The link between Poverty and Obesity in Children
In the last four decades, obesity rates have more than doubled in the United States of America. Current statistics from the Food Research and Action Center indicate that approximately 150 million Americans are either obese or overweight. Although obesity rates are increasing among all age and social groups, the rates appear to be significantly higher in children between the ages of 5 and 14.
While there are numerous factors contributing to obesity in children, including genetic susceptibility, behavioral, and cultural factors, none of them has an impact greater than that of poverty. Children from poor backgrounds and the least educated are becoming obese at a higher rate than any other social group. According to the World Health Organization, high obesity rates in the United States are directly linked to socioeconomic factors such as poverty. The 2010 national census showed that 15.1% of Americans lived in poverty-based families. And with the current economic downturn, the number of people living in poverty in the U.S increased to 46 million, the highest recorded in the past five decades.
Several reasons can explain the association between poverty and obesity in children.
First, it is said that one of the major causes of obesity is the failure to combat obesity while in infancy. People in lower socioeconomic conditions lack the resources and knowledge on how to prevent obesity at the initial stages. And even if they did, they have “better” things to do, like working rather than focus their attention on other seemingly unimportant issues.
People who suffer from poverty experience financial strain and educational disadvantages, which means they cannot access nutritious meals and other healthy living choices for themselves and their children. As a result, many low-income American families are hooked on cheap, high-calorie, unhealthy meals, and soft drinks with harmful levels of processed sugars, which have contributed significantly to the obesity pandemic. These families also have limited access to outdoor activities since parks and sports facilities are less available to poor people. They are also less likely to afford a gym membership or exercise equipment to help them cut excess weight.
In addition, poor parents are often stressed out from working full time trying to provide for their families. This deprives them of the maternal presence and availability to monitor what their children eat, their diet patterns, or physical activities. According to studies, children born of poor parents are more likely to become obese than those of parents from a higher social group.
Moreover, people living in low-income districts often have to travel long distances, usually on foot, to access a supermarket where they can buy healthy foods. Therefore, parents often opt for the quickest available fix. As a result, children from economically deprived households and low-income areas have nutrition problems that impact their mental health, worsening the problem of obesity.
Lynch, B. A., Agunwamba, A., Wilson, P. M., Kumar, S., Jacobson, R. M., Phelan, S., … & Rutten, L. J. F. (2016). Adverse family experiences and obesity in children and adolescents in the United States. Preventive medicine, 90, 148-154.
Porter, R. M., Tindall, A., Gaffka, B. J., Kirk, S., Santos, M., Abraham-Pratt, I., … & Sweeney, B. (2018). A review of modifiable risk factors for severe obesity in children ages 5 and under. Childhood Obesity, 14(7), 468-476.
Skinner, A. C., Ravanbakht, S. N., Skelton, J. A., Perrin, E. M., & Armstrong, S. C. (2018). Prevalence of obesity and severe obesity in U.S. children, 1999–2016. Pediatrics, 141(3).

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