Low-income kids three times more likely to be obese
By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published November 12, 2008 at 3:35 p.m.
Colorado's low-income children are three times more likely to be obese than the kids of well-heeled parents, a new study shows.
It's the starkest indicator so far of the link between obesity and low income and low education.
The "Income, Education and Obesity" study by the Colorado Health Foundation found that while Colorado remains one of the leanest states in the nation, its obesity rates are climbing dramatically.
If current trends continue, two out of three adult Coloradans will be overweight or obese by 2017, the study's authors said today.
Eating better and exercising more are the essential keys, but among low-income Coloradans with little education getting there is very complex, they say.
About a quarter of the Colorado kids living in households that earn less than $25,000 a year are obese, compared to just 8 percent of those living in households with $75,000 or more in income.
The contrast isn't as great among adults, but still significant.
One in four low-income Colorado adults is obese, while one in six adults in $75,000-plus households is.
Among high school dropouts, more than a quarter of adults are obese. The rate is one in 7 among college graduates.
What is causing the disparity?
Fresh fruit and other nutritious foods are expensive. Grapes, at $3.99 a pound, are an extravagance to low-income parents who can feed the entire family for about $5 on the McDonald's dollar menu.
Low-income families often turn to inexpensive food that is high in fat and high in empty calories.
The admonition to give the kids — or the adults — more exercise is easier preached than practiced.
Kids from low-income families might live in high-crime areas where it's unsafe to play or in areas where there are few parks.
And their parents can't afford to enroll them in sports teams, gymnastics or, say, ballet.
That is particularly worrisome as more Colorado kids slip into poverty, said Anne Warhover, president and CEO of The Colorado Health Foundation, noting that Colorado's 73 percent jump in childhood poverty between 2000 and 2006 led the nation.
"To say obesity is just about eating too much and not exercising enough is an oversimplification of a complex health issue," she said. "Poverty and lack of education contribute to the problem."
Warhover called on parents, schools, communities and government to work together to ensure that all Coloradans have access to healthy food, safe places to exercise and health care.
With each percentage point increase in the state's unemployment rate, which stood at 5.2 % in September, the number of uninsured children grows by about 10,000 and uninsured adults by 6,000, Warhover said.
"It is clear there is a direct connection between poverty and poor health outcomes," said Megan Ferland, president of the non-profit Colorado Children's Campaign. The growth in poverty and in uninsured Coloradans are "trends we can't afford."
Colorado Health Foundation officials say they aim to make Colorado the healthiest state in the nation by increasing the number of Coloradans with health insurance and encouraging healthy living.
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November 12, 2008
4:52 p.m.
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Dinty writes:
Aren't these the same kids who are frequently cited by Liberals as "poor and hungry"? I'm having trouble with the inconsistency.
November 12, 2008
5:42 p.m.
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djmom writes:
using low income as an excuse for obesity isnt totally true, low income families qualify for food stamps and if budgeted right can eat healthy and also as for not being able to afford team sports, if they are that low income, and qualify for free or reduced lunches, the schools waive that fee also,,, i know, be there, done that, doing that
November 12, 2008
6:32 p.m.
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SoniaM writes:
This is truly a major problem that all citizens in Colorado should care about, and should try to help these children and their families--not continue to look down and critisize them, or try to pretend that this isn't a real problem. Please spread love, not hate! :)
November 12, 2008
6:47 p.m.
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Romanesco writes:
"Fresh fruit and other nutritious foods are expensive."
Canned produce/dried goods are still *way* healthier than fast food. Inexpensive, too.
For example, from Kroger's site (est. price):
15 oz. can peas/carrots: $0.52
15 oz. can fruit cocktail: $1.08
15 oz. can kidney beans: $0.74
1 lb. barley: $1.19
"And their parents can't afford to enroll them in sports teams, gymnastics or, say, ballet."
So, do some push ups. Walk in place.
November 12, 2008
7:50 p.m.
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SoniaM writes:
I've worked in health care for the past 10 years, and if it were so easy to tell people to eat canned veggies and do some push-ups, then we wouldn't have this problem. I tell people to drink more water to stay in better health, and they laugh at me. (It doesn't stop me from trying though). People, rich and poor, are frighteningly unaware of how to take care of themselves. Canned veggies are unhealthy. They are packed with corn syrup and sodium, so kids would be better off eating fast food. At least they would get some protein, bread, and dairy in their diet. Groceries are too expensive, for rich and poor people, but because they are a necessity, everyone keeps shelling out money to pay the rising costs without questioning the price.
