The Problem Of Childhood Obesity - 1199 Words

It is a widely recognized fact that childhood obesity, which is defined as a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to the 95th percentile in children, is a continually growing epidemic in this country. There are several factors causing obesity, with poor diet and physical inactivity being two of the major contributors. The policy problem that will be addressed is the lack of access to healthy food in certain areas of the community. Addressing this problem will improve the health status of a specific population (obese children). Addressing it may also help resolve one of the contemporary issues in this community. Justification/Significance A study performed by Ogden, Carroll, Kit, Flegal (2014) found that 17% of children in this†¦show more content†¦In addition to physical problems, obese children may also be at high risk for developing psychological problems such as low self-esteem, which may persist into adulthood. Background A food desert is an urban neighborhood or rural community without access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food (Ploeg, Breneman, Farrigan, Hamrick, Hopkins, Kaufman, ... Tuckermanty, 2009). In urban areas, residing more than one mile away from a grocery store that stocks fresh fruits, vegetables, and raw meat is considered living in a food desert. For rural areas, the threshold is 10 miles. It is estimated that 23.5 million people live in areas that are considered food deserts, with more than half of this number being low-income families. With non-existent or limited options, those people living in food deserts often have to rely on fast food restaurants and convenience stores for daily nourishment. The existence of food deserts can be explained simply by the principle of supply and demand. Since eating healthy generally can be costly, lower income families do not have the money to spend on foods that are of higher nutritional value. Economically speaking, decreased demand does no t justify increased supply. A good example of supply and demand is the fact that up until recently, the furniture company IKEA refused to open a store in Las Vegas because according to their research, there simply were not enough college graduates in this town. Oftentimes, large chain grocery stores are