The Effect Of Nutrition On Children And Its Economic Impact

In the United States many citizens face hunger, starvation and malnutrition on a daily basis. This food insecurity affects millions of Americans. Food insecurity is caused when Americans don’t have enough money to purchase food for themselves and their family. When children experience hunger if affects them both physically and psychologically. “Children who are denied an adequate diet are at a greater risk of not reaching their full potential as individuals. Undernourished youngsters have trouble concentrating and bonding with other children and are more likely to suffer illnesses resulting in school absences.” (Karger, p 371) It is important for children to meet their full potential in order for society to continue thriving into the future. If children are not receiving an adequate education because they have an empty stomach, then they will not continue to higher education or they will do poorly. In order to combat hunger in children the federal government responded with several major programs. Two of the programs the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) are targeted towards school age children. These programs provide students with breakfast and lunch while they are at school.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) administers food assistance programs that help provide food for low to no income families. It is their goal to increase food security and reduce hunger by increasing access to food, a healthful diet, and nutrition education for low-income Americans (Caswell, 2013, para. 1). Some of the current nutrition assistance programs include “the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)”(Caswell, 2013, para. 1). SNAP will be the primary nutrition assistance program of the paper at hand. No matter how morally good it is to try to help reduce hunger and increase food security within the United States, there are still many questions regarding issues with SNAP. This paper will be discussing why there is such a strong support for the program, how it helps the United States as a whole, problems with the program, and why some people are against SNAP.

Nutrition is defined “as the science that links foods to health and disease. “ Nutrition is also called nourishment that provides food for support of life. Nutrition involves the process of humans ingesting, digesting, absorbing, and excreting food substances.Food provides energy in the form of calories needed to maintain all body cells. Nutrients are the substances obtained from food that are an important factor to promote growth & maintain a healthy body through an individuals’ life.

Furthermore, federal assistance is also a cause of hunger. According to a study from the nation’s largest food bank operator, the number of Americans in need of food aid has jumped 46 percent in the three years. A growing number of people have had to make difficult choices about what to spend their money on. “These are choices that no one should have to make, but particularly households with children” (Escarra). The government and the community can help in many ways. Insufficient nutrition has adverse effects on the physical, behavioral and mental health, and academic performance of

Studies have shown that healthy diets rich in fruits, vegetables, fish and nuts cost $550 more per year than more unhealthy diets (rich in processed foods, meats, and refined grains) for a person. Such costs can be substantial for lower-income families, as US government grants for the poor are hardly enough to cover meal costs – the average Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program payments amount to under $1.50 per meal. In addition, affordable yet nutritious food is harder to obtain in poorer neighbourhoods, especially for those without an automobile. With geographical and economic barriers, healthy meals are simply just out of reach for these families and it has been shown that children from lower-income households are more likely to be obese than higher-income

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports 16.7 million children under the age of eighteen live in a household where consistent access to adequate amounts of nutritious food for a healthy life is not obtainable. This is called food insecurity. Although this is harmful to any individual, it has major implications for children. Nutrition establishes

Nutrients are the substances obtained from food that are vital for growth and maintenance of a healthy body throughout life.

Did you know in 2014, 48.1 million households in the United States were food insecure? (Feeding America, 2016) Additionally, household with children reported higher rates of food insecurity compared to households without children. According to new research, a great proportion of college students are suffering from food insecurity (Hughes et al., 2011; Patton-Lopez et al., 2014). According to the United States Department of Agriculture, food insecurity is defined by “the state of being without reliable access to sufficient quantity of affordable nutritious food” (2015). Since 2006, the USDA introduced new terms to categorize food insecurity ranges. Marginal food security is described as “anxiety over food sufficiency or shortage of food in the house. Little or no change in diet” (Gaines et al., n.d.). Low food security “reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet without reduced food intake. Very low food security “disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake.”

