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Food insecurity and malnutrition
Effects of food insecurity or malnutrition
Effects of food insecurity or malnutrition
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In our world today I believe it is terrible that developing countries across the world are in poverty, which is a leading cause of kids growing up malnourished. When children grow up deprived of the nutrients to support the bones in their body, the development will be damaged far before aging. Food insecurity remains a global problem all throughout the world; insecurity refers to when there is limited or uncertain access to foods. The average intake of the daily supply of calories per person is around two thousand a day. Throughout the world, many children cannot receive the dietary intake of calories, which then decreases their immune system causing diseases and poor health. In most developing countries, over half of the population is dying, …show more content…
Laraia in 2010 presented a study that indicated women having an increased risk of obesity associated with food insecurity. However, unlike men, food insecurity decreases the risk. When imagining what low-come families go through day to day, I picture a non-productive person, engaging in toxic extracurricular activities. Someone who can’t afford the luxuries of a good meal and rely on the processed foods sold in your average market. The consequences of these actions result in obesity because of the poor nutrient foods that are affordable. Hou mentions in the article that data from national surveys supports, families who live in “unsafe” and “disadvantaged” neighborhoods have a higher risk for obesity, and those with a higher income has a decreased risk for obesity. Lower-income families living in rough areas and neighborhoods become susceptible to obesity, because of the high fat and sugar foods that are affordable for them. When discussing malnutrition, most would picture the starving child in Africa, whose only form of survival is the leftover dirty rainwater. The difference between the third world countries and America is the unlimited access to fast food and the amount of food eaten each day. Our over consumption creates a world of inactive and selfish individuals. We resort to food when any of our emotions become altered in any way, which causes
According to Fed Up, a 2014 American documentary directed, written and produced by Stephanie Soechtig, “30% of Americans are obese” (Fed Up). A riveting and striking film, Fed Up explains the issues of obesity, the health consequences of eating unhealthy, and the varying problems that coincide with this national epidemic. While interviewing various families that struggle with obesity, the documentary shows a common theme: generations pass on their respected food traditions. For example, the Lopez family, from Hispanic dissent, states that in their culture, big statures and overweight individuals represent beauty and health; therefore, this family proceeds to consume an excessive amount of food because their ancestors before them did the same exact thing. Additionally, Fed Up touches on the issue that healthy foods, such as fresh vegetables and
World hunger is a very important epidemic because of the risks or implications it imposes on the rest of the world. Juveniles are the utmost apparent victims of under-nutrition. 2.6 million children die as a result of hunger-related causes each year. 66 million school-aged children go to classes hungry across the developing world, with 23 million in Africa alone. One in four of the world's youth are kept from growing due to malnutrition. In developing countries the proportion can rise to one in three. A strong maternal-infant bond provided through psychosocial stimulation is essential for positive child development. The formation of this bond at the beginning of life is an essential step that sets the stage for cognitive,emotional, and social development later in life. Feeding and other care practices provide opportunities for psychosocial stimulation and help to establish a positive attachment between caregiver and child.(WHO) Under-nutrition magnifies the effect of every disease, such as measles,diarrhea and malaria. Asia has the largest number of hungry people (over 500 million) however S...
