...Poverty and Childhood Obesity Linda Weems English 122 Instructor: Craig Smith October 5, 2012 Poverty and Childhood Obesity Over the past years, more people have become underprivileged. America used to have a strong middle class, but now the middle class is gradually retreating due to many jobs going overseas and local companies closing due to the 2007 economic crash. Because of the state of the economy, people will have to make tough decisions about what to spend their money on. Childhood obesity in America is an increasing ailment that has become an epidemic that has lasting emotional effects, because of the limited access to healthy foods. In more recent months, middle class families have been finding it hard to keep up with the rising cost of food and many of them have turned to the State for public assistance. In Nevada, “The picture of the food stamp spike is framed by the recession: About 145,000 Nevadans were collecting food stamps in fiscal 2007; in March of this year, the government counted almost 354,000 recipients statewide”. (Demirjian, 2012) In my neighborhood, I look around at the kids surrounding me. More than half of these kids are what one would consider “obese”. Childhood obesity is increasing in the United States – and the kids that I see today are a direct result of America’s unawareness to this crisis. The key causes of childhood obesity are a deficiency of exercise and deprived nutrition; these contributors must be conquered...
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...Connection between Poverty and Obesity English 135 DeVry University Farm subsidy payments are over $10 billion and are authorized to make payments to people “who aren’t even farmers anymore” (Morgan, Gaul, Cohen, 2006, para. 3). This has been going on, in some cases, over 10 years (para. 6). As long as you owned the farmland, you don’t even have to be growing anything and you would continue to receive a subsidy check (para. 3). Bottom line is all these billions of dollars in government subsidies contribute to lowering the cost of processed foods; not a good occurrence if you have low-income and cannot afford the high cost of healthier foods. The processed foods are so cheap to buy and are the unhealthiest that can be consumed by any human being. They are high-density, high-calorie, high-fat junk food that the unfortunate and less-advantaged part of our society has no choice but to buy because it is all they can afford. Studies show a strong connection between poverty and obesity, the government should appoint a task force to regulate and limit or repeal farm subsidies and overproduction of certain agriculture commodities like corn that is used to create highly processed, cheaply priced, high-calorie, high-density “junk foods”, so that prices of natural whole foods can once again be competitive and give the low-income consumers healthier food choices, thus contributing to the reduction of obesity. The U.S. budget for government financial subsidies to U.S...
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...Poverty and Welfare on Childhood Obesity1 Poverty and Welfare on Childhood Obesity Paul D Stasiak Self Study Childhood obesity has become a growing concern in the eyes of many Americans, yet not every parent can identify if their child or one they care for is overweight. Understanding dietary intake for our children is a very important. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014), childhood obesity has more than doubled and young adult obesity has quadrupled in the last 30 years (p. 1). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define being overweight as having an excess body weight for a given height, specifically as having excess body fat. The number of obese children today is higher than it has been in the past. However, times are changing and the fast food companies are growing more and more popular each and every day. This paper will examine the research which states that a child is more likely to be obese as an adult if they were obese all throughout their adolescent years and poverty’s effect on childhood obesity. According to Feeding America (2013), 45.3 million Americans were living in poverty (p. 1). This number is very high considering the 318.9 million that are living in America. The unemployment rate in January of 2015 was 5.7%. As a result of unemployment or living in poverty conditions, some families have resorted to buying less expensive food options for their children in order to...
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...issues in the US Obesity has gradually become a major health issue in America and the statistics, which I am going to talk about later, is frightening. To understand how large the health issue is, we have to understand what obesity is. Obesity is a condition where someone has so much body fat that it might damage their health. We define this amount of body fat by at least 20% or higher according to http://www.medicalnewstoday.com. According to http://www.businessinsider.com USA actually has some of the highest obesity rates in the world, and in this text I am going to look at some of the reasons why. The obesity does not just harm a specific part of the people, it harms everyone. Over a third of the American adults and almost 20% of the teenagers is obese. (http://edition.cnn.com) All this obesity has to come at a cost, not only personally but also economically. In this text I am going to look at some reasons to obesity, look at statistics and also talk about the future of obesity. For major parts of the American people, obesity is not a choice. Many are raised up in a poor family who do not have the resources to buy their kids or themselves healthy meals. 14,8 % of the American population live in poverty, that equals to around 47 million people. (http://talkpoverty.org/basics/) This is one of the biggest causes to obesity. Poor people have a lot less access to healthy and nutritious food. (http://frac.org/) Therefor I would say that obesity and poverty is strongly connected...
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...Introduction I will address the following question: How does poverty affect obesity? I will use three articles that will support my answer as to why I think poverty affects obesity. First, I will discuss the articles. Second, I will state the author’s main points and identify how they address my research question. Next I will discuss the evidence does he/she use to make this point and discuss what research method they author used to gather data and address the which sociological perspective the author would state their viewpoint to fit and discuss the authors finding support contradict and/or complement one another. Authors Main Point Article Summary One In childhood and adolescent obesity, which is defined as body mass index at or above...
