Obesity In The Usa

USA Today reports five of the poorest states were in the top ten most obese states (Mississippi, Kentucky, Louisiana, West Virginia and Alabama) in America. In 2006 Mississippi was the first state to have 30% obesity among its population according to WebMd.com, it also has a high rate of poverty. USA Today also explains, poverty areas are generally unsafe which discourage children from playing outside, have few grocery stores which offer fruits and vegetables, and many housing developments in these areas are not built with sidewalks for exercise. All of these problems contribute to obesity, the poor are set up to fail to achieve a healthy lifestyle.

Grocery shopping on than $18.00 a day for a family of four is already near impossible but if you want to eat right and be healthy, this task is impossible. This is the challenge families on food stamps are confronted with daily. A needy family of four can get up to $542.00 a month in food stamp assistance according to fns.usda.gov. Being a smart shopper is key when on this kind of budget. The protocol many poor adults follow is this, buy whatever is on sale, use coupons, buy in bulk and get as much generic as possible. What is not figured into this equation is healthy foods and fresh produce.

The typical American family of four spends roughly $600.00 per month on food and more if the foods are organic, low fat, soy based or trans fat free. For an impoverished family, they need to stay within their allotted amount, and this means buying less healthy items and buying in bulk. For example, Ramen noodles are about ten cents a package which means a child can have one a day for a month for around $3.00. However not all that glitters is gold, one package of Ramen is equal to two servings. Each serving has 194 calories in it and 1960 mg of sodium (82% of our daily value). Many food stamp shoppers also shy away from buying fresh product because if not eaten right away it can go bad which means wasted money. So instead they buy fruit snacks packed with sugar, pasta, rice, tacos and greasy chips. These are all things which can be bough for cheap and on a food stamp program, however it is not helping the family to be healthy.

In 2007 Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski and his wife tried living in $21.00 a week (the food stamp budget in Oregon for a family of two). The governor found he had to say no to organic foods, Swiss cheese, low sodium Progresso canned soups and start saying yes to half a banana, Cup O'Noodles and store brand peanut butter and jelly. A worker for the Department of Health and Human Services in Oregon told the Governor to specifically look for low cost staple items such as macaroni and cheese, beans and rice all of which are high in carbs, fat, calories and far from healthy.

The Federal Nutrition Assistance Program brings nutritional education and a helpful diet for those on food stamps but it does not give more money to families to buy healthier products all it does is educate them which will hopefully help them make better nutritional choices. Dietary changes in schools have made it possible for children of low income families to at least get one healthy meal a day (lunch) and for those who qualify two healthy meals (breakfast and lunch), while they are at school.

The obesity epidemic is out of control as is the poverty level. It is difficult to fix one without fixing the other. Each problem also snowballs into other problems such as healthcare costs, disability cases, and unemployment. Obesity is not just one problem requiring a solution, it is a whole mess of problems which need multiple solutions.

1. Prev:Dieting Does Not Have to be Painful
2. Next:Obesity and the Poor