In the United States, there is a substantial number of children that live below the federal poverty line and even more that live below twice the poverty line (Jackson, 2014). According to Jackson (2014), poverty and food insecurity are undeniably related and these children living below the federal poverty line are at risk for varying negative effects, such as delayed cognitive development and medical problems, that hunger can cause. There is a variety of nutritional policies that help these children as well as adults who live in economically disadvantaged and food-insecure households such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) (Jackson, 2014; Marx, Broussard, Hopper, & Worster, 2010). This program

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the federal Healthy, Hungry-Free, Kids Act 2010 (Public Law: 111-296), provide an overview of the literature, discuss the implementation process, evaluate the policy, and provide explanations for continued support, or provide rationale on why the program should end. The Healthy, Hunger-Free, Kids Act (HHFKA) currently awaits re-authorization, and funding by Congress. The HHFKA was originally included in the Congressional reauthorization process, of the original 1966 Child Nutrition Act, (CNA) which establishing several nutrition programs for school aged children. The CNA was introduced as part of President Johnsons’ “war on poverty” (Matthews, 2014). The Healthy, Hungry-Free, Kids Act 2010, set new

In the United States of America, the richest nation of the world, one in six Americans do not have enough food to eat. Have you ever wonder why there are so many food banks and food pantries throughout the country? They are not simply, as you thought, existent to offer emergency food assistance. Indeed, they are the main sources of food to millions of food-insecure Americans. Food insecurity, the state of not having sufficient quantity of affordable and nutritious food, has been very widespread and common in America. It affected millions of Americans and has been increasing dramatically in recent years; in 2012, more than 48 millions of food-insecure Americans rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (McMillan). The depth of deprivation varies in each family. Some families have to skip meals in order to save food for the next meal, some families get enough food but eat an unhealthy diet due to economic reasons, and some families get to eat but in the cost of other family members go hungry. Food insecurity is one of the most serious nutrition-related public health issues in the United States. Obesity in America is due in part to the consequences of food insecurity because of innutritious and unbalance diet. Food insecurity is associated with

As of 2017, millions of families in the United States live in poverty. As a result, this forces parents in between a rock and a hard place. This position of food insecurity, when someone is in a state where they are not able to access good quality food, leaves families with some cheap, unhealthy choices for food. Yet still, there are many other reasons as to why the United States is pressed with the major issue of food insecurity. One reason stems from the quality of American school lunches compared to those in other countries. Another is the link between hunger and obesity and the long-term health consequences of relying on processed foods for sustenance.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program also helps subside some of the negative health effects caused by food insecurity for participants. Food insecurity during a woman’s pregnancy can increase the chances of birth defects and cause maternal depression (Gundersen et al., 2011). Children who live in a food insecure household can have anemia, low nutrient intake, greater cognitive and behavioral problems, higher levels of aggression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts. Adults with lower nutrient intake can experience physical and mental problems, such as depression and greater levels of stress. Food insecurity can also increase the chances of developing diabetes and becoming overweight. The elderly are more likely to be in poor health

Through a tube formed at the belly button, a fetus receives all the nutrients and supplements it needs from its mother. In a perfect world, it would make sense that pregnant mothers have easy access to the nutrient rich foods and prenatal vitamins they need to make sure the development of their baby would be near perfect. For some women, that is not the case. There is an outstanding number of women who do not have the tools they need to be able to have a healthy diet while pregnant with their children and this status carries over to after the child is born. Food security has different meanings in different situations and contexts, based on location in the world. The definition being used for this paper is the running definition being used is “continual, reliable access to safe nutritious and culturally appropriate food that provides a foundation for the pursuit of one’s full human potential” (Hinrichsen, 2016). A lack of these vital nutrients and low food security has some negative effects on the cognitive development of children all over the world. These children are the future of the world, if this problem isn’t fixed there will still be an increasing number of malnourished, pregnant women. The cognitive development in the first 1000 days of their life will be hindered greatly and the effects it could have on their lives later are just as detrimental. Food insecurity is an issue that needs to be fixed immediately across the globe, otherwise we could lose out on some of

‘’Nutrition is the process of taking in nutrients from the foods you eat.’’ (Page 1, http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-nutrition.html)