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...According to Quick Facts: What You Need to Know About Global Hunger, nine-million people die a year due to starvation, but in America many lives are ended by obesity. When analyzing statistics, a correlation between poverty and obesity in America becomes evident. Because of the rising prices of nutritious foods, lack of fitness opportunities available to the poor, junk food specifically created to be addictive, periods of starvation followed by overindulgence, the poor are destined to become fat. The cost of living healthy is increasing. According to Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter’s “Can You afford to Eat Right?” from 2006 to 2008 the price of eggs increased by over seventy cents. Other staple foods have also become more...
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...living under the poverty line* (Bureau U. S., 2014). That same year it was estimated that women accounted for 30.6% of those living in poverty, while men only accounted for 15.7% (Bureau U. S., 2014). Women living in poverty have become a prevalent trend due to the feminization of poverty* and the glass ceiling* that they face when attempting to achieve upward social mobility*. As a result women and children often account for majority of those who are poor. A whopping 50.7% of those living in poverty today are women and children (Bureau U. S., 2014). Occurrences such as racial discrimination, low educational skills, single parenting, low paying jobs, and lack of opportunities...
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...Health Term Paper: Childhood Obesity in Low Socioeconomic Status Communities Jordan Landers Florida State University Abstract Obesity is at an all time high in the Unites States, affecting 35% of adults and 17% of children. Childhood obesity can be very detrimental causing emotional, physical, and social strain on the lives of adolescents. Those that are affected the most are citizens that live in low socioeconomic status communities due to lack of education and lack of resources. There are shortages of grocery stores and markets that offer fresh fruits and vegetables thus communities rely on fast food restaurants and convenient stores for food. Furthermore lack of fresh food coupled with physical inactivity is the main reason for the rise of childhood obesity and obesity in general in the past 30 years. Creating safe places for children to play as well as providing food and resources is the only way to eliminate the ongoing obesity epidemic. Growing up there has always been a certain degree of importance placed on the diet and living a healthy lifestyle to live a long and successful life. As of late there has been a boom in fitness sales, gym memberships, and importance on diet and quality food consumption, yet in the past 30 years the United States has seen a drastic increase in the amount of obese individuals. With social media and so many other health initiatives taking place across the country, why is there still a rise in obesity levels amongst adolescents and...
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...September 20, 2013 sally kohls Health Campaign on Obesity Health Campaign Part 1 Summary In Part 1 of this paper, the issues of obesity and some of the initiatives implemented nationally ad locally was examined in the state of Texas. Due to the in depth concern of the growing effects on obesity, the initiatives of this paper focused on the impact of obesity for children on all levels of communities. Furthermore, the paper also pointed out the importance of addressing the importance of fight on obesity. This paper identified the statistics of this disease from data gathered from Healthy People 2020 showing that the obesity rate has increased by 57% amongst adults ages 20 and over from 22.8% to 35.7% between 1988-1994 and 2009-2010. Also during the same time frame, children and adolescents obesity rate climbed the charts for ages 2 to 19 by 69% from 10.0% to 16.9%. Health Campaign Part 1 also explored the prevalence to how in the state of Texas the range from 20.5% in Colorado to 34.7% in Louisiana in 2012. This identified that no states had a prevalence of obesity less than 20% (CDC, 2012). In the continuing efforts of addressing the pubic health issues, community organizations, the state and federal governments have implemented a serious role in taking steps to help with the concerning disease of obesity. Local communities and agencies have collectively come together to help with the fight on adult and childhood obesity. The community outreach has involved parents, teachers...
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...Connection between Poverty and Obesity The connection between obesity and poverty has become a very common topic of debate especially in America where obesity has come up as a major health risk in the population and an area which contributes to a major chunk of health expenses. One would expect intuitively that poverty and obesity are inversely related since it is commonly thought that obese people are better nourished and hence can afford to eat a lot, however this is not so. In an analysis of data collected through interviews by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention it was found that obesity was directly linked with poor socio economic as well as educational status. Thus contrary to public opinion we find that people from the lower socio-economic strata of society are at more risk of becoming overweight and obese than wealthier individuals. Also many obese individuals are malnutrition. Contrary to popular belief malnutrition comes in two types; macro malnutrition and micro malnutrition. Macro malnutrition is the one which most people know about and in this form a person does not eating enough to support his dietary requirement which leads to a significantly lower than optimal weight, deficiency and other complications associated with malnutrition. On the other hand micro malnutrition is the form of malnutrition in which an individual is not meeting his nutritional requirement (although they might be eating enough or even over eating) and this is because they are eating...
