CFK Dispatches from the Field: a recap of a Dec. 8, 2009 Coalition on Human Needs webinar.

How is it that in America, one of the world’s most obese nations according to the World Health Organization, there are food-deprived people? Isn’t that a contradiction?

In a December 8, 2009 Coalition on Human Needs’ webinar on Food Insecurity, three nutrition and advocacy experts addressed the ways that economic hardships impact families’ diets and mental and physical health, and what can work to help.

The webinar began with a startling fact: one in six Americans is in a struggle against hunger.  The latest data from the Food Research and Action Center show that 49 million Americans—17 million of whom are children—live in households that are “food insecure.” So just what is food insecurity?  According to the USDA, food insecurity is defined as difficulty providing enough food for all household members at some point during the year due to a lack of money.

The question still remains: how can this be the case in America—a country where nearly 1 in 3 children are overweight or obese, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. Debbie Frank, Founder of Children’s Health Watch explained some of the correlations between our nation’s paradoxical problems of hunger and obesity.  One connection: tight budgets limit healthy choices, especially as the prices of fruits and vegetables increase. I found it enlightening that “the same foods that make some adults fat also starve children of absolutely essential nutrients,” as Frank noted.

Food deprivation also takes a toll on early learning and cognitive development. In fact, kids in food insecure households are 40 percent more likely than their peers to face developmental risks, according to Children's Health Watch data. Early under-nutrition affects language, short-term memory, attention and motor skills, to name just a few risks.

So what can we as concerned adults and young people do? One option is to contact our Members of Congress, another is to sign on to Child Nutrition Forum’s Statement of Principles. The webinar was a sharp reminder that hunger and under-nutrition, a worldwide dilemma, is also happening right in our own backyard.

It’s tempting to think of nutrition (and obesity or poor nutrition in particular) as simply a matter of personal choices, but as this webinar reminded me, these choices are largely dictated by what one can afford and factors beyond the control of the individual. In this, “the land of plenty” there’s no reason for so many children to suffer from lack of appropriate nutrition.

Webinar: One in Six Americans is in a Struggle Against Hunger
Hosted by: Coalition on Human Needs
When: December 8, 2009
Presenters:
James D. Weill - Food Research and Action Center
Deborah Frank, MD - Children’s Health Watch
Debbie Weinstein - Coalition on Human Needs
For the recording: http://www.chn.org/audio/091208foodinsecurity.wmv
For the presentation slides: http://www.chn.org/pdf/2009/foodinsecurityslides.pdf

Shané Gooding is the SparkAction Multimedia Editorial Associate.