Food allergies are medical conditions whereby exposure to a particular food triggers a harmful immune response from the consumer’s body. The symptoms range from mild to severe and in some cases death. There are many types of food allergies, and the major foods that cause allergies are peanuts, milk, eggs, soy, fish, tree nuts, and crustacean shellfish. Research carried out by Food Allergy Research, and Education (FARE) among the Americans indicates that 15 million Americans suffer from food allergies including 5.9 million children. The results show that 1 in every 13 children suffer food allergies and among those suffering, thirty percent suffer from more than one type of food allergy.

The prevalence of food allergies has increased over the years, and now more people suffer from them than any other time in history. The increase has been noted to occur mostly among children. The centers for disease control and prevention has reported an increase in the prevalence of food allergies among children by 50% from 1997 to 2011. Peanut and tree nut allergies have tripled between 1997 and 2008.

An individual is rushed to the emergency room every 3 minutes as a result of symptoms of food allergies, and in the United States alone, two hundred thousand people are sent to the emergency care every year. This shows that I am an issue of great concern that needs to be addressed by different sectors of society. It has also been documented that individuals with food allergies especially children have a higher chance of developing other allergies hence placing them at even higher risk. Measures should be put in place to reduce these numbers and ensure the health of the people.

Reference

https://www.foodallergy.org/life-with-food-allergies/food-allergy-101/facts-and-statistics

 
Do you need high quality Custom Essay Writing Services?