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...Corruption goes hand in hand with Economic Freedom. Transparency International ranks Italy with a score of 43 at 69 in comparison to the world. With these three overall rankings we can securely understand that Italy is a stable enough country for the expansion of PackIT. For PackIT, our social goal is to reduce Obesity in Italy where 36 percent of the child population suffers from Obesity. At an economical standpoint, another important analysis we must study is Poverty in Italy. It is well known that poverty can bring families limited food budgets and choices ending in cheaper unhealthier food, and food that can’t last long or be kept healthy to eat. Poverty also restricts regular physical activity due to time constraints. According to the Italy National Statistical Institute, around 13 in 100 Italians are living below the poverty line. In 2013 ISTAT declares an absolute poverty incidence of 7.9% across the entire country. To understand what areas PackIT should face and strategically position them for more efficiency through targeting, we study the analysis of the areas inside of Italy. By studying the Poverty Chart we can analyze what areas and who is subject to obesity....
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...Fast Food Workers’ Rights At a glance it is easy to see that the winning formula for the high economic success in the fast food industry is comprised of cheap food and cheap labor. Their ability to sell food at a low price in a matter of minutes caters to families or individuals limited on time or money, and in many cases both of these factors are of equal importance. Inordinately the consumption of low cost labor in the fast food industry has resulted in an underpaid and under protected workforce. In many ways limitations on workers’ rights in the fast food industry have been instrumental in the high profitability of the corporations that dominate it; however, the formation of unions or other sources of support for fast food workers would have implications on the price and/or quality of the final products sold. These implications, in particularly the price of the food, would force a complete restructure of the expectations and needs of customers who currently frequent the restaurants. A key element in sourcing low cost labor has been the excessive employment of teenagers. The fast food industry has exploited the needs and vulnerability of teenagers in order to create a high turnover workforce that is willing to accept low wages and easily taught. The industry has capitalized on assembly line production models, which require little skills from the workers; however, the machinery necessary for these conditions is often times dangerous and violates OSHA guidelines for...
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...The Relationship between Obesity and Poverty Obesity in the United States and similar societies is a socioeconomic problem. Obesity is defined as an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to one’s health. The energy intake coming from food is stored as fat since the body does not use it. This ultimately impacts one’s physical health that many degenerative diseases are directly and indirectly linked to obesity. Throughout the history of obesity, its reputation varies from appreciation and the opposite among cultures over time. For instance, Ancient Egyptians are said to consider obesity as a disease, having been drawn in a wall of depicted illnesses. The Aztecs believed that obesity was supernatural, an affliction of the gods. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, was aware of sudden deaths being more common among obese men than lean ones as stated in his writings. In certain cultures and areas where food is scarce and poverty is prevalent, obesity is viewed as a symbol of wealth and social status. Throughout the history of obesity, the public’s view and status of obesity started to considerably change in the 1900’s. During this time the government started to become more involved by initiating campaigns against the problem and publishing ideal weights for various heights. In 1996, the Body Mass Index (BMI) was published, which was a statistical calculation and index to determine if a person is obese or not. In the 21st century, obesity is considered an epidemic...
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...Tiffany Ritter The Editorial Reflection English 151 11 November 2012 Can You Afford to Eat Healthy? The obesity rate in the United States continues to rise year after year. Researchers are working to find the cause and reverse it. The problem is there is more than just one cause; we just have to find the biggest issue and fix it. The cost of healthy foods is not in the price range of many Americans; therefore, they continue to eat cheaper, fattier foods. Obesity rates could be reduced if the prices on healthy foods were reduced and more accessible to the general public. Cost is a major factor when shopping for groceries for many families. If healthy foods were more affordable than unhealthy food and snacks, Americans would choose to buy them more often than not. The amount of low income families in the United States is continuing to rise. Sullivan says, “Census figures for 2011 show that the official poverty rate will rise from 15.1% in 2010, climbing as high as 15.7%, putting poverty at the highest level since 1965” (“U.S. Poverty Nearing Highest Rate Since 1965”). Therefore, the number of people who will be able to afford healthy foods will continue to decrease. Low income families tend to buy cheaper foods because they have no other option. For example, the McDonalds menu offers a cheap and affordable dollar menu, while the grocery stores provide overpriced fresh fruits and vegetables that are out of many families’ budgets. Families are increasingly becoming overweight...
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...says Abby. Obesity is a serious factor in America’s economy and we should realize how bad it is. The obesity rate of America is more than two thirds of the American population. “Statistics say that America’s obesity rate and their poverty rate is almost similar”. Rich Hamburg, the deputy director of Trust for America’s Health comments, “It all comes down to level of physical activity and nutrition- how much are they getting, what kinds of calories are they consuming?” (“Poverty”). To prevent this, America should take action in making their country a healthier place. The country should tax unhealthy foods such as sodas for the people in order to be healthier and prevent obesity. There are many reasons to why America is the first country to have the most obese people in. Obesity rates have increased surprisingly, doubling the rate since the 1970s. This is also a very important case for children. About a quarter of 2 to 5 year olds are obese in America. Obesity is when your weight is 20% more than average weight, compared to your height. This can be called a disease. “Heart stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes and different types of cancer can all be caused by just being obese” (“Obesity”). The Site-wide Navigation states that overweight people spend more on health care than the people with other health problems. Researchers have noticed huge lifestyle changes- Americans exercising less but still maintaining the same calorie intake. All these concerns make obesity a problem...
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