By: Jeff Killeen Dry Heat Baseball foundation Pres/Ceo
Things that I have learned coaching baseball in Inner-city areas. Members of low-income families, including children, may face high levels of stress and poor mental health (e.g., anxiety, depression) due to the financial and emotional pressures of food insecurity, low-wage work, lack of access to health care, inadequate transportation, poor housing, neighborhood violence, and other factors. Research has linked stress and poor mental health to obesity in children and adults, including (for adults) stress from job-related demands and difficulty paying bills. Emerging evidence also suggests that maternal stress in combination with food insecurity may negatively impact child weight status. Stress and poor mental health may lead to weight gain through stress-induced hormonal and metabolic changes as well as unhealthful eating behaviors and physical in activities.
One thing that I have seen is Low-income youth and adults are exposed to disproportionately more marketing and advertising for obesity-promoting products that encourage the consumption of unhealthful foods and discourage physical activity (e.g., fast food, sugary beverages, television shows, video games) Such advertising has a particularly strong influence on the preferences, diets, and purchases of children, who are the targets of many marketing efforts. This just makes me sick to my stomach that advertisers will not help with low income families. With the help of programs and startups of farmer’s markets. We could help with the efforts of child obesity. They need to be talked to on how bad sugar is in large quantities to our bodies. This is just a list of things that pop up in my head and what I witness pretty much every day coaching baseball. I will be producing more articles on awareness.