The world hunger is the deadliest disease in the world today, despite the fact that there is more food on earth, but fewer people cannot have access to this food, or even get the opportunity to grow some due to poverty, or lack of good soil to grow crops. World hunger is caused when natural resources become destroyed by earthquakes, or civil war. Another reason is drought and flooding. World hunger is also an issue in undeveloped countries because of political corruption, poverty, environmental issues, overpopulation, economics, and pestilence. It is sad to see people dying from malnutrition, and starvation every second. While we that have it doesn’t seem to appreciate it but waste it instead of helping those that in need of it. As you can see this a real problem, as debated in my visual
Pollan claims, “Measured against the Problem We Face, planting a garden sounds pretty benign, I know, but in fact it’s one of the most powerful things an individual can do, to reduce your carbon footprint, sure, but more important, to reduce you sense of dependence and dividedness: to change the cheap-energy mind”(767). Larger humans place a larger footprint. Both articles helped refresh my awareness of this problem and how it affects people. I was pondering about this issue and realized there is a prodigious factor to this epidemic. I realized people that consume fast food on a daily basis tend to be larger human beings. Fast food is detrimental to ones health and can be high ranking in calories. I would consider factors such as these to be a top answer in the obesity epidemic. With the expanding food industry around the world occurring, it also comes to expanding fast food chains. It’s almost impossible to give in and consume these easy routes in life. People want to consume food quickly and cheaply. The author Pollan would ask the question, why bother with this problem? They do this because they don’t have enough time in their day to make food themselves. In Ann Marie Pauline’s text, “Cruelty, Civility, and Other Weighty Matters,” she discusses how people overweight are approached unreasonable. People are treated divergently amongst society as a whole. Ann Marie Paulin claims that obese people are seen as “lazy, stupid, ugly, lacking in self-esteem and pride, devoid of self-control”(203). People that are normal weight are treated reasonably. This process can be
Food insecurity is an issue faced by millions of Americans every day, and the biggest group affected by this is working families with children. Food insecurity is so big that the United States government has now recognized it and provided a definition for it. The United States government has defined food insecurity as “a household level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food” (USDA.gov). Food banks and anti-hunger advocates agree that some of the causes of food insecurity are stagnant wages, increase in housing costs, unemployment, and inflation of the cost of food. These factors have caused food banks to see a change in the groups of people needing assistance. Doug O’Brien, director of public policy and research at Chicago-based Second Harvest says “’we’ve seen a real shift in who we serve. A decade ago, it was almost always homeless, single men and chronic substance abusers. Now we have children and working families at soup kitchens’” (Koch). These families that are feeling the effects of food insecurity will not be only ones affected by it, but all of America. Studies have shown that there is a link between food security, performance in the classroom, and obesity. If this issue is not faced head on, America will have a generation of children not fully prepared for the workforce and high health insurance rates due to obesity health issues.
Food insecurity can be “broadly defined as having limited access to adequate food” (Nguyen, Shuval, Bertmann, & Yaroch, 2015). While one might think that low income individuals who do not know where their next meal is coming from would be thin or underweight, many of those facing food insecurity instead struggle with obesity. This paradox may be a result of the very programs implemented to combat food insecurity in low income families. SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a federal assistance program that gives money to households for food based on income and need. According to a study done by the USDA, “SNAP participants were more likely than income-eligible and higher income nonparticipants to be obese,” with SNAP participants being 40 percent more likely to be obese (2015). The problem is that even though SNAP provides resources to food insecure individuals, the food being provided is not nutritious and is thus contributing to the high rates of obesity in SNAP participants. Healthcare costs and mortality increase as more individuals become obese. Preventing these problems from happening by implementing nutrition education will increase SNAP participants’ health overall and bring down their healthcare costs.
According to the US Census Bureau, 46.5 million people were living in poverty in 2012. Among those, 21.8 percent were children. Even more surprising is the staggering number of people who are food insecure. It is estimated that nearly 50 million Americans experience food insecurity during a given year. And yet, the obesity prevalence is skyrocketing. In 2010, 35.9 percent of adults over age 20 were obese, 18.4 percent of adolescents age 12-19 years were obese, 18 percent of children age 6-11 ...
Furthermore, Abdularhman El-Sayed (2010) also argues that the real reason for the obesity epidemic is down to poverty and cheap food. He describes a study conducted by one university of Glasgow which found that deprived neighbourhoods are twice as likely of becoming obese compare to residents in more affluent neighbourhoods, (El-Sayed 2010).
Niger and Sierra Leone, the two poorest countries in the world only have a GDP of around 500 dollars per capita. Which, compared to Canada’s 27,000 dollars per capita, is considerably low. In the 48 poorest countries, an average of 2$ a day is made by each working person. Imagine living off 2$ a day in Canada, you couldn’t even buy a Big Mac and a drink for 2$. This is making starvation a very serious problem in 3rd-world countries, not to mention their low immune systems, used for preventing disease, not working right from the lack of nutrition.
