When talking about issues that children face in today's world, there are generally a few major issues that are brought up very frequently. Among these are the issues of obesity and poverty that millions of children are facing in the United States today. There have been many studies and tests that were done on children affected by these issues, and they have shown a very clear link that was found between the two issues. Based on problems like a lack of thorough nutritional knowledge, and the lack of funds to purchase healthy foods, parenting can also prove to be a significant issue that these children must deal with. Although there are plenty of issues that these affected children are challenged by, there have been studies that show there are multiple effective ways to combat these problems, such as giving workshops to parents about how to properly buy healthy food for their children, and changing parenting styles to more effectively suit the child's needs. In America today we need to impose more policies that help promote healthy living styles for affordable prices, effectively removing the barrier from low income families to help reduce the child obesity crisis that the country is currently facing.

The percentage of children and adolescents who are affected by childhood obesity has doubled over the last 30 years (Centers For Disease Control and Prevention) and the trend is continuing in such a way that there is no foreseeable end in the increase. While there is a general trend upwards in obesity rates in the population as a whole, there is a greater percentage of overweight and obese children in low income and poverty stricken families. In a study done by Spring Dawson-McClure, there was information found supporting the idea that there was less interaction between parents and children, and more time interacting with electronics such as radio and T.V. in low income families. This may lead to children being exposed to more advertisements for unhealthy fast food, and because of this, there is less influencing them to eat healthy foods, which may not be as appealing as the options shown in advertisements. The study also found that increasing the families' knowledge of nutrition not only led to a more healthy diet for the children, but also led to the children spending less time watching T.V. and spending more time with their families. Another face of this same issue is the fact that in low income neighborhoods and cities, there is more access to fast food. This is amplified through the effect of advertisement, as there is many more commercials for these quick ways for low income children to get large amounts of food, at very little cost. For kids who have little interaction with parents, this seems like an obvious good choice for them, as they potentially do not understand what eating massive amounts of unhealthy foods is doing to their bodies.

There is much speculation to why these low-income areas have such a high saturation of fast food restaurants and why these children are attracted to them. To understand this one must turn back to the idea of television. Compared to higher class children, kids who grow up in low income situations don't have access to safe spaces where they can spend their leisure time, as is stated in the article, "Targeting Interventions for Ethnic Minorities, and Low-Income Populations" by Shiriki Kumanyika. Children are also less likely to be encouraged to play outside if those areas cannot provide a safe healthy space for them to live or play in. Because of this they are more inclined to remain indoors watching television and are more susceptible to be targeted by advertisements for things such as fast food. This is an issue because there is no simple solution to completely clean up the streets, making a safe environment for these kids to play in. This makes the issue of finding ways to combat the unhealthy eating habits these kids acquire even more pressing because the situation at this point can only get worse following the same trajectory. If kids remain with no safe places they can go out and play in, a vicious cycle will emerge with kids eating unhealthily going on to have children, and continuing the cycle of childhood obesity.

The mental state of the parents of the children was found to have an effect on the nutrition of the children as well. In a study done by Sheryl O. Hughes, a group of low income families were analyzed, and it was found that families whose parents reported symptoms of depression or other mental health issues had an effect on the way their children's nutrition was handled. As stated in the paper, "the families had much less optimal child eating behaviors thus influencing the development of childhood obesity." (Parental Distress and Feeding Styles in Low-Income Families).This brings about a new dimension to the childhood obesity epidemic, as it shifts the focus from what the family should be doing for the child, to more what society can do for the families to help support the child. There are plenty of resources out there that families can turn to for help, however there are very few that actively put themselves out into the community and provide a service that is available to families regardless of economic status.

The solution to this problem is quite simple if it is implemented correctly. In all the studies that have been done on the effects of childhood obesity and why it exists more predominantly in the low-income parts of society, the most prominent issue is a lack of proper nutritional knowledge, and a parenting style that lends itself more towards less interaction with the children, leaving them to make the nutritional decisions for themselves, and ultimately leading to increased obesity rates. The simple solution to this issue would be a policy that allows families in low income parts of the nation to receive nutritional education for a very low cost. This would allow them to not only receive knowledge about healthy eating, such as serving sizes and portions as well as daily intake goals, but it also would get parents more involved in children's eating habits. This would also potentially help with getting them more involved with their children's decisions and creating less incentive for them to go to cheap, quick food sources such as fast food. To promote a policy like this would take very few resources, just a few designated nutritionists to propose the healthy options for kids along with ones in every town to make sure the plan is actually used, and for families to be able to easily access the information that would be provided to them through online databanks and web courses. The obvious issue with a policy like this being implemented is that it falls completely on the parents and families of the children to implement it. If the family sees no benefit from this program, or doesn't see childhood obesity as a problem, then there is no incentive for them to go out and spend extra time learning about something that they have deemed unimportant. A policy like this would never be passed into an enforceable law, so there is no surefire way to make sure everyone who is offered this program will take advantage of it.

A study similar to this proposal was done by Spring Dawson-McClure. In the study, families were provided an enhanced knowledge of nutrition through classes taught by a registered nutritionist, and through being granted this, vastly increased the health of the entire family. The children spent less time watching television, spent more time outside, and were at a much lower risk of obesity. The major issue with this availability of knowledge is that not everyone who was offered it decided to take advantage of the program. A policy like this one only works if it is accepted by everyone. The policy could be passed, but if no families adhere to the knowledge, or do not even try to get a better understanding of what they are being given, then there will be no progress. The entire success of any anti-obesity program relies heavily on that the factors that allow it to be implemented are allowed to grow and be accepted by all parties that require it. The way that this could be worked around is by providing an incentive to all families that adhere to the new program that would be implemented, such as reduced health insurance cost, as in theory this would reduce the amount the family would later spend on diseases such as diabetes, thus making it a good idea not only for the health of the nation, but also for the families that need the assistance with nutrition and health in general.

The general idea for why a policy like this is needed in the modern world is the amount of preventable diseases that people die to each year, and the amount of money that is being spent on healthcare for these diseases that could easily be prevented with sufficient nutritional knowledge. Every year thousands of people are hospitalized for complications from obesity, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and heart failure. From these diseases even more problems arise, ranging from necessary amputations to death in the most severe of cases. Preventing these easily avoidable deaths and other medical issues would not only lead to a more enjoyable and longer life, but it would also take a large burden off of this countries heal care.

Obesity is a large issue that the United States faces, and while there are many different aspects that are constantly playing into continuing the trend of increasing obesity, there is ample opportunity for us to start the end of obesity. For us to succeed in the eradication of the obesity epidemic, policies and rules must be put forth that allow for low-income families to create a better environment for themselves, as well as for their children to have a safe space for them to thrive while being offered all the possibilities that they can have.

