Socioeconomic status has long been believed to play a role in standards of weight. After all, it was the Duchess of Windsor who famously proclaimed, “A woman can’t be too rich or too thin.” Eating disorders, anorexia nervosa in particular, are more common among white, middle to upper-class women [1]. Obesity, in contrast, has been more common in lower socioeconomic groups.
Conventional wisdom has pointed to a number of lifestyle factors that seem to explain why children in poor families are more likely to be obese. A special issue of The American Journal of Preventive Medicine identifies a number of contributing factors: less consumption of fruits and vegetables, more fast-food intake, television watching, and time spent outdoors [2]. These observations seem to fit what we see around us. At San Luis Obispo’s Farmers’ Market, we see buyers who are tall, white, affluent, and slender. Young, minority families are more likely to be found at the McDonald’s restaurant or the all-you-can-eat buffet in the same shopping center. You don’t have to be an accountant to figure out where your dollar goes farther–buying fresh fruits and veggies and lean meats or the dollar meal at the local fast food outlet.
These assumptions have been challenged by Craig Gundersen and his colleagues at Iowa State University [3]. Over 1000 children in low-income households in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio were assessed. About half of these children were overweight or obese, and only 8 percent were not getting enough food. Consequently, these researchers suggest that low-income families weren’t necessarily turning to fatty foods because they didn’t have enough to eat, and that other factors may be contributing to the obesity occurring in low-income populations.
Hopefully, this research will prompt further investigations into childhood obesity. In many respects, we only have one chance to get it right in childhood, and understanding how we might encourage healthier development should be a top priority.
1. Root, M. (1990). Disordered eating in women of color. Sex Roles, 22, 525-536.
2. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 33(4, Suppl.), October 2007.
3. Gundersen, C., Lohman, B.J., Eisenmann, J.C., Garasky, S., & Stewart, S.D. (2008). Child-specific food insecurity and overweight are not associated in a sample of 10- to 15-year-old low-income youth. Journal of Nutrition, 138, 371-378.
8 Comments
Vix · January 22, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Good job writing the blog entry, Mom. Being obese is not healthy and not good. It is always the best to eat healthy and live longer.
biopsych · January 24, 2008 at 8:15 pm
More research needs to be done in this area. Elementary schools are taking steps in the right direction. I know of some schools that only allow healthy treats to be given to the children. Students need to be taught how to be healthy and the value of good nutrition.
I think that exercise should also be emphasized because no matter what one’s SES, they can exercise.
bblaine · January 29, 2008 at 10:55 pm
I think there are so many reasons why people are obese, including lower-income kids. It is easy to speculate, but since research can be evidence for almost any one person’s claim, it is hard to reach one conclusion. Either way, they should be more educated on healthy eating. So instead of trying to figure out why they are obese, maybe we should just try to figure out ‘how’ to help.
aoneil · February 17, 2008 at 12:44 pm
A number of factors play a role in obesity among low income children, making it hard to find a solution to this growing problem in America. I think the most important thing we can do is to educate youth about proper eating habits. And we need to set a good example; its one thing to tell children how to eat healthy and it’s another to show them. It doesn’t help that school cafeterias serve food that’s prepackaged and high in sugar and fat. Combine this with a lack of exercise and take-out meals, and you get a highly obese population.
amandam · March 6, 2008 at 6:02 pm
It may be easy to show youth how to eat healthy, but when a low-income family can’t afford to provide healthy meals for their families it is another thing. For example, many low-income hispanic families eat beans, rice, tortillials, and jalapenos with all thier meals. One reason they do that is beacause they can buy it all in bulk for a cheap price. I agree that many low-income families are found at all you can eat buffets and at fast food restaurants because they can get a lot of food for their dollar. It is easy to talk about how our youth should eat, but unless one can fully undertand the situation that a low-income family is in, there really isn’t much to say. Many low-income families have big families, meaning more people to provide for. I disagree with anyone who says that eating healthy is not exspensive because it is. There are major clues out there. Where do you find low-income families? At all you can eat buffets and at the dollar menu. Why? Because it is cheap. So if there was healthy food that was affordable I think things would be somewhat different.
ccallag · March 14, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Child obesity is a serious issue in this country. If you travel to Europe, you do not see any overweight people! One has to wonder what their secret is? I think our country’s problem is the portions we serve. I think if fast food restaurants simply cut out the large sizes and just has small and medium- it would make a huge difference!
hvitullo · April 24, 2008 at 10:47 pm
I think this is a very important issue and one the nation is confused about. I do think that the fact that you can get much more “bang for your buck” at fast food restaurants is part of the problem with low SES families. However, part of the blame has to fall on the fast food chains that are offering foods that are so terrible for you. It is a shame that these chains are offering these foods and our kids are the ones suffering most from it. Childhood is obviously a time of growth and development and we needing to be feeding our children healthy foods with lots of nutrients to help them grow. Fast food restaurants claim to be doing this by adding apples as a side. .what they don’t mention on the commercials is that it is served with thick caramel dipping sauce (pure sugar) and probably very rarely chosen as a substitute to the fries. So far fast food restaurants have made a very sorry attempt at becoming healthier and america’s youth is suffering because of it.
CFrieband · February 10, 2009 at 8:53 pm
I haven’t done too much research on the subject, but I would most likely agree that having less money may correlate with obesity. It is hard to argue the fact that a burger on the value menu is more expensive than a salad at a health food restaurant. I have always thought that if restaurants could decrease the price of healthier foods, people may choose these options over the tempting and often cheaper burger and fries. I know from personal experience that if I’m short on cash I am going to stop by a fast food restaurant instead of going somewhere a bit more expensive for a healthier option.
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