The other day I was wondering why my dad has never encouraged me to do sports or put effort into maintaining a fit and healthy lifestyle. Then I remembered a critical piece of information: my dad was not raised in the U.S. so he experienced little, if any, social pressure to be fit.
I came to live in the U.S. when I was three years old but I have been back to my home country (the Dominican Republic) at least half a dozen times since then. When I visit, I have limited access to things that I take for granted in the U.S., such as 24-hour electricity, cable, cars, internet, and air conditioning. In the U.S., television and the internet are my main sources of information on health and fitness so I can only imagine how limited this information is to the people who live in the poor villages, like my own grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
When I’ve visited the Dominican Republic, I have never seen a gym or fitness center, running shoes, workout clothes, a nutrition store like Vitamin Shoppe, or anything remotely fitness related. Occasionally I’ve seen kids on old or broken-looking bikes. And a helmet? Not a single one, even on motorcyclists (motorcycles are one of the main forms of transportation over there; people even offer rides for money, similar to a taxi). The topic of fitness has never come up between my contemporary cousins and me, nor do they care about portion control, calorie content, fat content, or any of the things in food that I worry about. But I don’t blame them because I’ve never gone a day of my life without access to food and I know that they, sadly, cannot say the same.
My life abroad, which I only have to experience for one to two weeks every two years, is similar to what my father (and mother) knew growing up. When you have to share a limited amount of food with fourteen other siblings (my mother) or have to wait for money from your mother who’s in another country (my father), eating healthy isn’t important because all that matters is the fact that you have SOMETHING to eat. The next day you may not be as blessed, so you are only grateful for what you have in the moment. Things like cardiovascular disease or diabete are not on your radar.
I have never experienced that sort of struggle, even before I moved to the U.S., and I’m really lucky for that. I’ve grown up in a different environment altogether and I have access to information that my cousins could not even dream of having, so I can learn.
But my dad grew up a differently; it’s probably harder for him to think about health and fitness because he’s never had to. (Old habits die hard, remember?) I think a part of him is just glad that he’s always been able to give us food so he encourages me to eat all my food because that’s what his experience tells him, even though he knows that I will have food the next day, unlike him when he was growing up.
As I transitioned from a teen into a young adult, I felt like I was the one teaching my parents about making healthy choices, rather than the other way around. I would comment on the food at the dinner table and would lecture my dad on why it’s important for him to go to the doctor and for a checkup. I don’t know if my annoying comments influenced him at all but I think he and my mom have learned a thing or two about the importance of being healthy. My mother has recently bought a gym membership and tries to go to the gym at least twice a week. My father has stopped buying my younger sister McDonald’s whenever she asks for it. I don’t know if that will ever change but until he makes me stop, I’ll keep exposing him to a different, healthier lifestyle.
I came to live in the U.S. when I was three years old but I have been back to my home country (the Dominican Republic) at least half a dozen times since then. When I visit, I have limited access to things that I take for granted in the U.S., such as 24-hour electricity, cable, cars, internet, and air conditioning. In the U.S., television and the internet are my main sources of information on health and fitness so I can only imagine how limited this information is to the people who live in the poor villages, like my own grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
When I’ve visited the Dominican Republic, I have never seen a gym or fitness center, running shoes, workout clothes, a nutrition store like Vitamin Shoppe, or anything remotely fitness related. Occasionally I’ve seen kids on old or broken-looking bikes. And a helmet? Not a single one, even on motorcyclists (motorcycles are one of the main forms of transportation over there; people even offer rides for money, similar to a taxi). The topic of fitness has never come up between my contemporary cousins and me, nor do they care about portion control, calorie content, fat content, or any of the things in food that I worry about. But I don’t blame them because I’ve never gone a day of my life without access to food and I know that they, sadly, cannot say the same.
My life abroad, which I only have to experience for one to two weeks every two years, is similar to what my father (and mother) knew growing up. When you have to share a limited amount of food with fourteen other siblings (my mother) or have to wait for money from your mother who’s in another country (my father), eating healthy isn’t important because all that matters is the fact that you have SOMETHING to eat. The next day you may not be as blessed, so you are only grateful for what you have in the moment. Things like cardiovascular disease or diabete are not on your radar.
I have never experienced that sort of struggle, even before I moved to the U.S., and I’m really lucky for that. I’ve grown up in a different environment altogether and I have access to information that my cousins could not even dream of having, so I can learn.
But my dad grew up a differently; it’s probably harder for him to think about health and fitness because he’s never had to. (Old habits die hard, remember?) I think a part of him is just glad that he’s always been able to give us food so he encourages me to eat all my food because that’s what his experience tells him, even though he knows that I will have food the next day, unlike him when he was growing up.
As I transitioned from a teen into a young adult, I felt like I was the one teaching my parents about making healthy choices, rather than the other way around. I would comment on the food at the dinner table and would lecture my dad on why it’s important for him to go to the doctor and for a checkup. I don’t know if my annoying comments influenced him at all but I think he and my mom have learned a thing or two about the importance of being healthy. My mother has recently bought a gym membership and tries to go to the gym at least twice a week. My father has stopped buying my younger sister McDonald’s whenever she asks for it. I don’t know if that will ever change but until he makes me stop, I’ll keep exposing him to a different, healthier lifestyle.
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