Diversity Has Many Meanings, and Can Be

Diversity has many meanings, and can be difficult to truly define. It can be based on culture, language, location, or countless other facets. However, when it comes to health issues there are often specific populations that are more likely to be affected by some of them. Other health issues do not seem to relate to any specific group of people, and are more diverse in nature. One example of a health issue that is diverse and does not discriminate is Type I diabetes (Polonsky, 2012).

This is a condition that a person is often born with or develops very early in life, although the onset can also be later. It is not generally based on weight, lifestyle, or other aspects of a person's life, and can strike anyone. It's counterpart, Type II diabetes, is not the same. Generally, those who acquire this disease are a product of their environment and lifestyle (Polonsky, 2012). They are often overweight or obese and they consume a poor diet. They also usually do not get much exercise.

If they commit to weight loss and changing the way they eat and their activity level, some of them can reverse their diabetes so they do not have the disease any longer (Polonsky, 2012). Obesity can go hand in hand with Type II diabetes, since it is generally seen in people who are overweight and sedentary (Kopelman, Caterson, & Dietz, 2009; Polonsky, 2012). However, not all diabetic people are obese, and not all overweight people are diabetic.

There are, though, a large number of overweight and obese people throughout the world, and their numbers are growing. While obesity is a diverse issue seen in all countries around the world, there are many more obese people in developed, western nations (Kopelman, Caterson, & Dietz, 2009). Eastern nations and third-world countries have lower rates of obesity. There are two reasons for this. In countries where it is a struggle for food and clean water, it is understandable why there are few obese people.

There is not enough food for everyone, and people do not gain weight without enough food. The other reason is that the diet in many non-western countries is very different from what is seen in the west (Moyer & U.S., 2012). People who do not eat a western diet consume fewer pre-packaged foods, which means they generally eat healthier than people in the west (Kopelman, Caterson, & Dietz, 2009). Their diet consists of more fruits and vegetables, and they often do not eat large portions.

With globalization, though, people in other countries are being exposed to new things quite often. That is changing the way they do things, and changing what they eat. The rates of obesity are growing in places like China and Japan, as there is more western food and influence there now -- especially in the larger cities (Moyer & U.S., 2012).

Sedentary jobs are a contributing factor to obesity, as well, and there are more of those throughout the world today as people use their computers to do their jobs instead of doing something active that would keep them healthier and thinner (Moyer & U.S., 2012). While not everyone seems to take this issue seriously, it is a growing global health problem, as is the diabetes that often comes along with it.

Without changes being made, it is likely that the problem will continue to get worse and will be harder to correct in the future. The damage is already being done in higher medical costs and shortened life spans in western countries, and that will continue to spread to other parts of the world (Kopelman, Caterson,.