World Wide Women's Health: Heart Disease, Cultural Differences, & Diets

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women in the United States, accounting for more deaths than stroke, lung cancer, and breast cancer. Within the United States, heart disease prevalence is highest among black women, followed by Mexican-American and Caucasian women. Internationally, coronary events among women occur most often in the United Kingdom and least often in Spain and China. The impact of diet on heart health is well established, with the American Heart Association recommending a heart-healthy diet focused on limiting foods high in saturated fats and cholesterol and emphasizing whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. However, a woman's cultural beliefs, traditions, and ethnic preferences exert a strong influence on her diet. In addition, availability, cost, and convenience, as well as role responsibilities, time constraints, and dietary knowledge, influence food selection and preparation. Some of the adopted practices may be healthful, such as reducing dietary saturated fats. Other adopted practices may not promote a healthy diet, such as increasing consumption of soft-drink beverages and fast food. The fusion of traditional eating habits with Western-style eating habits requires an individualized approach that assesses the dietary practices, language proficiency, level of nutrition knowledge, food availability and accessibility, and the individual's level of affiliation with their ethnicity.

References

American Heart Association. "Women and cardiovascular diseases" http://www.americanheart.org/

Levi F, Lucchini F, Negri E, La Vecchia C. "Trends in mortality from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in Europe and other areas of the world." Heart. 2002;88:119-124. http://www.heartjnl.com/

Lenfant C. Can. "We prevent cardiovascular diseases in low- and middle-income countries?" Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 2001;79:980-982. http://www.who.org/.