Obesity is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO)
as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health (2016) .BMI
(body mass index) provides a convenient population-level measure of obesity.
Obesity
is an issue throughout all ages but is becoming more serious in the childhood
population. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that approximately 17% (or 12.7 million) of children and
adolescents aged 2—19 years are obese (2012). The following information is an
excerpt from a fact checklist from the CDC:
Obesity prevalence on the basis of family
income among children from low-income households was:
- 14.2%
among children in families with an income-to-poverty ratio of less than
or equal to 50%.
- 14.5%
among children in families with an income-to-poverty ratio of 51–100%.
- 13.4%
among children in families with an income-to-poverty ratio of 101–130%.
- 12.4%
among children in families with an income-to-poverty ratio of 131–150%.
- 11.8%
among children in families with an income-to-poverty ratio of 151-185%.
Income-to-poverty ratios reflect family income
in relation to poverty threshold. The poverty level varies by family size, the
number of related children, and the age of the head of household, but not by
state. For example, a family of four with two children and an annual income of
$22,811 were at the poverty level in 2011. For income-to-poverty ratios less
than 100%, the family income is lower than the poverty threshold. When the
ratio equals 100%, the income and poverty level are the same, and when the ratio
is greater than 100%, the income is higher than the poverty level. A ratio of
130% indicates that family income was 30% above the poverty level.
This is an ongoing
issue in the United States. Poverty and Obesity are so closely related you
would think they were sisters. It is important to educate the children on the
risks and challenges that they face from dealing with obesity. The more they
know, the more they will understand.
References
World Health Organization (2016). Retrieved
from http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/obesity/facts/en/
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