Poor and fat: The link between poverty and obesity in Canadian children
Description
In Canada obesity is increasingly coming to be seen as a disease of the poor. For those who are poor, it is easier and cheaper to buy junk than it is to buy real food for your kids. Vendors that sell quality food are harder to find and reach, and wise food choices take a bigger chunk of your annual income in the process.
And in modern Canadian society, screens are cheaper than hockey. The opportunity to take part in sports programs is much more limited for parents with lower income, simply because the costs of these programs are often remarkably high.
A study based in Edmonton this year suggested the obvious: we might be able to get our young people moving and cut obesity rates if we increase access to parks and play spaces, improve accessibility to sports and recreation programs, and add sidewalks so that youth can walk or bike to school.
Brett Taylor, CBC News, Sept 1.