Connection Between Poverty and Obesity 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

Obesity is defined as a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduce life expectancy and/or increased health problems. “The problem of obesity is increasing in the United States. Understanding the impact of social inequalities on health has become a public health priority in the new millennium. Social, political, and economic factors now are acknowledged to be "fundamental" causes of disease that affect behavior, beliefs, and biology.” (Goodman, 2003)  In the United States today, obesity has become an enormous problem. In the last 3 decades, the number of people overweight has increased dramatically. Obesity has not always been seen as a medical

Over 60 million people are obese in the world today. The socioeconomic statuses of the Americans play a major part in the obesity rates across the country. People with higher incomes are less likely to be obese than people with lower incomes. One in every seven preschool-aged children living in lower income areas are obese (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). A 2008 study showed that obesity is highest among American Indian and Alaska Native (21.2 percent) and Hispanic Americans (18.5 percent) children, and it is lowest

Anthony, A., & Reeves, D, (2010, December 4). Obesity and low Income in Corpus Christi [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROdyxEBrC8M C

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.

First, I will talk about how poverty influences unhealthy eating habits that lead to obesity, then I will discuss how the lack of physical activity increases your chances for obesity, and finally how genetics play a big role in obesity.

In the United States the society needs to work on controlling this problem known as obesity. It is a problem that if does not get controlled sooner than later, will spiral out of hand even more. Before this spirals out of control society needs to take action to reducing the cost of healthy food amongst middle-low class citizens so they can eat the

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

Modern society is dealing with a health crisis that has been on the rise for years. Ongoing

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

Much has been written to explain the medical aspect of obesity but little attention has been paid to understanding the sociological aspect of the epidemic. This research attempts to understand the sociological aspect of obesity by examining the socio-cultural, gender, and psycho-social effects and includes the different perceptions of the epidemic as well as what is deemed acceptable in the society we live in.

So there is a trend, but why are those with low incomes more susceptible to obesity? There are many factors. Low income areas lack in resources that produce healthy options. Residents are limited to convenience stores that have limited selection of healthy, affordable foods. Lack of transportation limits low income families because they cannot drive to the grocery store very often. In the occasional trips that they do make, they have to buy foods that will keep for a long time, until they are able to shop again. Preservatives in food generally make for unhealthy meals. “Households with limited resources to buy enough food often try to stretch their food budgets by purchasing cheap, energy-dense foods that are filling – that is, they try to maximize their calories per dollar in order to stave off hunger (frac.org, 2014).” For those who have no transportation, they may not even have the opportunity to travel to the social services office to sign up for food assistance.

The lack of adequate health care for those of lower socioeconomic status contributes to the problem of obesity. One study done in Europe found that obesity, which disproportionately affected people with lower social status, was not only linked to cardiovascular disease but also to mortality rate (Mackenbach et al 1997). These would seem obvious enough but the implications deal directly with the issue of health care availability. The higher rate of mortality cannot be explained by the increase in risk. The authors of this study concluded that lack of health care was the true determining factor for mortality. People don't necessarily die from cardiovascular disease especially if one has the money and opportunity to receive quality health care. It is much easier for those with money to receive quality treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease. In the US many poor families don't have access to regular

Therefore those that are overweight do not perceive themselves as overweight until they reach a target when they consider themselves obese (Truesdale & Stevens 2008).