There's a health crisis going on.....

According to the Buffalo News and the United Way there's a new health crisis in Erie County and it's affecting the youth. 

 

Obesity has reared it's ugly head in the youth population according to the research presented in “Obesity trending upward among Erie Countychildren.”

But which children?

Yes. It is finally being noticed as it crawls out of Buffalo, a minority-majority city, where is is just shy of 34% of the elementary school students - and into the wealthier and less racially diverse suburbs.

Places where poverty is high or rising - Lakeshore (44+%), Cheektowaga Central (41.1%), Springville (40%), Cheektowaga-Maryvale (36.6%) and Depew 35.6%) – all places that suffered great economic loss during the flight of manufacturing and current economic crisis – all have rates of obesity higher than Buffalo. And these tend to be majority white populations.

What is telling is where the rates are lower – Clarence at 28.3%, Orchard Park (25.5%), Grand Island (25.7%), Williamsville (28.5%), and Amherst (28.6%) - lower  but rising. All places that boomed with the “white flight “ of prosperity during America's “Golden Age” and the opposition to busing in the 1970's.

And the contributing factors to obesity? Education, availability of healthy food, genetics, and other lifestyle behaviors.

Really?

Education – As if being educated helps you make healthier food choices? I have honors and AP students walking into school with two (that's 2) McDonald's Breakfast sandwiches and some sort of sugar laden coffee type beverage, or something similar from BK, Dunkin Donuts, or other overpriced restaurant. That, to me, is far from a healthy breakfast. I won't discuss the bags of potato chips, pretzels, or various sugar bombs (candy bars, “fruit” snacks, and energy bars) that they eat constantly throughout the day. Or the perpetual bottles of Gatorade, energy drinks, bottled water (fruit flavored and plain), and pop. (I'm native to Buffalo. We drink pop and cook with soda.)

My students that receive reduced or free breakfasts eat healthier than that.

The flip side of the coin to that is, what are the poor students eating at home? I have students that eat everything that they can at school because there is nothing at home. Food stamps and other cash assistance programs don't provide enough money to actually provide healthy food options for one month. And the church food programs (you know that thing in Matthew 25 about feeding the hungry?) don't really exist. There are food pantries in the community, but the donations (meager) aren't enough for those in need. Heaven knows, community gardens would help if they could be started.

Genetics. I hear race here. I'll be honest. I won't go off on this point. You can fill in your own rant here.

Other lifestyle behaviors. Really? Like sitting in front of an X-Box™ (or other game system) all evening playing video games? On the Internet? (High speed at that.) Or binge watching Netflixä? Or mindlessly wasting time on social media? Or not sleeping because they've been texting and doing other things on the phones, tablets, or other “smart” devices.

I will give the United Way & associated organizations plenty of credit for the after school programs that they have created and work to keep going in the city, where many factors work against the poor. There are many good people doing great work among the underclass to try and make their lives better amid the current capitalist crisis. They deserve all the praise in the world

What grabbed my attention was that the obesity epidemic is taking strong root in the more affluent, less racially diverse suburbs. The people that are supposed to be better than us and a good example for all are succumbing to the “sins of the poor” and are now suffering the same health crisis as the poor.

And they don't like it.

I'll say this until I'm blue in the face – when a crisis affects the poor, who cares?

But when it slips into the suburbs, then there's a problem.

And we'd better feel sorry for them.