Theory Linking Poor Kids, Obesity Refuted

(AP)  New research discounts a common theory on why poor U.S. children are more likely to be overweight than children from wealthier families.

Iowa State University researchers say their analysis shows that a lack of food is not necessarily to blame, although they are not sure why so many children from low-income families are overweight.

Previous research has suggested that poor children were not getting nutritious food and instead ate junk food, such as hot dogs. Or that children may have eaten well when money was available, but would skip meals when cash was short, a cycle that could slow their metabolism and cause them to gain weight.

By challenging those theories, the researchers hope to encourage more research into the issue. Some studies show that nearly one third of American children ages 10-17 are overweight or obese, and that nearly 40 percent of those kids are from low-income households.

Brenda Lohman, a co-author of the study, said the high number of overweight low-income kids is a public health concern.

"Understanding why the rates are so high .... is needed," she said.

Their findings are reported in February's issue of the Journal of Nutrition.

Donna Matheson, of Stanford Medical School's Prevention Research Center, said the study explores some new elements, but disregards others. She noted that the research only looked at children with weight problems, not those who were underweight.

For the study, the researchers analyzed 1999 data about 1,031 children living in low-income households in Boston, Chicago and San Antonio. They assessed whether the children had enough food for a healthy, active lifestyle, which is called food security by researchers. They looked at the individual child, instead of their entire household as previous studies had done.

The researchers asked the children's mothers whether she had reduced the size of a meal due to lack of food or money, if her child skipped a meal because food was not available and if her child went hungry because she could not afford more food.

They found that about half of the children in the study were overweight or obese, while only about 8 percent were not getting enough to eat.

Craig Gundersen, lead author of the study, said children who did not get enough food were not more likely to be overweight, even though the two factors often coexisted in the low-income population they studied.

He said the study shows that if the government tries to expand food assistance programs to help children, officials can move forward without worrying about an increase in overweight kids living in poverty.

However, Matheson said she thinks much more research is needed before changes in policy are implemented.

"I don't think we are there yet in terms of saying what really works," she said.

Susan Stewart, an Iowa State sociology professor who was involved in the research, said in a statement that most of the research on childhood obesity comes from the medical community, but there should be a closer look at the family and how factors such as stress affect a child's weight.

"Family life has a lot to do with children's lives, particularly when it comes to overeating and obesity," she said.

[skinnyminny2]

People complain that vegetables cost so much and our local food pantries can''t give the stuff away. Fresh greens, broccoli...no one wants the stuff. And it''s free! It''s right there for people and if they don''t want it--for free--then it''s their own fault they''re fat. They won''t even accept FREE healthy food.

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by blanc_refuse at 03:40 AM

You make an excellent point with being economically confined to buying what you can. You mentioned top ramen noodles. Next time check and see just how much trans fat is in that product. Personally I think it should be banned from the shelves. Corporate America has sold our health down the road.

[easeup-2009]

Duh, the less educated you are the more likely you''ll be hitting Burger King every day. Need proof? Go to your local WalMart & count the jelly rolls walking by.

[cantshutup]

I WISH I COULD AFFORD TO GO BUY A DA MN APPLE!!!!!!!! F U K U BUSH!!!

[krenz4]

Really, does it take a rocket scientist to figure out the nutritious foods cost more money than junky foods? Poor folks have to strech their dollars and will do that by buying more filling things with high sugar and fat contents.Voila! THEY GET FAT! I wonder how many millions of dollars were spent on that study to find THAT out? SHEEESH!

[commonsense4once]

To: drivelphobe

Bullseye! Nailed your problem didn''t I? You''re just amazing. You have said some very nasty things about overweight people on this site, then you have the nerve to try to chastise me for calling you out. Then you try to post some silly comments about how and why you only meant to help your family and others. Your disdain towards overweight people is ugly and hurtful. Fat is only on the outside. Mean and nasty go all the way to the bone. Why don''t you go stick an oreo in your mouth and maybe it will calm the bitterness in your soul for five minutes.

[flreason]

I worked for Head Start at one point, and one of the things I noticed was that most of the kids drank soft drinks with their meals at home. A lot of the kids had weight problems. We also saw kids with kidney problems at five because they had nothing but soft drinks at home. It seemed to me that these sodas with high fructose corn syrup were a huge contributor to the weight problem.

[tulcak]

if you are not poor and you can eat whatever you want, then, shut up, because you have no idea how it feels

[blanc_refuse]

As a stupid poor person I can''t afford to fill my children''s bellies with expensive chicken breasts, fresh fruits and fresh vegetables chocked full of nutrients.

We stupid poor people are financially confined to what we can afford which means we eat a lot of cheap bread, pork and beans, spaghetti, tuna helper, hamburger helper, raimen noodles and drink a lot of kool-aid (we can''t afford soda pop).

I''m sorry you''re all so offended.

[rudy654-2009]

"Iowa State University researchers say their analysis shows that a lack of food is not necessarily to blame, although they are not sure why so many children from low-income families are overweight."

Sometimes I wonder how people get through college. It isn''t about the lack of food, because there is plenty of krap out there to eat. It is about what has been put into that krap that has made it so lethal for children. Trans fat (oil that has carbon added to it): Yeah, that krap. Makes bread, crackers, cookies, donuts, etc (Hello McDonald''s) last longer on the shelf and taste just as good even if it''s one hundred years old. Problem is the body doesn''t know what to do with that krap and just stores it. Next: high fructose corn syrup. Another one of those ingredients that replaced just good old natural sugar. No, everyone discovered how wonderful this krap was for selling their product. Problem is the body doesn''t know what to do with it, so converts it into fat and stores it as well. Yet, this study couldn''t get down to the reality.