Childhood obesity. Politics of food.

1. Childhood Obesity in
Children of Color
By: Ali Walton

2. What is the Issue?
Why are childhood obesity rates higher in children of color?
Childhood obesity is a very large issue in America and puts American children at
risk for poor health. White American children have an obesity rate of 14.1%, while
Hispanic children have an obesity rate of 25.8% and blacks with 22.0%. I would like
to find out why there are such drastic differences between race and rates of
childhood obesity. I hope to discover if higher rates of obesity is related to lower
economic class.

3. Who is Involved?
• CDC (Centers for Disease Control)
• American Heart Association
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• USDA

4. Public Awareness
Philidelphia Inquirer has an article saying how Type 1 diabetes is
becoming more common among children of color.
-Children of color who have Type 1 diabetes have much more severe
symptoms compared to white children, such as vison loss, kidney
failure, and severe circulatory problems.
U.S. News wrote an article on a new study that found nearly 5 million
American Children are obese.
-Dr. Richard Besser, the president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation stated that Black and Hispanic youth are at a greater risk of
childhood obesity than their white and Asian peers.

5. Who Stands to Lose?
• Black and Hispanic children are losing in this battle. Since these
children tend to be a part of lower socioeconomic status, so they are
less likely to have access to healthy food options. Poorer and non-
white areas tend to have less fruit and vegetable markets and more
fast food restaurants.
• Black and Hispanic children are also getting less exercise than their
white peers, since there are fewer sports teams in these areas of
lower socioeconomic status.

6. Possible Solutions
• The USDA should not get rid of the SNAP program (food stamps).
Nearly 1/3 of children under 4 participate in the SNAP program.
Without this program children may not be able to receive healthy
foods.
• The USDA should also keep nutritional standards high in public
schools so children can have healthy meals instead of overly
processed foods.
• Public awareness should be increased so people can help vote to
make these changes.

7. Final Conclusions
• If children do not have the option to receive healthy foods, they are
more likely to become obese. Children that are Black or Hispanic tend
to live in areas that are high in poverty and may rely on food stamps.
• Many areas that are high in poverty do not have healthy grocery
store options and may not be able to get fresh foods. More grocery
stores should be added in these areas, so it is easier for people to get
to the store to buy their food for their families.

8. Works Cited
• https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2019-10-10/nearly-5-million-american-kids-are-
obese-new-study-finds
• https://www.inquirer.com/health/a/type-1-diabetes-race-african-american-hispanic-research-
20200409.html
• UnderstandingChildhoodObesity, 2011; American Heart Association.
http://www.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@wcm/@adv/documents/downloadable/ucm_476865.pdf
• Sahoo, Krushnapriya,et al. “ChildhoodObesity:Causes and Consequences.” Journal of Family Medicine and
Primary Care, Medknow Publications& Media Pvt Ltd, 2015,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4408699/.
• Isong, InyangA., et al. “Racialand Ethnic Disparities in Early ChildhoodObesity.” American Academy of
Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Jan. 2018,
pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/141/1/e20170865.
• “ChildhoodObesity Facts.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 24 June 2019, www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html.
• Caprio, Sonia,et al. “Influence of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture on ChildhoodObesity: Implicationsfor
Prevention and Treatment:a Consensus Statement of Shaping America's Health and the Obesity Society.”
Diabetes Care, American DiabetesAssociation,Nov. 2008,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2571048/.