The neediest kids of all

21st August 2008

posted in Personal |

Meet Teddy. I adopted him when he was less than two weeks old after finding him and his runt brother in my dad’s flowerbed. I only meant to foster them, but his brother’s death from pneumonia and encephalitis cemented Teddy’s role as the new fur baby of the family. I took Teddy to the vet today; this is his third such visit in a year for reoccurring granulomas under his arm and on his neck. The vet will do a biopsy tomorrow to check for feline lymphoma with total costs about $230. A couple years ago, I paid some $1,200 in surgery and treatment costs for another one of my cats who had kidney stones. My dad says I should just toss them in the river, but as one who is childless by choice, my cats are my children, and as a responsible pet owner, I am responsible for ensuring their health and wellbeing.

I wish I could say the same for my neighbor. I treat my cats better than he treats his four toddler children.

The two houses across the street from us are inhabited by two generations of one family. Both families are quite poor, uneducated and because neither works, both are on government assistance and are home most of the day. I am also home most of the day, since the commute to my home office is about 10 feet outside my bedroom door, and so I often see the extent to which the children are mistreated, abused and neglected. They’ve been removed from the home before, but are inevitably placed back with the parents. Two months ago I called 911 because the father was screaming and kicking in the front door of the home, which the mother was trying to close. A month later, another neighbor called the police when the family allowed the children to play naked in the front yard and swim in a makeshift pool filled with stagnant, fetid water (a registered sex offender lives nearby). Two police officers responded and photographed both the interior and exterior of the home. I saw them emerge often with their hands over their noses, complaining of the awful stench inside. We were told they would forward their findings to social services, yet it’s now been a month and little has changed. I had to call social services again today after hearing the father yell obscenities at the children and seeing him rough handle them.

So, what’s my point and how does this relate to the overall theme of this blog? Google “childhood poverty” and you get about 332,000 hits. Google “childhood obesity” and 2,900,000 hits appear. Being overweight or obese does cause health risks for some fat children, but childhood obesity rates have also hit the fat ceiling, plateauing at about 32 percent, while children comprise 35 percent of the poor population. While the nation’s childhood obesity rates have leveled off, the nation’s rate of poverty has not.* About 15 million children – one out of every four – live below the official poverty line. Twenty-two percent of Americans under the age of 18 – and 25 percent under age 12 – are hungry or at risk of being hungry. Everyday, 2,660 children are born into poverty; 27 die because of it.

The number one health risk facing American children isn’t childhood obesity, its poverty.

Not all impoverished parents are as irresponsible and negligent as my neighbors and it’s important to emphasize that child abuse occurs at all socio-economic levels. But poverty is also the most frequently and persistently noted risk factor for child abuse. Study after study shows that physical abuse and neglect are more common among people who are the poorest. Obesity rates are also disproportionately higher amongst poor people. Recent studies have shown that on a per calorie basis, diets composed of whole grains, fish and fresh vegetables and fruit are far more expensive than refined grains, added sugars and added fats, which provide empty calories. It’s not about ignorance, poor character or a lack of willpower; it’s about being limited to those foods you can afford. Poor people, too, often lack access to safe areas in which to walk and exercise. Childhood obesity, in large part, is but a symptom of the much greater and pressing issue of poverty, yet it and not poverty is bandied about as the looming and imminent threat to the health and even the security of the nation state. Any effort to address childhood obesity must also include a concerted and concomitant effort to reduce the vast income disparities plaguing the nation.

Recently, an organization in Cincinnati put up billboards showing fat children gorging themselves on junk food in an effort, they say, to target childhood obesity rates amongst Cincinnati’s impoverished minority populations. “Are you feeding your child to death?” blared the sign in larger-than-life print. I have yet to see a billboard showing the abused and neglected faces of children like those who live across the street from me and asking “Are you abusing/neglecting your child to death?”

