Low Income Families: Diet and Exercise

I live in Congress Heights, a blighted community that just two years ago got our first grocery store.  Before IHop opened last year, we had no sit-down restaurants and our choices for food was relegated to Popeyes or Chinese carry-outs.  Three years ago, our first Subway opened on Martin Luther King Ave.

First Lady, Michelle Obama

Still there is a dearth of quality, wholesome food in our area which explains why low income people eat more unhealthy and have more health problems than the upper class?

There are many reasons that contribute to this vast separation:

Food Deserts:

As mentioned, there are many areas that simply are not serviced by grocery stores, let alone healthy food.  A food desert is any area that is not serviced by a grocery store or Mom and Pop store that sells healthy food within walking distance or reasonable commute distance.

Income:

We all know that fast food is cheaper than healthy food.  When your budget for food is minuscule, fast food seems to be the winning option.

According to the 2010 US Census, single parents comprise 70 percent of all poor families with children.  The US is slowly becoming a two caste system with marriage and education as the line of separation.  In the top one-third of the population, children are raised by married parents with a college degree. In the bottom third, children are raised by single parents with no college education.

Convenience:

When both parents are working or when there is only one parent, there is often no one available to prepare meals at home, making fast food a very easy alternative.  According to the US Census, among single parent families, 26.6% live in poverty.

Life's Stress and Addiction

According to a March 28, 2010 study in "Nature Neuroscience," fast food is addictive.  The study likened the effects of high-calorie fast food to those of cocaine or heroin, in animals.

There are also claims to the structural changes to the brain because of fast-food consumption.

The stress of low-income thus may lead to craving of unhealthy food.

And the effects of childhood obesity can be devastating.

Childhood obesity leads to better chances of obesity as an adult and raises the cost of health insurance for everyone.

So, shall the government fight childhood obesity by regulating fast food?  Shall the city step in to regulate the construction of new fast food restaurants in healthy-food deprived areas?  How about banning trans-fat oil or even regulating the advertisements that appear to target children.

A July 2010, Rasmussen Poll shows that 36% believe that the government does not regulate fast food enough.

"There is no way that the first lady can or should go into someone's house and tell them what to eat — it doesn't work. It wouldn't work in my household — in fact, I would resent it. But what I do know that parents want is they want help."

-- Michelle Obama

The First Lady has created a healthy campaign targeting childhood obesity called "Let's Move."  The First Lady is also working diligently with Wal-Mart to reduce the amount of sugar, sodium and trans-fat in their food options (without raising the price).

People need help and even reach out to get some.  They know ultimately eating better is their choice, but when the odds are stacked against you, we all need to step in and intervene.

When the local DC government started regulating the licenses of liquor stores in Anacostia and Congress Heights, public drunkenness, loitering and crime started decreasing.

Exercise Camps for Kids
For those who feel that exercise not fast food should be the driving issue,Achieve Kids Tri offers summer programs that designs and implements youth-based triathlon training and fitness.  In DC, the 6-week free-of-charge program takes place in three locations and focuses on swimming, cycling and running.  The session ends with a timed short-course triathlon race, certified and sanctioned by the USA Triathlon Association.


KEEN (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now) is a one-to-one recreational opportunities for children and young adult with development and physical disabilities.

Source:

Urban Institute: Low-Income Working Families