Those without transportation are subjected to shopping at convenience and corner stores. Residents with better access to supermarkets and reliable transportation are less likely to develop obesity and more likely to have a healthy diet. But, where healthy food is more costly, sugars and fats are inexpensive and abundant. Families that are low-income try to stretch the dollar by buying cheap foods that are filling. These foods are of low quality, and have been the leading cause of obesity.
Fruits, vegetables, unprocessed foods, organic, and lean meats are all expensive. When you don’t have much money to spend to feed yourself and your family, you are looking at ways to buy the most money for your dollar, not the healthiest foods for your dollar. Unfortunately a bag of carrots doesn’t look as appealing as a bag of chips, most children would rather eat chips as well, and when you can’t buy much food you don’t want to have your children waste any, so you’re going to buy something they will eat. Foods that are highly processed, foods that don’t expire quickly, and most foods that are bought in bulk for a low price, are poor choices of food, and these are the foods that will lead to unhealthy bodies. Sugars, starches, sodium, everything that is in a processed food, just helps fat accumulate on the body, and in the arteries.
Lunch is an important meal of the day and many children eat it at school. It helps our bodies and brains grow and develop into the way that they are supposed to by boosting our metabolism and giving us energy for the rest of the day. But it's probably one of the biggest problems in schools throughout America. We are told to eat healthy and good but we cannot always do that with the choices we have at the school. Students are being fed unhealthy lunches at school cafeterias simply because it is cheaper to produce unhealthy processed foods so alternatives and healthier food go away.
With more healthier food options and an increased opportunity for physical activity in white neighborhoods, the minority populations are at a much greater risk for obesity. “According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the non-Hispanic Black and Mexican-American population are more likely to be obese than the non- Hispanic White population”(Marchiondo). This gap is also contributed by the “food stamp cycle, in which over- eating by food-insecure families when food is plentiful, i.e., when food stamps or money for food is available, followed by a short period of involuntary food restriction, followed by overeating, could be a pattern that results in gradual weight gain over time” (Marchiondo). Adding to the already racially segregated society, the weight gap between whites and other races only adds to racial stereotypes. The government can help curb this issue by implementing programs to eliminate food deserts in low-income areas.
The study did however find that consumption of the organic foods may help reduce exposure to antibiotic resistant bacteria as well as pesticide residuals. I was shocked by the results of this study. I believe the majority of people have always believed that organic foods are far healthier than conventional foods. Organic foods generally cost 20% more than the nonorganic varieties. A good question to ask yourself is whether or not it is worth it to pay the extra money for organic foods.
The poor in this country are not able to afford healthy food, nor are they in the position to spend time exercising, both of which could help reduce their chances of obesity; lowering the cost of healthy foods through government subsides, and creating programs that support healthy living and exercise in poor neighborhoods could be two solutions to this growing problem. The poor are at greater risk for obesity due to their inability to afford healthy food. Healthy foods are more expensive than unhealthy foods and are not as available in low income neighborhoods where the poor often live. Conversely, unhealthy foods are readily available in close proximity to many low income neighborhoods. In a study by Sharkey, Johnson, Dean, and Horal (2011) proximity to fast food was related to the amount of fast food meals consumed by women.
In order to put an end to childhood obesity, the schools needs to prepare a healthy yet balanced diet for all kids, by serving them with good food that is full of nutrition. District U-46 schools should prepare healthier/ more nutritious lunches in order to reduce childhood obesity. First, the most important reason why lunches should be more nutritious and healthier is to reduce childhood obesity in our children. In the United States, the amount of overweight children has dramatically increased in the recent years. In 2002, obesity statistics show that twenty two percent U.S. preschoolers were overweight (“Child”).
People that live in poverty are assumed to have diets consisting of more fats, carbohydrates and processed foods which lead to a higher BMI (Body Mass Index, an indicator for excess body fat). The gaveled choice of high calorie and unhealthy food due to “food insecurity” is not a valid reason as to why obesity tracks with poverty since wholesome food has become much more affordable over the years; instead, it is the nature of the environmental influences and behavior that primarily impacts obesity. A few years ago, I met a friend named Jerimiah West that lived in poverty somewhere in the slums of Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Jerimiah and his siblings received food stamps from the government through a direct payment card to buy food. He is very close to being considered obese and the reason why is due to his sedentary life of playing video games about 14 hours a day, along with the type of food he consumes on a daily basis.
As according to Kolko (2012), poverty in one nation is similar but exclusively different from poverty in another. Appropriately the characteristics of poverty correlate to the definition of a wicked problem. Access to wholesome nutritional food should be attainable by everyone. In today’s society fast food is more readily available than fresh foods, as dairy and vegetables are more costly (McDermott & Stephens, 2010). Households are “forced” to purchase inferior processed food, as nutritional food has become unaffordable (Hill 2012).
Not only does it put them at risk when they are younger, obese children also tend to become obese when they are adults, causing them to have the same, if not more serious health problems. I think that eating healthy and a lot of physical activity is important for children to help them stay healthy. But one large factor that I feel gets over looked when it comes to childhood obesity is how unhealthy food is advertised, and how big of an effect what everyday children watch on the television really does have in the rising of obesity rates. I think that the fast food and advertising are at huge fault for childhood obesity. The fast food industry knows that putting a toy in their kids meals will make young children want to go to their restaurants, rather than restaurants where they go in and sit down and get no toys.