What is food security/insecurity? These terms simply
refer to whether or not one is able to access adequate amounts of food due to
financial reasons, lack of resources or other reasons like locations of
supermarkets, etc.
The main thing that really
interests me about this topic is the correlation between food insecurity and
obesity. There are many articles out there describing the relationship between
these. I found a really good article by the Food Research and Action Center. In
the article, they explain why food insecure people are vulnerable to obesity.
The main reasons that they provide include:
-lack of grocery stores and farmers
markets
-healthy food is often more
expensive
-low income neighborhoods have a
greater availability to fast food restaurants
-fewer opportunities for physical
activities
-people struggling for food may
overeat when food becomes available
-high levels of stress
At
first, I thought it was a little crazy that these two things could be related.
But after doing some research, it really does make sense that food insecure
people are much more susceptible to obesity. In food deserts, or low income
neighborhoods, it may just be cheaper and easier to buy fast food or highly
processed foods.
I
also did some research on the other consequences of food insecurity aside from
obesity. Some things that I found were, mental health and child development. On
feedingamerica.org, they explain that food insecurity in adults has proved to
have a relationship with the number of mental health issues and behavior
problems. These people may experience higher levels of anxiety and aggression
as well. They also state that children who grow up in food insecure families are
vulnerable to poor health and stunted development.
All
of these things are big problems that could be prevented by adequate food.
Researching these topics really opens my eyes and makes me aware of the real
problem of hunger in the USA.
Okay, I'm astounded by this information. You would think that by not having acess to as much food, you would not gain weight or become obese, but it's totally opposite. I just never thought it through before. This even ties into the fact that we don't eat as locally as we should, because if more people were able to and inclined to eat locally, there would be fresh produce and not fast food available. This was a really interesting post.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I have been living in a fool's paradise. All of this time I have been thinking, okay so if people are food insecure they are going to be thin and malnourished. Your post told me that quite the opposite is true. Great content and creativity this week. You expanded the theory of food deserts to not only obesity but the mental affects they have on both adults and children. I would have liked to see maybe some more content on how you believe we could solve the problem of food deserts. Do you believe it has a solution or is it an unavoidable problem? I like your graphic but it would have been helpful if you had connected it to your information, referencing the statistics as supporting information. I think you had a good amount of personal voice and did a great job with linking this week. I think something that would have added some extra flavor to your post is if you had a video of a personal story from someone who is obese and was affected by food insecurity, or maybe you know someone yourself. That would add some personal appeal. I would add some MLA or APA citations for a little professionalism but overall great thought-provoking post this week!
ReplyDeleteI agree that obesity and food insecurity are two very related issues. Unfortunately, obesity is a growing issue in our society today and one of the main causes are food deserts. I think it's horrible that people who live in lower income neighborhoods are punished and have little to no access to healthier foods. Also, if they have the opportunity to access healthier foods they are usually priced so ridiculously high so it makes it very difficult for lower income families to be able to afford them. It's scary to think that these food insecurities can also cause more harmful health problems. Many of us do not think of fast food or other unhealthy foods as being the cause of major health issues such as mental health issues and aggression. After reading your post, I have a much better understanding of food insecurities and the many problems that can occur because of them. You definitely opened my eyes on the issue with obesity as well. Great post again this week!
ReplyDelete