But while summer is here and many
families look forward to this magical time of year in the Flathead, the next few
months present a challenge for others. Children who are either homeless or who
come from families with limited financial resources often find it difficult to
sustain a healthy diet during the summer. Many of these kids rely on school lunches
and breakfast programs to provide healthy and nutritious meals so a vacuum is
created when this support system is removed during the summer months.
Members of these households have
trouble affording high-quality food and settle for eating nutritionally poor
diets. This isn’t rocket science but it also isn’t intentional. Instead, it is usually
the end result of a couple things. First, some kids are left alone during the
day while their parents work so they tend to eat what is found around the
house. The majority of these kids would not likely qualify for the Food
Network’s Chopped Junior, so easily-prepared
and unhealthy food is typically what’s available. It’s much less likely a child
will burn down the apartment if he or she is using the microwave instead of the
stove.
Second, some families rely on fast
food during the day because it is more easily accessible and convenient. It is
a quick alternative to shopping for, and cooking food. If a parent is under
time constraints from working shift work or more than one job, fast food
provides a viable option. I love a great burger as much as the next person, but
I don’t make these delectable treats the cornerstone of my nutritional
foundation. And while both of these solutions provide quick results,
nutritionally, they are not the best alternative for children who need a
balanced diet.
It’s really quite simple… low-quality
food directly translates into poor nutrition. In some homes, adults and teens,
rather than very young children, are the most likely to be subsisting on diets
low in vitamins, minerals, fruits, vegetables, grains and meat. There is a
really detrimental cause and effect that unfolds. This problem is referred to
as food insecurity.
Over the long term, food insecurity can
be responsible for diet-related chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart
disease. These are somewhat preventable with a healthy diet According to a recent
U.S. Department of Agriculture report, just over 14 percent of American
households are food-insecure, suggesting that 12.6 million U.S. households
experience food insecurity, while 4.6 million have one or more family members
going without food. Can you now see the vital role school breakfast and lunch
programs play in our community?
Among younger children,
food-insecure meant less milk consumption and -- among those between 1 and 3 --
lower consumption of fruits and vegetables. Kids are not eating the right
things when there is no support system in place.
Adolescents, however, were a
different story. Boys between the ages of 14 and 18 living in food-insecure
environments appeared to have very poor diets, consuming less milk, fruit and
vegetables than their peers.
The poor dietary patterns of those
in food-insecure households provide a moral question. How do we address the
root causes of this problem? This issue is very serious because the flip side
of the low intake of minerals and vitamins is that these kind of low-quality
diets are usually characterized by large amounts of starch and refined sugar. I
think it’s fair to assume these people are not loading up on brown rice and
quinoa. So, we're talking about empty calories that predispose people to
becoming overweight and definitely increase the risk for heart disease and diabetes.
No comments:
Post a Comment