Low Income Areas Lack For Unhealthy Meals Essay

Researcher James Levin’s “Poverty and Obesity in the U.S” from American Diabetes Association, research about the Obesity and Diabetes in Poverty counties/reigns of the United States. Levin believes poverty and obesity are linked to each other. According to Levin’s research “ People in America who live in the most poverty-dense counties are those most prone to obesity. ” . There are many reason that link poverty to obesity, but Levin believes lack of fresh food and inactivity has a huge role in chronic metabolic disease (obesity and diabetes), and cardiovascular death. People who

Despite actions to fight obesity there are still problems that are difficult for the Federal Government to fight. Factors such as socioeconomic status and environmental factors have a direct link to obesity in Americans. According to (cdc.gov), “blacks had the highest prevalence of obesity, followed by Hispanics, and then whites.” Also, the Food and Research action center stated that “Lower income neighborhoods have fewer physical activity resources than higher income neighborhoods”, making a healthier lifestyle harder to maintain. Part of the problem can be traced back to the increase of healthy food prices which tend to rise every year preventing more people from affording them. Although people, who are disadvantaged, do face a higher risk of obesity, it is not always their fault. A study from the American Journal of Public Health has found that African American adults, who live in Houston, tend to be more overweight due to increased amounts of fast food restaurants found in urban areas. Overall, the

For most Americans, the word poverty means insufficient access to to housing, clothing and nutritious food that meet their needs for a healthy life. A consequence of poverty is a low socioeconomic status that leads to being exposed to poor nutrition. Since food and dietary choices are influenced by income, poverty and nutrition go hand in hand. There are many important factors that threaten the nutritional status of poor people. The number one factor is not having enough money to buy food of good quality and quantity. Not having enough money can have a profound impact on the diets of low-income people. Limited financial resources may force low income people to make difficult decisions about what kind and how much food to buy. Limited

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.

Obesity rates in the US are rising due to food insecurity. One in six people in the U.S. are food insecure, while two-thirds of adults and one-third Americans are overweight or obese.14 Studies have found that wealthy districts have three times as many supermarkets compared to the poor.15 Kevin Conocannon of the USDA noted in an interview that people in poorer areas sometimes have narrower variety of food options.16 SNAP recipients face barriers to achieving nutritious diets due to lack of availability in their neighborhood. Healthy food often comes with higher costs, so most people with lower income result to eating foods with lower cost and higher calories. According to a 2009 report by the USDA, as many as 23.5 million Americans live more than one mile from a supermarket with limited access to a vehicle.17 Food Deserts are particularly prevalent in low-income communities.18

It is said that obesity can be caused by not knowing how to combat and prevent this common disease before it begins in poverty stricken areas. Additionally the availability of nutritious food choices and the means to have safe active life style are not available to those who suffer from poverty due to financial and educational disadvantages. Obesity is not just a class problem, but financially disadvantaged people that lack access to quality food will inevitably turn to high calorie processed foods that will stretch their food dollar.

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

Obesity prevalence is higher in lower-income families because they cannot provide healthy foods to their children. Healthy foods are expensive to compare to unhealthy foods. So the lower-income families become dependent on unhealthy, high calories, fewer nutrients, and soft drinks for their daily meals. Increased consumption of these foods associated with childhood

Who are effected more?? Is it causing Disparities: Hispanic boys and non-Hispanic black girls are the group of people reported to have a high rate of prevalence. Older children and teenagers are affected more than preschoolers. Overweight children are bullied and teased more that their normal peers and are more likely to suffer from depression, low self -esteem, risk of eating disorders, behavior and learning problems. Disproportionate affinity of disease towards racial and ethnic minority Hispanic groups create health disparity throughout the nation. One reason behind this disparity seems to be fast food industry which disproportionately markets to ethnic minority youth. According to a report published by American psychological association more than 32% black children are using

