How Unequal Opportunity Affects Health

There's a lot of assumptions that it's just because people are lazy or they don't want to do anything for themselves or they don't want to get healthy and they just want to have their soda and Doritos. How do you address that?

Yeah, so I definitely don't think it's that they're lazy or unmotivated or don't want to move in the right direction. I think we have a broad assumption in society that all opportunity is equal. and that's not true. So racism, unconscious bias, prejudice, and stereotyping all play a role in the opportunities that are available to individuals. And if you just think about unemployment, for example, in comparison to Caucasians, African Americans are still at, risk for the same level of unemployment today as they were in the 1960s. That's a reality. So let's talk about the cascading effect of being unemployed. Well, now I'm at risk for poverty. If I'm at risk for poverty, then I probably don't have access to, or I won't be able to retain my housing or transportation, or I won't have access to those things. And so if I don't have that, then how am I going to get to the grocery store to get healthier food? taking a bus, that young lady's story was my story as well. I remember taking it, we had five children and two adults in my home growing up in the inner city and taking a bus and carrying bags, as much as you could put in your arms was what we had to work with. And so you opt towards getting processed foods or the least healthy options because they have a, you know, fresh fruit foods and fruits and vegetables have a shelf life. And so, you're gonna get the sugar laden foods that'll keep you full and you feel satiated, you feel really good about that, but you don't realize the impact is having on your health. So very much a cascading effect.