Food insecurity affects people of all ages spectrum and causes more than just health-related problems. Children who are food-insecure have greater chances of anemia, malnutrition, cognitive problems, aggression, anxiety, dysthymia, asthma, mental health problems, oral health problems, behavioral problems and poorer general health (Gundersen, Kreider, and Pepper). Adults who are food-insecure have greater chances of malnutrition, mental health problems, long-term physical health problems, depression, diabetes, chronic disease, and lower scores on physical and mental health exams (Gundersen, Kreider, and Pepper). Seniors who are food-insecure have greater chances of malnutrition, poor health, and limitations in activities (Gundersen, Kreider, and Pepper). Food insecurity is closely connected with obesity since obesity is the most common health problem resulting from food insecurity All Americans have the risk of having obesity, however, people who live under food-insecure households have greater risk of having obesity. There are many reasons why people in food-insecure households have greater risk for obesity, including inability to afford healthy food, less opportunities for physical activity, and greater chances of exposure to fast food restaurants and food-related marketing (O’Connor). In addition, people who are food-insecure tend to overeat when food became available, which results in unbalanced diets that cause weight gain (O’Connor). Childhood obesity that is due to food insecurity have great influences over children’s health and future. The consequences of childhood obesity include diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, poor academic performance, behavioral problems, school absenteeism, and greater chance for obesity as an adult
Malnutrition has lifelong implications because it severely reduces a child’s ability to learn and grow to their full potential and leads to less productive adults, ill performance and wastage of government resources.
“Every hour of every day, 300 children die of malnutrition.” (more children going hunry) Even though there are many, many programs out there, still children are suffering immensely because of mallnutrition.“The report says 15 million more children are suffering from chronic malnutrition in Africa compared to 1990.” (African news service). That 's just in Africa imagine the numbers of children suffering around the world. “Malnutrition is attributed to a third of all child deaths worldwide, or 2.6 million per year.” (African news service). 2.6 million deaths per year and that 's just from mallnutrition.“Half of the world 's malnourished children live in five countries - Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, India and Bangladesh - where 50 per cent of all families have been forced to cut back on food.”(African news service).For you to grasp the whole impact of malnutrition you need the facts.”with over one billion children living in poverty, 400 million lacking clean drinking water, and 165 million under the age of 5 experiencing stunted growth because of malnutrition.” (Justin Turner) Along with malnutrition there is the fact of the effects on the child 's mental status. “Due to lack in resources, poor social and health related behaviors are common.”(children in poverty) these kids that go through this tend to have health concerns
The United States is one of the most obese countries in the world. This shows us that many people look towards food to fill voids, to de-stress themselves, for convenience, and for various other reasons. This also shows that countless Americans do not try to stop their bad habits until it is too late. This highlights that many of them have the mentality of “it won’t happen to me”. When they do develop a disease, or become obese they wish they would’ve done something about it. This also brings up the issue of many generations acting and thinking this way due to their parents’ lack of knowledge and understanding. This causes their children to grow up thinking and acting the same way towards food and potentially walking the same path as their parents did with food. Obesity has become a growing infection plaguing the world and its children. A simple forty-five-minute exercise everyday can reduce the risk of heart disease, a disease in which I struggle with daily and has become a never ending battle. If American’s would make eating properly and exercising regularly a priority, their lives would be
Modern poverty is so closely related with obesity for many reasons. First of all, poor people are ignorant and uneducated about their health and nutrition. Obviously, because of that they don’t really know what they are doing or even how they are taking the risk of eating some kinds of food. Poor people go for good tasting food without paying attention to the food’s freshness and safety. Moreover, children grow up without a proper understanding of good nutrition, so it is time to reintroduce nutrition to families and even in schools to kids. Second of all, poor people cannot afford buying healthy food. A person who is poor and hungry is going to buy the cheapest calories that he or she could find. In fact in today’s world, the cheapest calories come from junk food. It is cheaper and ...
Hunger and poverty have been a major problem in the world, which has being leading most people to death than cancer, Ebola, and malaria do. More than thousands of people die from hunger and poverty, and most of the people who suffer most are children below the age of ten. Hunger and poverty have contributed to the world food crisis that has an impact on the economy, the environment, and political issues. People living with hunger and poverty are more than those living a successful life in both developed and developing the world. Hunger makes victims live underweight, causing numerous of sickness to their health. Lack of