Obesity & Hunger
Hunger and obesity can and do coexist.
Most people mistakenly believe hunger and obesity cannot coexist. People associate the state of hunger or food insecurity with eating too little and being overweight or obese with eating too much. The most recent available data show that 66 percent of adults and 17 percent of children in the United States are considered overweight or obese. (source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2004)
Almost 11 percent of U.S. households experience food insecurity. In other words, in 2006, 35.5 million Americans including 12.6 million children were not always sure when or where they would get their next meal. (source: USDA, 2007)
In other words, in 2004, 38.2 million Americans – including 13.9 million children – were not always sure when or where they would get their next meal. In most cases, parents skip meals so their children have enough to eat. Many families scrape by with enough to avoid real hunger, but still lack the money to buy the healthy, nutritious foods needed for a balanced diet. In the United States, where most people's experience with hunger or food insecurity is sporadic or episodic (as opposed to continuous or chronic), hunger and obesity can and do coexist.
Hunger and poverty may increase the risk of obesity.
The causes of obesity are complex; and problems associated with being overweight and obese affect all Americans, regardless of income or race. Emerging research suggests, however, that hunger, poverty and obesity may be intricately linked. Recent work from Cornell University and the University of California at Davis suggest that obesity among poor women may be linked to their habit of periodically going without food so that their children can eat.
Others factors also may contribute to the problem. Low income people may consume greater amounts of less expensive, high-calorie and high-fat foods to guard against hunger, or may be unable to afford sufficient amounts of more nutritious food. Cash-strapped families may increasingly rely on fast food chains, which promote "value" meals, such as oversized burgers, extra-large servings of fries and buckets of soda. Healthier foods – such as meat, fish, fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains – often are more expensive than alternative junk food.
Poor neighborhoods often lack large grocery stores that typically offer the lowest prices and greatest range of brands, package sizes and quality choices.
They also often do not have access to farmers’ markets that sell locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables. Transportation to these large grocery stores and farmers’ markets also may be unavailable or expensive. Consequently, many families in low-income neighborhoods depend on their corner convenience stores, which often are stocked with high-cost, processed, pre-packaged foods. Exacerbating this problem, low-income families, especially those living in urban areas, often do not have safe areas for physical activity. Burning calories by exercising is half of the weight control solution.
Federal nutrition programs may guard against obesity.
A better understanding of these complex relationships is key to helping us move forward in fighting both hunger and obesity. While additional research is necessary, we can begin tackling these issues today by strengthening and expanding the national nutrition programs. The programs increase access to high-quality, nutritious foods and improve nutrition education for low-income families. Specifically, we need to increase access to and benefits for food stamps and the child nutrition programs, and support access to nutritious foods through supermarkets and farmers' markets in low-income neighborhoods. Better access to and awareness of federal nutrition programs will help more people afford nutritious food on a regular basis and is the fastest, most efficient way to quickly reduce hunger and food insecurity in the United States.
For more than 30 years, Bread for the World has sought and won improvements to the food stamp and child nutrition programs. This has proven critical to the success to date in curbing hunger and improving nutrition in the United States.
Bread for the World shares the heightened concerns over the growing obesity epidemic in the United States, especially among children, and the health problems that this form of malnutrition advances. But concerns about obesity, while important, are not a reason to limit federal nutrition programs.
