Childhood Obesity And Poverty

According to Wall Street Journal, “More than 33% of adults who earn less than $15,000 per year were obese, compared with 24.6% of those who earn at least $50,000 per year.” (Izzo 2011) Processed foods such as cheeseburger or French fries tend to be cheaper than buying healthier ingredients and making home cooked food. When people have lower incomes, they do suffer from food insecurity, which is an important connection between poverty and obesity. Two reasons can contribute to obesity: parents are working and are no longer at home with their children and therefore not able to cook balanced meals; and foods with high fat are cheaper than healthy foods.

To begin this paper discusses what obesity is and how it is measured, determined and classified in children and why it is considered an epidemic. Then, provides examples of parental influences, including prenatal and postnatal care; followed by market failure and environmental influences. Next, this paper addresses risk factors of high-poverty neighborhoods including ethnicity, race and socioeconomic statistics. Lastly, the paper concludes with interventions and groups that address childhood obesity, social work role and future predictions.

In America childhood obesity statistics show that almost 60 percent of children are obese. This statistic continues to grow at an alarming rate. 70 percent of obese adolescence become obese adults. This means when these children grow into adults they will have more health problems than they already do and their quality of life will decrease. The amount of children who are obese between ages 6-11 years old has risen from 6.5 percent in 1980 to 19.6 percent, in 2008. In adolescents ages 12-19 years old the obesity rates risen from 5.0 percent in 1960 to 18.1 percent in 2008. Last year the United States government stated that obesity and type 2 diabetes have become a national epidemic.

You can get diabetes if you over eat or drink too much soda. The obesity rates in America are reportedly 18% for children, and 36% for adults. It is important to me to be a healthy, fit adult. Working out and exercising is important to eliminate health problems. Kids should be healthy so they don’t’ get health problems and become unhappy as adults.

This is no time to play the blame game on who’s responsibility, or right it is. The fact of the matter is we are all involved and we all need to do our part. Although much can be done by educating parents and individuals on the cause and effect of obesity, there are many issues that need a bigger brother to step in for bigger changes to be made. This is where the U.S. Government is able to do their part. Due to the alarming rise in obesity rates, along with the issues concerned individuals face in trying to make necessary changes on their own, the U.S. Government should be involved in the fight against childhood obesity.

When you think of the word “epidemic,” you often associate it with disease such as the flu, or much more serious ones like the plague. What most people often do not think is the much more common, relatable epidemic of childhood obesity. While we may not be the generation that is being affected the most, chances are the children we see today and children of future generations will be affected if we do not take action now. A fast-food frenzy has swept the nation, technological advances both in and out of the classroom seem to be taking over children’s lives- leaving less time for being physical active, and obese kids are posing a higher risk for an already damaged healthcare system. Childhood

(Dehghan et al., 2005). Fast food is also consumed every day by one third of American children

When thinking of poverty, many people first think of third world countries like Africa. What people may not know is the amount of people living in the United States in poverty, especially children. There are over sixteen million children living in poverty; the poverty line is considered to be below $23,550 a year for a family of four. The amount of children living in poverty today is twenty-two percent of all children in the United States (“Child Poverty”). With such a large number of people in the country in fiscally unstable environments, it can easily be seen that they also are susceptible to other problems; one major concern being obesity. Two major contributors to this problem are poor nutrition, because of the lack of nutritious

Poor parents are less likely to monitor their children's diet, diet patterns and physical activity due to stress and time constraints if they work. Parents who work full-time are less able to monitor their children due to a decrease in maternal presence and availability during the day. Studies shows that poor people who move out of low-income housing into better neighborhoods are much less likely to have diabetes or be obese than people who stay behind in poor neighborhoods. Studies suggests that not only the financial burned of poverty contributes to obesity but the surroundings or type of area that an individual lives in adds to the complication. (Committee on Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity. National academic Press. ) (2005) Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: Focus on Schools. Retrieved from the National academic Press, http://site.ebrary.com/lib/devry/Doc?id=10115249&ppg=11

Low socioeconomic status individuals have limited access to healthy and affordable foods which sequentially contributes to obesity. One might contend that the government provides assistance (WIC and Food Stamps) to

Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years (cdc.gov). Clearly there is a large issue in America that needs to be addressed by smart and careful thought out action by the American leadership. In 2012, more than 1 out of 3 children were considered overweight or obese (cdc.gov). The Healthy-Hunger Free Kids Act was passed by President Obama in 2010 (fns.usda.gov). This was an act that would force schools to serve healthy lunches in an attempt to reduce the issue of childhood obesity. Americans should have the right to choose what food they eat and the lifestyles they choose regardless of the impact on their health.

The rate of childhood obesity has grown an enormous amount over the years with more than 40 million children being overweight! That number is astonishingly high and it is very obvious that something needs to be done about this. Studies had shown in 2008 that more than 40 million children were said to be overweight and the sad truth is that they are still increasing rapidly to this day; also every 1 in 4 teenagers is said to not reach the fitness guidelines (Tanner) according to an article by Lindsey Tanner. For this problem to be resolved not only do the parents of children need to make sure their kids are staying active but also, the schools they attend need to make sure they are getting a well-balanced meal and have some type of physical activity during their school day. Each state in America is given a percentage rate on the number of obese people in that particular state. The highest ranking state is Mississippi with a percentage of 34.9 and the state ranking the least is Connecticut with 24.5 percent. Different researches have shown that each day 850 lives are taken due to obesity and each year there are more than 300,000 people that die from obesity related illnesses. These are deaths that most likely could have been avoided if these individuals would have had the proper exercise and diet in their lives.

Childhood obesity has now reached an epidemic in several parts of the United States. As a result, children now have a higher risk to have numerous chronic and acute medical problems. Several of the long-lasting medical problems a child might face as a result of obesity could eventually result in death. In addition to chronic medical problems, childhood obesity has severe psychosocial effects on an individual such as low self-esteem and depression. Childhood obesity is a serious problem that is caused by a numerous amount of factors that can eventually lead to severe health complications.

Federally-funded school meal programs, including the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP), serve an average of 31.3 million lunches and 11.1 million breakfasts per day at a cost to the country of $11.1 billion in 2011 (Food & Nutrition Services, 2012). These federally-funded meals are an excellent opportunity for regulation of nutrition as well as education regarding healthy choices. Obesity is clearly a great threat to the health of our nation, and the federal government must step in to defend its citizens against this growing threat. Children are at the mercy of their families, their social conditions, and their schools, predisposing them to obesity through poor nutritional options and a lack of education; the federal government must intervene through regulation of school meals and snacks to protect children from the abundance of unhealthy options while also educating them and reducing childhood obesity.

“Children and adolescents who are obese are more likely to be obese as adults, putting them more at risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, types of cancers, osteoarthritis, bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, increases risk for many types of cancer including breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder, thyroid, ovary, cervix, and prostate” (“Childhood Obesity Facts”). A person can increase the risk of getting several diseases if having bad eating habits, exercise