Because of the rising growth of fast food restaurants these restaurants would most likely, “2.5 times more likely to be located in areas
where people from the poorest SES category lived as compared to where people in the wealthiest category lived” (Raine, K. D.,2004). There is also the element of transportation, lower-income families may not be able to afford or have availability to have access to transportation. Income has a lot of control over a person’s weight gain and obesity, “low income levels produce stress, which may lead some people to store more body fat as insurance against difficult times in the future, and others to seek solace from their troubles through the comfort of eating” (Sobal, J. (n.d.). Social and Cultural Influences on Obesity. International Textbook of Obesity para, 44). Income can also influence a young person’s resources when it comes to their diet and physical activity, for instance, “having adequate income allows someone to focus on other aspects foods than cost, such as health and caloric value. People who experience hunger or food insecurity may overeat when food is available, which leads lower income groups in some societies to be more likely to be obese” (Sobal, J. (n.d.). Social and Cultural Influences on Obesity. International Textbook of Obesity para, 45). With the growing economy, the unaffordable prices and plus a low-income can limit a young person’s choice of food, this can also attribute to negative dietary lifestyle.

There are some of the most devastating situations in which a family cannot afford food with nutritional value, such as the healthy food that they need every day to survive. A perfect example of that is a term called “food insecurity.” Food insecurity is the term that you use for individuals who struggle to put healthy food on the table because of their financial needs, such as simply not being able to afford it. Families who are like this more often than most of the time result in obesity. Obesity occurs in these circumstances because they are only able to afford the foods with the cheapest prices and therefore incredibly low nutritional value. People who are food insecure are more likely to become obese than those who do not struggle with

Poor people are less likely to have healthy diets and they are more likely to have fast food restaurants in their neighborhoods. That is when fatty foods and sugars are part of a family's diet. People who are in low- income or isolated urban areas have less options in foods. According to William Julius Wilson, “ they don’t have big supermarkets in their areas.” People who live in low income , they eat a big portion of inexpensive fat foods like fried potatoes and macaroni and cheese, which these options have a high portion of

D. Piette, M. Heisler, and T. H. Wagner). Poverty can also take a massive toll on psychological health. Yale University’s School of Medicine released a new study finding that impoverished moms who do not have an ample supply of diapers often end up depressed or suffering from other mental illnesses. Which is something can be passed on to their children and affect their general health (Mukherjee). Poverty is the root of many of these illnesses. The stress of not being able to afford basic necessities can have an effect on someone. Poverty can prevent a person from buying nutritious and healthy foods, which in turn leads to using food stamps to buy processed, unhealthy, salty foods and snacks. Too much of these salty and processed foods can cause hypertension, obesity, and diabetes. Diabetes is one of the most common diseases among minorities.

foods rather than healthy home-cooked meals. (NIH 2014) Also, television helps to promote unhealthy lifestyles. Children see up to 10,000 food commercials every year. (NIH 2014) Most of these commercial include the newest sandwich for McDonalds, a new unhealthy sugary candy, or sugary cereals. If a child lives in a neighborhood or part of town that has a high crime rate, getting outside to exercise may be difficult. If a parent fears for their child’s safety, they may not allow their child to play outside. This causes the child to have to find more sedentary activities to do in the house.(NIH 2014) Sometime obesity can be cause by a change in the child’s environment. This could come from a divorce, death of a loved one, moving to a new area or school, and abuse. This could cause the child to be depressed and use over eating as a coping mechanism.

Frist, Obesity is more popular within poorer than among the individuals who are much off. Individuals with low income must be consuming more calories than they consume in physical activity. In the article Bittman article, does not ponder food deserts and individuals that live in them. When he disagrees that individuals can go to the supermarket to get healthy food, affordable food to make for themselves as they could to a junk food restaurant that I do not agree with him. Consuming more calories indicates eating a larger significance of foods high in calories, especially fast food, snacks, and soft drinks. I can think have several reasons, why this will be the case of access to whole foods are less accessible, and Price of whole foods takes more than fast food.