Obesity declines among lower-income families' children
"Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival," Jesus says in the Sunday gospel, singling out "the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food . . .
"Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival," Jesus says in the Sunday gospel, singling out "the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance." Better stewardship of food in the fridge and on the table on the part of parents has contributed to a decline in the obesity rate among preschool-age children from poor families in the past three years, federal health officials said Tuesday.
Children from poor families have had some of the nation’s highest rates of obesity. One in eight preschoolers in the United States is obese. Among low-income children it is one in seven. The rate is much higher for blacks (one in five) and Hispanics (one in six). The new findings represent the first time a major government report has shown a consistent pattern of decline for low-income children after decades of rising rates.
“We’ve seen isolated reports in the past that have had encouraging trends, but this is the first report to show declining rates of obesity in our youngest children,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which prepared the report. “We are going in the right direction for the first time in a generation.”
The cause of the decline remains uncertain, but researchers offered theories, including an increase in breast-feeding, a drop in calories from sugary drinks, and changes in the food offered in federal nutrition programs for women and children. In interviews, parents suggested that they have become more educated in recent years and are more aware of their families’ eating habits and of the health problems that can come with being overweight.
Homily hint: The good news that obesity rates are falling for children from poorer families demonstrates that public education campaigns do make a difference. Years ago schools and families did not think twice about offering all sorts of unhealthy snacks to children. Nowadays wiser stewardship is prevailing, and kids are benefiting.
Children from poor families have had some of the nation’s highest rates of obesity. One in eight preschoolers in the United States is obese. Among low-income children it is one in seven. The rate is much higher for blacks (one in five) and Hispanics (one in six). The new findings represent the first time a major government report has shown a consistent pattern of decline for low-income children after decades of rising rates.
“We’ve seen isolated reports in the past that have had encouraging trends, but this is the first report to show declining rates of obesity in our youngest children,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which prepared the report. “We are going in the right direction for the first time in a generation.”
The cause of the decline remains uncertain, but researchers offered theories, including an increase in breast-feeding, a drop in calories from sugary drinks, and changes in the food offered in federal nutrition programs for women and children. In interviews, parents suggested that they have become more educated in recent years and are more aware of their families’ eating habits and of the health problems that can come with being overweight.
Homily hint: The good news that obesity rates are falling for children from poorer families demonstrates that public education campaigns do make a difference. Years ago schools and families did not think twice about offering all sorts of unhealthy snacks to children. Nowadays wiser stewardship is prevailing, and kids are benefiting.
Source: An article by Sabrina Tavarnise for the New York Times