>>  Still, I cannot comprehend how a low-income family has the money to 
>> spend on the junk food that makes 3-year-olds fat. Even on our limited 
>> food budget, my children are healthy and strong. The money is simply not 
>> available to buy things such as ice cream, chocolate and candy, which is 
>> a VERY good thing.


As a single mother with four children, let me suggest a couple of reasons 
why low-income families tend to have higher rates of obesity:

1. When you are feeding growing (and hungry) children, your goal is often to 
"fill them up" and the cheapest way to do that is with carbohydrates 
(pastas, breads, potatoes, etc., plus cookies and cakes), often with 
high-fat spreads added like margarine or mayo. Many of these can be made at 
home quite inexpensively - a batch of cookies is not expensive to bake and 
will "fill up" a hungry child longer than, for example, a broccoli and 
chicken dish which will cost quite a bit more.

2. If you are using food banks, as many poor families are (at least in 
Canada), your choice of foods is limited to the items donated, which are 
most often processed, canned foods or "pantry" items. Fresh fruits and 
vegetables and lean protein sources are rarely provided. Also, 
transportation to a grocery store may also be expensive and difficult, so 
these families rely on corner stores or "convenience stores" providing 
mostly packaged, processed foods.

3. While there are books and other resources on food preparation and 
nutrition, remember that many low-income families have difficulty in reading 
English and so find these resources inaccessible or unhelpful. Many of these 
families are living in situations without cooking facilities - they may not 
have a fridge, and their only cooking appliance might be a hotplate. They 
have little choice but to feed their children canned and packaged foods.

4. Just like all parents, parents living in poverty want to provide treats 
and positive experiences for their children. Since they can't afford many of 
the things other parents might do - such as sports, taking the children to a 
movie or other outing, birthday parties, etc. - often chocolate bars or 
other foods are the only treat they can manage.

5. These families are also likely to live in communities where exercise is 
difficult. It may not be safe to walk in the neighbourhood and there are 
often no safe playground facilities either.

Teresa Pitman 

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