November 12, 2008
10:19 p.m.
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ruckerz writes:
Sure, cheap eats at McDonalds now may mean large medical bills later. Food for thought.
November 12, 2008
10:20 p.m.
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p_myers661 writes:
The root of this problem is ignorance and the major branch it grows on is laziness. It is difficult to live on a food stamp budget for food. I know, we are doing it while we wait for my husband's disability payments are upgraded to 100% due to his recent surgery.
Perhaps it's because I am older. I know how to cook a meal without a box of hamburger assistance. I also don't normally use canned soups to make sauces. Those two alone save calories. We love salads and use a bagged mix, better for the budget as they have a longer shelf life, and add a few different low cost add ins like a chopped carrot or a couple of spoons of canned, diced tomatoes.
Making your own treats also saves money. Many of those who are poor also lack the education to understand the brochures Social Services hands out to advise on how to use food stamps cautiously. We need to make the effort to educate the people who are in need of assistance to make ends meet.
Most of the poverty aggravated obesity problems don't mean that we are dealing with bad parents. We are dealing with parents who either don't know what to do or are so overloaded with work and parenting that cooking and eating are only mechanical reactions.
Ramen noodles, cup of noodles banquet frozen dinners and other shortcuts create a quick meal and, with the possible exception of the frozen dinner, lack a balance of nutrition.
Just imagine that you get home from work at 6 PM after picking up the kid(s) from daycare. You have to bathe yourself and the children, feed all of your family, have some family time and then check over homework and other school issues. Ramen noodles take three minutes to prepare and can be bought for as little as ten cents a package. You can spend two dollars to create a good nutritious mea. You can spend the same amount to boil the water and prepare those noodles. Time to cook and serve is half an hour. Time to prepare the noodles is fifteen minutes. That means you must include a budget of time as well as coin.
One suggestion is to require that a certain amount of the food stamps be spent on fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy. Others are to make that restriction but to make it a separate addition to the food stamps of perhaps a third again the amount given in the total food stamps.
Without a change in education and in attitudes nothing is going to change. We can't disconnect every TV in the city just because it's in the house of overweight people.
November 12, 2008
10:45 p.m.
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freedomfighter1 writes:
"It is difficult to live on a food stamp budget for food."
I work in the human service industry and most of the families I meet get plenty of food stamps. In fact, a family of four recieving food stamps, has/uses about $100-$150 more money for food, then my own family, which is 4 people. The money is there, the ability to make healthy choices probably isn't though. In addition, I think a lot of these people still sell or trade their stamps/money (the money is actually put on a credit type card now, no stamps).
November 12, 2008
10:57 p.m.
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914karen writes:
"Canned veggies are unhealthy. They are packed with corn syrup and sodium, so kids would be better off eating fast food. "
Excuse me? I can't remember ever opening a can of beans, peas, or corn and finding it packed in corn syrup. A lot of us grew up eating canned vegetables regularly, back before fresh vegetables had year-round availability like they do now. I wasn't fat as a kid and neither were my friends and neighbors. There might have been two fat kids in my entire elementary school. Obesity is mainly the consequence of uncontrolled consumption of junk food. As Americans we no longer honor the concept of self control. Many people are so accustomed to chowing down whenever the urge strikes that they've forgotten that it is a good and normal thing to be hungry on occasion, and you need to just wait till meal time instead of running to the nearest vending machine for a sugar fix.
I disagree that affordability of decent food is the problem. Beans and rice with fruits & veggies on the side can make a healthy diet, along with tortillas or bread, store-brand cheese, and healthy (small) servings of meat. It's not rocket science. Around the world, people of limited means live well on such a diet. The American food supply is probably the cheapest in the history of the world, relative to the amount of labor required for an individual to secure an adequate amount of food, and if that is not enough, there are food pantries to help people in need.
November 13, 2008
4:07 a.m.
