I Want to Teach Health

As I spend more time in schools and with young people, I have really seen how little we know about our own health. Last year, I began exercising regularly and eating very differently than before. All my senior girls asked me, "How are you doing it?! How are you losing so much weight?! Ms., teach me! I need to fit into a prom dress!" While asking me these questions, I would watch them eat Dunkin Donuts for breakfast every morning and chips, pizza, or chicken fingers for lunch. Little by little, I would give them advice on eating and exercising. I almost started an exercise club with them but we never coordinated.

I am a great example of someone who knew very little about my own health. I'm still learning. I am no expert. I took one health class in high school and Family Life in grade school. I think I learned more in my Family Life class, to be honest. Now that I'm getting older, I have been much more attentive to my lifestyle choices -food, exercise, and other activities. The prospect of learning more about the ins and outs of my body is exciting, but I feel like it would have been even cooler if my interest had been piqued at a younger age. I might have had more time practicing good habits, assuming I felt that my personal health was important.

I always grew up super self conscious about my weight when I wasn't even that big. My weight has fluctuated over the years and I never really stuck with a consistent method of maintaining a healthy weight. I didn't play sports until middle school, but by that time I had already developed a skewed image of my physical appearance.

When I finally did start losing my baby fat, I still thought I was huge! Looking back, I was clearly crazy.

High school sports also helped maintain my

weight, but I wasn't eating healthy at all, nor did I control portions, or listen to my "full monitor." At one point, I was counting calories with the help of my nutritionist aunt, but that didn't last long.

With all of the food conscious and health conscious folks out there writing, organizing, and

educating, I feel lucky to have been exposed to information about being healthy. I've also

become more attuned to my bodies needs...after 26 years!! I can hear when my body needs to run, needs stretch, needs water, needs to process, etc. I also take more seriously the types of processing my body will need to do when I eat certain foods.

Thinking back into history,

I always wonder what my ancestors REALLY ate.

Of course, I know about Adobo, sinigang, etc. and those are the more healthy, classic Filipino dishes but I supposed I wonder about the chemical, botanical, and physical sense that was being made through the foods my people took in. What did we EAT?! and Why?! Will those formulas still work today? I'm still learning, as you see.

Learning about different health issues in specific communities has also made me want to take a more active role in building awareness of health problems and solutions. Breast cancer, diabetes, heart disease, all diseases that attack our communities -some of them preventable!! Here's some crazy info about folks of color in Boston from the Boston Indicators Website:

Obesity

"Obesity is also a growing problem among Boston youth. Of the respondents to the 2004 Boston Youth Risk Behavior Survey—the most recent survey—nearly half, 48%, of 9^th-12^th graders were either overweight or at-risk-for overweight. 52% of boys were overweight or at-risk compared to 45% of girls; younger students werealso more likely to be overweight or at-risk with 50% of 9^th and 10^th graders

compared to 43% of 11^th and 12^th graders. Asian youth, at 30%, were least-likely to be overweight while black youth, at 53%, were most likely.

The survey also found a correlation between grades, time spent on homework and obesity with higher performing students less likely to be overweight or at-risk." -Boston Indicators.org

Heart Disease and Cancer

"Year after year, Boston’s black community has higher overall mortality rates than other ethnic groups... Prostate cancer deaths are among the most preventable with early detection and treatment, yet the death rate from prostate cancer among Boston’s black men is more than twice that of white men and double Boston’s average rate. Similarly, the death rate due to cervical cancer was more than twice as high for black women as for white women in Boston. Cervical cancer deaths are also considered preventable through early detection and treatment. Diabetes mortality is three times as high for blacks as for whites in Boston." -Boston Indicators

I hope that by studying health at some point, I can bring a more holistic approach to whatever community organization I end up working for. I can also bring this knowledge to any school community I might be a part of in the future. Knowing more about more traditional healing methods would also be really helpful as well. Personally, I don't want to be completely dependent on chemical cures or relief for pain. It would be nice to know how folks in the past used to remedy their ailments and stay healthy. One great example of more traditional curing methods can be found at Native Tech.

I've already started the journey by speaking with our health/P.E. teacher at school. I borrowed one of his fitness textbooks just to see what's out there. If anyone knows of any good sources for this type of stuff, please let me know!!