* The threshold determining the poverty rate has remained relatively constant, while body mass index measurements have been subject to change. In 1998, BMI measurements defining overweight dropped from 27.3 to 25 – in essence, 35 million Americans were turned overweight overnight.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 5:11 pm and is filed under Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1 On August 21st, 2008, Stacey

said:

Truly awesome post. I’m furious whenever I see the blatant overhype of obesity related illnesses in the media as if it’s the next bubonic plague. It always comes from the angle of “get off the couch and stop stuffing your face, fatty” rather than looking for the more accurate reasons why these issues exist, and makes villians of fat people- like we don’t have to deal with enough oppression already. Why not just promote good health for all people?

posted on August 21st, 2008 at 5:28 pm

2 On August 21st, 2008, Melissa

It is sad to see that the priorities concerning child welfare is in such a messed up state.
I grew up in a poorer neighborhood and have witnessed first hand how poverty and low education mixed with a poor diet can have it’s effects in terms of abuse.
And when I say poor diet, I don’t mean that the people are fat either! I mean that they don’t get the nutrients they need, whether they are fat or thin.
It’s a sad, vicious cycle and it seems that society in general wants to sweep it under the carpet, pretend it either doesn’t exist, or isn’t that bad. But yet the society itself creates it on a whole.
No wonder media focuses on this illusion called the obesity epidemic amongst children. I mean it creates future customers for the diet industry and it takes all the attention away from the real issues that will definitely have an effect on the future of a country!

posted on August 21st, 2008 at 7:01 pm

3 On August 21st, 2008, Carrie

An amazing post. I wish more people had their thinking as straight as yours.

And good luck on Teddy’s test tomorrow- I’m the same way with my kitty.

posted on August 21st, 2008 at 7:32 pm

4 On August 21st, 2008, Lisa

Bingo. Social workers are already overburdened; they don’t need additional responsibilities as The Fat Police.

I live in Clermont County, Ohio, where the Marcus Fiesel case occurred. THAT is abuse.
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060903/NEWS01/609030358

posted on August 21st, 2008 at 8:06 pm

5 On August 21st, 2008, Bree

I think a lot of us can remember when severely underweight children used be a main concern of social services. Now they’re targeting fat kids because they think all of them are gorging on cheeseburgers and donuts and not exercising. So many are wrapped up in fat hysteria, they fail to realize most of these children are still growing and some of them will not be heavy as they age, or this will be their body type and they get the same amount of activity and eat fine. There are more grave issues in society besides fat people.

P.S. Teddy is a dollbaby.

posted on August 21st, 2008 at 9:56 pm

6 On August 21st, 2008, Mara C

this is so wrong… why is the world so messed up sometimes?

posted on August 21st, 2008 at 10:26 pm

7 On August 21st, 2008, Rachel2

Teddy is ADORABLE. I wish him the best! I’ve got three little cuties myself and I could never, NEVER bring myself to cause them a whiff of harm!

Poverty and neglect are serious issues in the US. As Rachel points out, the high-calorie empty sugar-laden foods are the ones that are affordable for many, and it is unfortunate that that is the case.

I really wish that the media would get off the “War on Obesity” and address the issues that are really, really hurting us. First of all, this war on obesity is like sharpshooting fluff. If it really is indeed an issue, then there are several others that need addressing first before we can even dream of addressing the obesity issue. Poverty is the first and foremost that should be on EVERYBODY’s mind. We are the richest country in the world, but only 5% hold the wealth. The rest are tumbling into debt, or are already so far in debt, or have nothing to their name period, that we are overwhelming the few resources that do exist. I work 3 jobs and I run my own business. I’m still fucking broke because of the mountain of debt that I’ve accrued in trying to live and get through college. I’m on $75/month for food, and by the 14th or so, I’ve usually run out… I buy what’s on sale and stock up accordingly, but there is only so much that can be done. I am forced to buy what’s cheapest, and that’s the crap food.

