The organization that I subscribed to is the National Black Child Development Institutehttp://nbcdi.org/
(Newsletter: http://nbcdi.org/support/sign-up-for-nbcdi-newsletters/ ).
The focus of this organization is to improve and advance the lives of black children and theirs families. Some of their previous news letters addressed health issues such as asthma, obesity, and poor nutrition. They also had information in regards to childcare assistance, child welfare, cultural competence, and many more.
However, the issue of obesity and poor nutrition stood out for me. This was a hot topic for me because I grew up with a lot of obese people and I later realized that most of them were obese because they were not educated on nutrition. I know a lot of people who still do not know how to shop for good nutrition or how to properly prepare food and as result they end up passing their poor habits down to their children.
Poor nutrition is a serious issue in early childhood. Many families do not understand the importance of starting good eating habits early. However it may not always be an issue of not knowing what is the best choice, but is rather the affordability of the healthy choices. When the family has limited financial resources they can not always purchase nutritious foods. For example a jar of sweetened applesauce is cheaper and serves more than a bag of fresh apples, or a bottle of Hi-C fruit drink is cheaper then a bottle of 100% fruit juice, or even a sugary cereal being cheaper then a healthier cereal. We have a couple programs in our area which teach parents how to get the most and healthiest food for their dollar. More of these programs need to be available to struggling families.
ReplyDeleteShavonne-
ReplyDeleteObesity is a issue that many don't take seriously. When a child is obese people think it's cute and they will grow out of it. That is not always the truth. I agree with Meredith about the cost of eating healthy. It is so much cheaper to by junk food than healthy. My mothers big regret is that she did not teach my brother and I better eating habits. Thank you for the great information. Do you feel that a healthy eating program for parents would be well received in your area?