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Running Start/HEA150 - Health/Week 4/Discussion Replies Week 4.md

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+### Replying to Jalissa
+Hi Jalissa,
+It is sad to hear how much of a problem food insecurity is in Chad. It seems like there are many different factors such as rising global temperatures, climate change and an increase in refugees that are all combining to lead to more food insecurity in places like Chad. I'm glad that there are programs in place like IFAD thought that are working to support farmers. The state that I looked at was Alabama, which has has a 17.5% food insecurity rate compared to the 12.3% of Montana. With how much of a problem food security is in Montana, it is sad to see that it still has a relatively small food-insecure population when compared to other states.
+
+### Replying to Suri
+Hi Suri,
+I didn't know about the Good Food Kitchens Program, but it sounds like a great way to help keep restaurants open and help to combat food insecurity. Especially with all of the cuts to the SNAP program, hopefully programs like this can help to pick up some of that slack and help to feed those in need. Food insecurity is a problem all across the country, and I wonder if even though Maryland is known as a rich state, that means that there is just a larger wealth gap that still leads to similar levels of food insecurity.
+
+### Replying to Alan
+Hi Alan,
+I also read the CNN article about companies lowering prices for their products, and I agree that these companies acting nervous doesn't really reflect the truth. I think it really shows the lengths that many of these companies go to to get the most money from consumers. I am glad that many of these companies are lowering prices, but that is likely because they weren't able to predict or understand the state of the economy and are too disconnected from the working class that is buying their products. The ski resorts in Colorado is an interesting point, and it would make sense that economic factors like tourism would affect the food insecurity rate.
+
+### Replying to Addison
+Hi Addison,
+I looked at the state of Alabama for my research, which is in a similar area of the country to Arkansas. Even though Alabama has a higher food insecurity rate than the country average, it still isn't quite as high as Arkansas. It seems like many of the states with the highest food insecurity rates are in the South East portion of the country, which I didn't know before this assignment.

Running Start/HEA150 - Health/Week 4/Discussion Response Week 4.md

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+1. I read the article from CNN about how retailers have been lowering consumer prices after raising them to much over time. Retailers are always trying to earn the most money from consumers, and to do this they often raise prices as high as they can while consumers are still willing to pay. With the recent economic downturn and much less people having discretionary money to spend on things like extra clothing and furniture, retailers have realized that they might have raised prices too much. Many companies, including Ikea, Walmart and Michaels are lowering their prices in an attempt to bring consumers back into their stores to spend money. This didn't directly mention food insecurity, but it does mention that not only are the lower and middle classes spending less, but so are the higher classes. If even the higher classes aren't spending as much on discretionary purchases, the lower and middle classes are likely struggling to put food on the table and have enough to eat every day.
+2. I was assigned the state of Alabama. In Alabama, there are 896,510 food insecure people which make up 17.5% of the population. 52% of the population of Alabama is also above the SNAP threshold. Overall, this wasn't too surprising to me since the statistics from Alabama are pretty similar to the national average, and especially similar to states around Alabama. the national average percentage of food insecurity is about 3% lower than Alabama's though, so they do have a higher percentage of people that are not able to get enough food. Compared to states in the North like Minnesota and North Dakota, Alabama does have a much higher food insecurity rate, although there are other states like Arkansas and Oklahoma that are even higher than Alabama.
+3. I am pretty lucky, since there is a grocery store a few blocks from where I live. This makes it a pretty easy 5 minute walk and I will often go there to pick up something we are missing for dinner or another meal. While it doesn't have the best variety of foods, it still does have some fresh produce and will usually have what we are looking for. For my diet, I try not to eat too many processed foods and minimize the number of microwaved or pre-made meals. I also try to eat fruits or vegetables with every meal to ensure that I am getting the nutrients that I need. There are definitely still areas for improvement though, and making sure that I get enough of each of the food groups would help to make my diet better.

Running Start/HEA150 - Health/Week 4/Search and Report Week 4.md

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+1. The parameters that I used were 5'6", 125 lbs, moderate exercise, and I looked at male.
+2. For my parameters, the ADA recommended that I have at least 57-102 grams of protein per day. The CDC also recommended that I get 55-191 grams of protein per day, and the WHO recommended 47 grams per day as a safe lower limit.
+3. To maintain my weight, a calorie allowance of 2241 is recommended. If 40% of my energy is from carbs, then 239 grams is recommended. For 55% 329 grams is recommended, 388 grams for 65% and 448 grams for 75%.
+4. To maintain my current weight, it is recommended that I eat 64-89 grams of fat per day. This is 20-30% of my energy intake and to reduce the risk of heart disease it is recommended that I eat <7% or <18 grams or saturated fat per day.
+5. When doing this, I wasn't too surprised by any of the numbers, although it was nice to see some of them. I know that people should generally have ~2000 calories per day, but I had never looked at exact numbers. I don't track these amounts too closely in my daily life, but this might make me pay more attention than I have in the past. It was also interesting to see the recommendations from different sources and how they differed. I wonder how these organizations choose these numbers and why they would be different from one another. One benefit for a calculator like this is to allow people to make more informed healthy decisions, although it might be a little misleading. Just saying that you need a specific amount of protein, carbs and fat per day doesn't take into account the needed vitamins, minerals or things like how processed the food is. Other factors that are also required to stay healthy and have a balanced diet. Someone could get enough protein just drinking milk, but that probably isn't the best idea for a balanced diet.