barber shop used to be. And a lot of those streets in that area were dirt back then.

 

[Richard T]

Oh, the study did include all those factors...and blamed racism as the cause of all of them.

Ok, that good you could find that data. Sorry i did not see that.