Obesity In Lower Income Area Essay

Cause of Obesity in Lower Income Areas Obesity in the United States is an epidemic that affects many but, looking at the areas it affects the most the lower income areas the most this is only because of parents in lower income areas not being able to find any healthy natural foods to feed their children also, parents work schedule and city life so some. Living in a lower income area the choices of healthy foods are extremely hard to find, this is due to the fact lower income areas are in cities and are food insecure, which means being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable nutritious foods. . The food research and action center (2011) says, "all segments of the population are affected, food insecure and low-income …show more content…
A parent best effort to get their child to play outside safely is either school or their parent taking them to the park or to practice, which is not always possible and school does not offer much in the form of physical activity just recess which is getting shorter and P.E. lack of physical activity is only a small but large problem in lower income areas, food insecurities is the major problem. Food insecurities mean certain areas do not have a certain type of foods or has limited production of the food, in this case, it would be fresh naturally grown foods this is part of the reason parents are not able to cook healthy food for their child, fresh food is very expensive and if you live in a lower income area it is most likely parents are not able to buy those foods. FRAC states "A study using national data from almost 6,500 children found that food insecurity was positively associated with overweight and obesity in those 12 to 19 years of age" (frac.2011 pg. 3) this article examined food insecure areas to show why this is such a problem teaching children at early stages about good nutrition will benefit them in the long run but if they cannot practice good nutrition they will ultimately have to suffer the consequences due to the fact of them being food insecure which is what FRAC is trying to explain in this quote "When available, healthy food is often more expensive, whereas refined grains, added sugars, and fats are generally inexpensive and readily available in low-income communities. 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