Sunday, February 14, 2010

Millions of children are hungry - or are they obese?

Some reports even an estimated 12 million school age children are at risk of hunger in the U.S., according to government numbers provided by an anti-hunger group.
The group says these children could suffer developmental damage if they are not properly fed.
 
States like, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas were among the states, of 11 where children regularly experience hunger.  Yet, on the map below we see a different story.
According to this, these same same states have a lot of fat children. 
Maybe they are eating too many cupcakes to fight hunger.


But then again, according to the Agriculture Department, 11 percent of households lacked enough food for an active, healthy life, and that's before before the economy worsened.
A lack of  food can have a lasting impact on physical and behavioral health, along with development and academic achievement.

At the same time President Obama has created a task force on childhood obesity as part of a nationwide campaign being launched by his wife, Michelle.
"This has enormous promise in improving the health of our children, in giving support to parents to make the kinds of healthy choices that are often very difficult," Obama said from the Oval Office.
Obama praised his wife, who attended the signing, for tackling one of "the most urgent health issues facing the country."
Michelle Obama said "I would move heaven and earth to give my kids all the chance in the world for them to be at the top of their game in every way, shape and form,.  She stated that they operate under the principle that every family wants the same thing for their kid, so we're going to figure out how to make it easier for them to get it.

The task force numbers 12.5 million children, or nearly one in three kids ages 2 to 17, are considered obese or overweight, with another 16.5 million teetering on the edge of becoming so, making them candidates in adulthood for diabetes and heart disease. The obesity epidemic is so severe that it threatens to make the lifespan of the nation's youngest generation shorter than our own.

So which is?
Are there 12 million children going hungry everyday, or are there 12 million children getting fatter everyday?
Or is it possible there is a combined total of 24 million children in the United States with hunger or obesity issues.
It's difficult to know which tune to dance to.