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roger44 writes:
Less motivation by people on welfare, flat fact. We were poor, that was many years ago when not many in our area were in the money. But we made do, had a good Mom that knew how to stretch a dollar. I worked with a Guy who was making decent money, on food stamps, He was fat, she was fat from laying around playing games on playstation, kids too, both smoked. He turned down a raise because it would lower his amount of food stamps. Met a lot of them that figure they are owed, or had the attitude God will provide. I don't feel sorry for some, their own fault.
November 13, 2008
7:38 a.m.
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LingLingfor_prez writes:
I just can't bring myself to feel sorry for you. Lay off the hot pockets!
November 13, 2008
7:54 a.m.
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AngelontheSidelines writes:
Four words;
High Fructose Corn Syrup
November 13, 2008
7:56 a.m.
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River_Bolden writes:
another reason to not buy food at Walmart....
the next question would be: what are the lead & brominated flame retardants (PBDEs) levels in low income kids.
and kids that do goto Walmart vs. kids that don't.
That would be one hell of a stat!
November 13, 2008
8:02 a.m.
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davies writes:
Yep, whether well-intentioned or not, there's some bias in this article. They want us to believe that low-income people need more money to be healthy. The article says:
"Fresh fruit and other nutritious foods are expensive. Grapes, at $3.99 a pound, are an extravagance to low-income parents who can feed the entire family for about $5 on the McDonald's dollar menu. Low-income families often turn to inexpensive food that is high in fat and high in empty calories."
One, you can NOT feed "an entire family" for $5 at McD's. You can buy 5 cheap burgers, with no drinks or other food, but that's not really a meal, plus you'll burn gas or bus fare or whatever getting there and back for that one "meal", compared to one weekly trip to the grocery store. Two, bananas are cheap, frozen vegetables are cheap, etc. Home-cooked meals can certainly be healthier and less expensive than McD's.
The article also says: "And their parents can't afford to enroll them in sports teams, gymnastics or, say, ballet."
Like that is the problem. Bicycles are cheaper per dollar now that they were in the 1970s. Exercise is cheap!
Making contrived excuses for people does not help them.
November 13, 2008
8:39 a.m.
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gr8fuldude writes:
I teach a personal budgeting class to the poor at a local Salvation Army residential center, and I have to say that a lot of the issue is ignorance and apathy. Even after being forced to live in a shelter and being a step away from homelessness, many of the people I work with will still blow their money on beer, cigarettes and lottery tickets. While some people get it, I am afraid far more do not.
And for the record, my wife is from Vietnam, and can make $40/week look like a banquet. If you're not saving, you are not trying.
November 13, 2008
8:45 a.m.
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campesino60 writes:
In some third world countries a child can be fed on as little as $80 a year. Low-income does not equal obesity. Been there done that and without the assistance of welfare. For the majority of americans on welfare, regardless of diet or life style,
just goes to show you welfare makes one fat and lazy.
The more one relys on the government, the more one becomes dependent or in this case obese.
November 13, 2008
8:51 a.m.
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psu96 writes:
it's the cycle of poverty
November 13, 2008
9:04 a.m.
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toocool writes:
It's OUR fault...again. My folks were poor, we dind't get any food stamps, welfare (Dad was too proud) and my three brothers and I were all skinny as were most of the other poor folks living around us and at school.....We didn't get a FREE breakfast and lunch at SCHOOL, a sack lunch was it.....so all of you be aware, the Universal Health Care including feeding our FAT poor is on the horizon.
November 13, 2008
9:18 a.m.
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Dannyar writes:
Low-income kids three times more likely to be obese
"About a quarter of the Colorado kids living in households that earn less than $25,000 a year are obese, compared to just 8 percent of those living in households with $75,000 or more in income."
That's 3 times AS likely, not MORE likely.
November 13, 2008
9:24 a.m.
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davies writes:
toocool, the Universal Health Care aspect is an interesting irony. One of the arguments that has been made in favor of providing coverage to everyone regardless of whether they can pay, is that preventive care will save a lot of money in the long run. Obesity is becoming chronic in the USA and the collective impact on the health care system is ahem, huge. But we'll see how well people like being told to "get out and exercise and go on a strict diet because you're too fat." How about Special Physical Ed classes for overweight children? Ouch! But that is EXACTLY what preventive care is.
Maybe they'll decide to impose a Twinkie Tax to pay for universal health care.