Posted on 06/12/2005 5:00:16 AM PDT by Libloather
More babies, young kids going hungry in US
Sat Jun 11, 11:00 PM ET
An American butcher. Increasing numbers of young American children are showing signs of serious malnourishment, fueled by a greater prevalence of hunger in the United States, while, paradoxically, two-thirds of the US population is either overweight or obese(AFP/File/Stan Honda)
BALTIMORE, United States (AFP) - Increasing numbers of young American children are showing signs of serious malnourishment, fueled by a greater prevalence of hunger in the United States, while, paradoxically, two-thirds of the US population is either overweight or obese.
In 2003, 11.2 percent of families in the United States experienced hunger, compared with 10.1 percent in 1999, according to most recent official figures, released on National Hunger Awareness Day held this year on Tuesday, June 7.
Some pediatricians worry that cuts in welfare aid proposed in President George W. Bush's 2006 budget will only exacerbate the situation. By contrast Bush plans to keep tax cuts for more affluent sectors of the population, they note.
In the working class port city of Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. Maureen Black, a pediatrician, sees numbers of underweight babies in her clinic specialized in infant malnutrition located in one of the poorer areas.
"In the first year of life, children triple their birth weight," said Black, "and if children do not have enough to eat during those very early very times, you first see that their weight will falter and then their height will falter."
"If their height falters enough and they experience stunting under age two, they are then at risk for academic and behaviour problems" at school, said Black.
Dr. Deborah Frank, a professor of pediatrics at Boston University's School of Medicine, who also runs a specialised clinic for malnourished babies, has similar concerns.
"We are seeing more and more very young babies under a year of age which is a particular concern because they are most likely to die of under nutrition, and also their brains are growing very very rapidly," said Frank, in a telephone interview.
"A baby's brain increases 2.5 times in size in the first year of life," she says, adding that if the baby fails to get the nutritional building blocks he or she needs for the brain to develop, a child can have lifelong difficulties in behaviour and learning.
But infant-child protection centers do not exist in the United States, unlike it other countries, such as France, which makes children below the age of three or four years old somewhat invisible to authorities, laments Frank. "They don't come to my clinic until they are already quite underweight.
"Recently I have been alarmed because we are getting more children who are so ill that they go to hospital rather than they come to the clinic first" a situation which, in 20 years of practising medicine, Frank had seen reverse.
Some children in the United States occasionally look like the malnourished children we see in some parts of Africa, however, welfare programs targeting society's poorest ensures that problem is generally avoided, the pediatricians say.
Paradoxically, malnutrition is not always due to lack of food -- rather to the quality of the food being consumed.
"People often ask me how many children go to bed hungry. The answer is the parents work very hard so they don't go to bed feeling hungry. The parents try to fill the baby up with french fries and soda pop," said Frank.
In some areas, green vegetables and fruit are impossible to buy -- even in a can, because there may be no supermarket. Moreover, such items are costly.
"What happens in America is -- what seems bizarre -- that some of the recommendations that we give to families to prevent underweight of children are the same as we give to prevent overweight," said Black. "We recommend families not to give their children junk food."
In some families, eating junk food will mean one child is obese while the other is underweight, said Black. "The first will eat junk food and nothing else, the second will eat junk food and everything else."
there are no supermarkets to buy even canned vegetables, but there ARE McDonalds?
Both posts- very good points
AHahahah funny one bro
Yea , right no supermarkets..where the hell might that be..What a bullsh*t article that is.
They didn't seem to need any training to get pregnant.
The problem is not "training" or lack thereof. It's the fact they are irresponsible louts, at best!
"Some pediatricians worry that cuts in welfare aid proposed in President George W. Bush's 2006 budget will only exacerbate the situation. By contrast Bush plans to keep tax cuts for more affluent sectors of the population, they note.
"In the working class port city of Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. Maureen Black, a pediatrician, sees numbers of underweight babies in her clinic specialized in infant malnutrition located in one of the poorer areas."
Okay pinhead, oops 'Doctor', first of all welfare is still good for three years so 'mom' should be getting Gubmint Money and as such there shouldn't BE any underweight babies. Unless of course you're talking about kid number seven or eight and 'mom' refuses to get a job. Or......
Now as to there not being a supermarket or grocery store in the 'hood', well Doc - there used to be but the residents kept robbing it and then they burned the frigging thing down! And if you're so concerned why don't YOU open one up.
So Bite ME.
McDonald's has fruit and salads.
This article is just red tofu for the hate-Bush crowd. It's such a work of total fiction that it's actually funny.
I love it
official figures OFFICIAL..Not just ANY figures but THE OFFICIAL FIGURES....and that official is who may I ask ?
Thats like the NY Times age old bullcrap "an OFFICIAL SAID.."
an official can be the head custodian ..( actually the times did in fact use the head janitor at a NYC college as an official's quote in an article about school policy )
The entire article is propaganda !
I just read a report on a study done in California that stated we are the "most overfed and under-nourished" people in the world.
>In some areas, green vegetables and fruit are impossible to buy -- even in a can, because there may be no supermarket. Moreover, such items are costly.<
My friends live in a rural area of the state, where one has to drive 40 minutes or so to the supermarket. The local gas station-store has more food than do city types, and wonder of wonders, most people have gardens. Therefore, the veggies they have are better than the ones found in some Safeways.
Actually, I suspect the problem IS pregnant and "post pregnant" illegals who are afraid the apply for WIC and food stamps due to their "immigrant" status. They still end up taking the babies to US hospitals (on the taxpayers tab, of course), so the number of "malnourished" infants recorded statistically DOES increase.
Some children in the United States occasionally look like the malnourished children we see in some parts of Africa, however, welfare programs targeting society's poorest ensures that problem is generally avoided, the pediatricians say.
Paradoxically, malnutrition is not always due to lack of food -- rather to the quality of the food being consumed.
***
The part that cracks me up about all this is -- for some time now, I've been hearing about how obese our children are. If they are obese, then any malnourishment is not due to lack of food -- but rather to the food the kids are eating.
Could it be, maybe, just maybe, the problem is not a lack of food, but rather, the kids are not being compelled to eat the right things and/or the parents are too damm lazy to provide their children with the food they are supposed to eat?
Nah...that wouldn't fit in with the liberal socialist agenda of the article and most of the participants described herein.
Well said and oh so true..good post buddy..
I agree. Funny how you explained it. LOL
FREE FOOD STAMPS,FREE HOUSING,FREE MEDICAL now go back to work someone has to pay for the FREE ride.
And, how ever will I square this with the claims of American kids being obese?
In other articles that I have seen, the author of this article, Stan Honda of AFP, frequently paints Republicans as being extremists and villains, and so it should come as no surprise that he also attempts to demonize President Bush in this one. Honda usually tries to mask his disdain for Republicans by trying to appear "balanced", although a careful reading of his works shows just the opposite. However the bias in the writing of this particular article comes across as uncharacteristically childish and heavy-handed.
Dr. Black is in Maryland. I went through the eligibility test for an 18 year old and a one year old with no income to see what was available. This was the result:
Based on the information you provided, You MAY BE eligible for the following Program(s).
o FOOD STAMP PROGRAM
o MARYLAND ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
o TEMPORARY CASH ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
o MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Based on the information you provided, You MAY NOT BE eligible for the following Program(s).
o ELECTRIC UNIVERSAL SERVICE PROGRAM
o PURCHASE OF CHILD CARE PROGRAM
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