Originally Posted By ecdc <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/health/broad-decline-in-obesity-rate-seen-in-poor-young-children.html?hp&_r=0">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08...?hp&_r=0</a> Or as Republicans call it, socialism. >>The new report provided the most detailed picture of obesity among low-income Americans, using weight and height measurements from 12 million children age 2 to 4 who participate in federally funded maternal and child nutrition programs. It included data from 40 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Trained health professionals took the children’s measurements.<<
Originally Posted By RoadTrip The upside of not having enough money to eat because of the recession...
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Actually, poor kids have had a higher obesity rate, because things like fast food, junk food, and packaged foods are cheaper than things like fresh fruits and vegetables. As Tom Coluccio put it, "calories are cheap. Nutrition is expensive. " So this is good news. Of course, it's all part of Michelle Obama's conspiracy to starve us good Americans into submission.
Originally Posted By mawnck Job-killing health initiatives, as layoffs in the junk food industry continue to climb. Thanks a lot, Obama.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 Well good now that these parents have a guide, they should be able to follow these guidelines without any further guidance from the government.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Yes, because everyone always retains everything they ever learn, and keeping to good habits at all times is the easiest thing ever.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 I'm not saying people don't forget, what this shouldn't be is a substitute for bad parenting.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>Well good now that these parents have a guide, they should be able to follow these guidelines without any further guidance from the government.<< Keep in mind that this is a small but positive step. It doesn't mean that we've "solved" the childhood obesity problem. It's an ongoing effort that each new generation of kids and parents need to know about, at least until the obesity numbers are reduced to a small fraction of the current rates. And this isn't a waste of government money. It affects healthcare costs and insurance rates for everyone, including companies that still offer healthcare insurance benefits. It taxes health services, affects worker productivity and more. In other words, investing in educating people about making healthier eating choices is a win for everyone.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>what this shouldn't be is a substitute for bad parenting.<< Why the HECK not? Something has to be.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 And that's a depressing thought that for some people who are parents their one job is to provide for their kids. And before the peanut gallery jumps on me, I'm not referring to the one's who try to make a better life for their kids. I'm talking about the one's who pay little or no attention. The parent's where their kids are simply a bother.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I would like to think that diet among the poor is improving, but somehow I'm afraid that is not the case. I don't know if they really have the luxury of considering what is healthy when it comes to purchasing food... it all comes down to cost. With poor families having reduced ability to provide adequate food, I think it is probably more a case of reduced food than better food. In many poor families kids eat twice a day... breakfast and lunch provided at school. To that extent, they probably are eating a more healthy diet than they used to.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>The parent's where their kids are simply a bother.<< So...like .00001% of the population? Yeah, let's definitely structure policies around them. Newsflash for the childless: Just because parents don't raise their children the way you think they should, or screw up, or don't understand concepts you see as "basic," doesn't mean they don't want what's best for their children or wish they could do more for them.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 <<Just because parents don't raise their children the way you think they should, or screw up, or don't understand concepts you see as "basic," doesn't mean they don't want what's best for their children or wish they could do more for them.>> I should introduce you to my drug addicted cousin and get your opinion if she wants what's "best" for her kids.
Originally Posted By ecdc My family is working hard to eat a lot better. I've taken on the task of meal planning, grocery shopping, cooking, etc. No matter how much middle- and upper-class Americans insist eating right and getting healthy food is "obvious" and "common sense," it's often extremely challenging. Even with a generous grocery budget that far outstrips food stamps, I find it difficult to stay in that budget. Buying produce vs canned or boxed goods requires at minimum a weekly trip (and usually more) to the store. It's usually more expensive because its more difficult to buy in bulk since it does spoil. Even just working my one job, it takes serious planning and effort to create meals every night. I have to plan them out far in advance and price them out to stay in the budget. Our culture expects variety and delicious food day in and day out, and my kids are no exception. That's on me—I'm trying to reverse some bad behaviors (hating vegetables, thinking pizza and hamburgers are the only good meals...) that shouldn't have been there in the first place. I'm in a solidly middle-class, two-parent family with two kids, and it can be bloody exhausting. I cannot fathom being a single parent juggling two or three jobs and still dealing with it. And we wonder why poor people buy processed crap at the store? It's important, it's doable, but sometimes eating right isn't easy, especially if you're correcting old, bad habits.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance "I've taken on the task of meal planning, grocery shopping, cooking, etc. " Are you for hire? I can't decide how to make meals for my famly that will please everyone. It's freakin exhausting. My husband eats very little carbs, I'm trying to do that too, and get the kids eating healthier, but when the heck do you do when you have a 5 year old with a million food aversions, and when you try and force him to try more varieties, he literally starts gagging. Our food budget is always maxed and then some, and still it doesn't ever seem like enough. I'm tired of the whole process! 4 people, 4 different likes and dislikes, and diets. I give up.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer We know parents make bad choices. Everyone does. But when parents make bad choices it affects not only their own kids but the entire community. It makes education more expensive, it affects public health and associated costs, and it can lead to continued government assistance over a life time. This all creates drag on the economy and on our tax dollars. So we spend tax dollars to mitigate bad parenting. We spend them to mitigate for the effects of poverty on nutrition and health and cognitive development in the hope that we can reduce those expenses in the future.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer CC, just make one meal. Don't be a short order cook. If they don't like what you're serving they can make themselves a peanut butter sandwich or something. Your job is to put a healthy meal in front of them. It's up to them whether or not they eat it. We usually set up our menus so that there is at least one thing that we know that our daughter likes. It might just be cucumbers or red peppers, but we know she'll eat at least that. And if we don't make a big deal out of it she'll try other things - but we don't fight over it. If she's still hungry after dinner, we offer her healthy snacks to eat rather than snack food or dessert. As long as there is one or two things on the table that your 5 year old or 35 year old can eat, don't worry about pleasing them with everything else. That's the great thing about being the cook - you get to pick the menu. And when they cook, they can pick it.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan The economic factor in obesity seems to be overlooked. It isn't that parents and kids don't know that we all should exercise and eat right so much as that they are often priced out of fresh produce. Fast food obviously isn't something you should eat every day, but if you're low income and simply trying to fill up your stomach, it gets the job done relatively cheaply.
