How to End Black Co-Morbidity and Reduce Black Deaths Due to Covid-19

Unlike animals who act on the basic of instinct, human beings have the capacity to choose their behavior based upon the information that they acquire.

In this current pandemic environment, we are witnessing Black Americans dying all out of proportion to other ethnic groups. 

It appears that the reason for this is that in addition to their ages, they have underlying health conditions that make the virus more deadly to them. These underlying conditions are hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. Let's take a close look at each one of these conditions.

The Incidence of Hypertension and Obesity

Hypertension (high blood pressure) refers to the pressure that blood applies to the inner walls of the arteries. The diagnosis of high blood pressure cannot be given if the patient is ill or is already on blood pressure medicines.

According to the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure, high blood pressure is based on the average of two or more properly measured blood pressure readings at each of two or more visits after an initial screening

Physicians use the following classifications:

Normal blood pressure: systolic (top number) equal to or less than 120 and diastolic (lower number) equal to or less than 80, pre-hypertension: systolic 120-139  or diastolic 80-89, hypertension: systolic 140-159 or diastolic 90-99

Diabetes is a serious condition that causes higher than normal blood sugar levels. Diabetes occurs when your body cannot make or effectively use its own insulin, a hormone made by special cells in the pancreas called islets (eye-lets). Insulin serves as a "key" to open your cells, to allow the sugar (glucose) from the food you eat to enter. Then, your body uses that glucose for energy

Diabetes can strike anyone, from any walk of life. And it does - in numbers that are dramatically increasing. Today, more than 30 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes. Worldwide, more than 422 million people have diabetes.

The most common form of diabetes is called Type 2 diabetes, or non-insulin dependent diabetes. About 90% of people with diabetes have Type 2. Type 2 diabetes is also called adult onset diabetes, since it typically develops after age 35. However, a growing number of younger people are now developing Type 2 diabetes.

People with Type 2 diabetes are able to produce some of their own insulin. Often, it's not enough. And sometimes, the insulin will try to serve as the "key" to open the body's cells, to allow the glucose to enter. But the key won't work. The cells won't open. This is called insulin resistance. Type 2 diabetes is typically tied to people who are overweight with a sedentary lifestyle.

Treatment for Type 2 diabetes focuses on improving ways to better use the insulin the body already produces to normalize blood sugar levels. Treatment programs for Type 2 diabetes focus on diet, exercise and weight loss. If blood sugar levels are still high, medications are used to help the body use its own insulin more efficiently. In some cases, insulin injections are necessary.

 

Obesity is a medical condition that occurs when a person carries excess weight or body fat that might affect their health. A doctor will usually suggest that a person has obesity if they have a high body mass index. Body mass index (BM) is a tool that doctors use to assess if a person is at an appropriate weight for their age, sex, and height. The measurement combines height and weight.

A BMI between 25 and 29.9 indicates that a person is carrying excess weight. A BMI of 30 or over suggests that a person may have obesity. Other factors, such as the ratio of waist-to-hip size (WHR), waist-to-height ratio (WtHR), and the amount and distribution of fat on the body also play a role in determining how healthy a person's weight and body shape are.

If a person does have obesity and excess weight, this can increase their risk of developing a number of health conditions, including metabolic syndrome, arthritis, and some types of cancer. Metabolic syndrome involves a collection of issues, such as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Maintaining a healthy weight or losing through diet and exercise is one way to prevent or reduce obesity. A person has a lower risk of obesity if their diet consists mainly of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. When a person consumes more calories than they use as energy, their body will store the extra calories as fat. This can lead to excess weight and obesity. Also, some types of foods are more likely to lead to weight gain, especially those that are high in fats and sugars.

Physical activity can help prevent obesity.

Many people lead a much more sedentary lifestyle than their parents and grandparents did. Examples of sedentary habits include: working in an office rather than doing manual labor, playing games on a computer instead of doing physical activities outside and, going to places by car instead of walking or cycling

The less a person moves around, the fewer calories they burn.

Also, physical activity affects how a person's hormones work, and hormones have an impact on how the body processes food. Several studies have shown that physical activity can help to keep insulin levels stable and that unstable insulin levels may lead to weight gain.

Physical activity need not be training in the gym. Physical work, walking or cycling, climbing stairs, and household tasks all contribute. However, the type and intensity of activity may affect the degree to which it benefits the body in the short- and long-term.

Features of metabolic syndrome include diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and high blood pressure. People with obesity are more likely to have metabolic syndrome. And, the longer a person is overweight, the harder it may be for them to lose weight.

 

Many factors play a role in the development of obesity. Genetic traits can increase the risk in some people. A healthful diet that contains plenty of fresh food, together with regular exercise, will reduce the risk of obesity in most people. However, those that have a genetic predisposition may find it harder to maintain a healthy weight.

Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham crunched data collected from nearly 7,000 men and women older than 45 living across the U.S. - not just in the South - over the course of a decade. Their goal: to figure out why Black Americans are at greater risk for high blood pressure.

 

Over the course of the study, 46 percent of Black participants and 33 percent of white participants developed hypertension - and diet seemed to explain much of the disparity.

 

Black participants were much more likely than white participants to eat a Southern-style diet, which the researchers defined as one that heavily features fried foods, organ meats and processed meats, dairy, sugar-sweetened beverages and white bread. And this diet was more strongly correlated with hypertension than any other factor the researchers measured, including participants' levels of stress and depression, exercise habits, income or education level.

Eating a low-fat, plant-based diet may help give the immune system a boost. The immune system relies on white blood cells that produce antibodies to combat bacteria, viruses, and other invaders. Vegetarians have been shown to have more effective white blood cells when compared to meat eaters due to a high intake of vitamins and low intake of fat.

Plant-based diets are effective for weight loss, because they are rich in fiber, which helps fill you up, without adding extra calories. Fiber can also lower BMI, which is linked to improved immunity. A plant- based diet has also been shown to reduce inflammatory biomarkers.

Eating a low-fat diet may be protective. Studies have shown that limiting dietary fat helps strengthen immune defenses. Research also shows that oil may impair white blood cell function and that high-fat diets may alter the gut microbiota that aid in immunity.

 Maintaining a healthy weight can also benefit the immune system. Obesity has been linked to increased risk for influenza and other infections such as pneumonia

Following this advice will dramatically reduce Black co-morbidity and susceptibility to dying from Covid-19