America’s poor have a multitude of problems to deal with, from the fact that George Bush hates them to their unwillingness to do the jobs we need 12 million illegal aliens to do. But we’ve got a very serious threat to America’s impoverished, an unprecedented threat that endangers the very lives of up to a third of our inner city poor.
What horror is it that endangers these poor, unfortunate souls? Well….
Obesity battle starts young for urban poor
By the time they reach the age of 3, more than one-third of low-income urban children are already overweight or obese, according to a study released yesterday that provides alarming evidence that the nation’s battle of the bulge begins when toddlers are barely out of diapers.
Researchers armed with scales and measuring devices visited nearly 2,000 families in 20 US cities, including Boston, and evaluated the weight and height of 3-year-olds in an unprecedented effort to focus on obesity among the nation’s most vulnerable children.
Their finding: 35 percent of the low-income 3-year-olds were overweight or obese, a result more than twice the national rate for obesity among preschool children of all income levels and racial groups. Low-income Hispanic children, the researchers reported in the on line version of the American Journal of Public Health , were the most likely of all to have a weight problem, with 44 percent of those toddlers overweight or obese.
God Bless America. Our poor people are fat! It’s little wonder we see this scene repeated so often.
The researchers have stumbled across what appears to be an extremely useful truth:
“We know that many of the habits that people retain for the rest of their life are established in childhood, so it’s a critical period to educate folks about what they can do,” said John Auerbach, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission .
Like put down the pork rinds, and get a f%*&ing job. That’s good thinking, Doc.
The Quickie Mart is closer, but you’ll have a better selection if you go to a decent grocery store. I know it’s further away, man, but put the theme from Chariots of Fire on your iPod and get there.
Sadly, our laws don’t allow 3 year olds to work.
Putting down the pork rinds, however, is an excellent idea. Because it could be offensive to Muslims.
Too much time + too much money = Massachusetts liberals.
Pablo: That first sentence of yours is a gem.
Looks like its time for the Federal Government to take these children away from their parents . . . . another national program coming soon from your Democrat Congress!
Ever more sadly, the Feds just don’t operate in such a straightforward manner. You can’t even separate kids from their crack/meth addicted parents, how can a little (alright, alot of) excess body weight compete with those horrors?
Nope, ths is just the sort of problem that calls for outreach and Federally funded health & nutritional programs, and fresh vegetable in the school lunches so they can be thrown out along with the leftover salt and fat, and more foodstamps (have you seen the price of produce!) so that those poor benighted souls can have the resources necessary to exercise choice about what foods they buy. What’s a few billion taxdollars when it’s – wait for it – for the children.
Won’t you please help a needy child. Don’t be heartless and don’t wait another minute: take away its candy now. You’ll be glad you did and, rest assured, your generosity will never be forgotten.
But we’re still allowed to teach them stuff, right?
I have said that a measure of human progress is the high rate of obesity. How many years did it take before we had TOO MUCH food? As for pork rinds, they are no carb, all protein and are much better for you than are potato chips or pretzels.