POVERTY is the problem, NOT OBESITY. It’s a problem that has been routinely swept under the rug for decades, and has not been properly addressed. I don’t have the answers, but I do know that it needs to be discussed in an open forum in our communities and on up the line to the Numero Uno. There are community outreach programs, but one has to dig to find them. It’s a mess living down here at the bottom, and our culture’s misguided efforts to fight the war on obesity is completely missing the target and making it messier.

posted on August 21st, 2008 at 11:02 pm

8 On August 21st, 2008, Krista

As a social worker, I am excited to see this post. Honestly, unless forced, those of is in the field don’t worry about fat kids. Too many other issues at hand. We are slowly being forced, however.

One of my favorite books about poverty is this one: http://www.combarriers.com/SeePoverty
I have heard Dr. Beegle speak, and more people need to listen

posted on August 21st, 2008 at 11:09 pm

9 On August 21st, 2008, Eve

It does seem like our culture is more blame-laying than encouraging in this area. Instead of blaming parents, maybe we could subsidize healthy foods so that folks on lower incomes could buy them more. Mind you, by “healthy foods” I mean fresh fruits and veggies and whole grains and what not, not whatever crap has the least calories.

There is the WIC program, but kids age out of that at 5, I think. My sister did it when her son was little, and I think it was helpful to the family in terms of finances.

I wonder how much it would cost to subsidize markets in “food deserts” and healthy foods in general, in relation to funding big PR campaigns about how much fat people suck. The cynic in me says that it wouldn’t happen, because food corporations don’t make much money off unprocessed foods. Processing foods is where they get their living.

It also makes me sad that the produce at the Farmer’s Market in my area costs 2-4 times as much as produce at the supermarket. I feel like a traitor no matter where I shop.

posted on August 21st, 2008 at 11:55 pm

10 On August 22nd, 2008, nuckingfutz

Eve, you’re right about WIC. I got it for my children when they were young. Even though I was working (we still fell under the poverty line, despite the fact that I had a full-time office job). They cut the children off at 5, but even then, the only things you could get were milk, juice, and either peanut butter or dry beans. While it IS a help, it’s really not all THAT much.

As somebody who has lived through poverty almost all of my life (not always extreme poverty, but almost every day of my life has been spent “below poverty level”), it really gets to me the way poor people are shown as being lazy and/or stupid when it comes to nutrition. Us poor people KNOW what the healthiest foods are, we just can’t AFFORD them all the time. And just what does the government expect poor people to do when they have to budget their money so tightly that even as little as $5 extra on the electric bill is going to send everything else into a tailspin? Do they really think that the ability to afford fresh food all the time is just going to appear out of nowhere?

It really gets to me.

posted on August 22nd, 2008 at 7:52 am

11 On August 22nd, 2008, Bree

I think one big reason that the government and special interest groups are so caught up in this “war on obesity” is that they get major funding for it, especially at the local level. Most states & counties have no problem cutting funding for social programs that provide benefits & other assistance to the poor, but scream “We have to get rid of fat people!” and the money is literally thrown at them. I believe it’s not so much as “concern for health” as it is “hey, I can get money for jumping on the latest moral and societal panic.” And right now, fat is it.

But what these groups do not realize is that they are not using the funding the right way. Don’t create billboards that shame poor fat kids and their parents. Don’t implement shaming programs in schools and make them the diet police. Don’t force schools to put BMI on kids’ report cards. Fat kids and adults KNOW they’re fat. They don’t need yet another group of people to point that out!

Do provide incentives to make access to better foods. Do lobby WIC and the Independence Card program to stop limiting what families can buy to the processed stuff. Do try to create safe havens for people to get out and get active, whether it’s indoors or outdoors and don’t close down after school centers where this may be a child’s only way to move.

posted on August 22nd, 2008 at 8:41 am

12 On August 22nd, 2008, devil

Maybe the gov’t should put more focus on promoting birth control than obesity?

posted on August 22nd, 2008 at 10:44 am

13 On August 22nd, 2008, Carrie

Bree,

That’s exactly it about getting funding. I worked in public health for several years, and right after 9/11, bioterrorism preparedness was the big buzzword. And the bigger the buzzword, the bigger the dollars thrown at the problem.

posted on August 22nd, 2008 at 12:22 pm

14 On August 22nd, 2008, Rachel

LIsa — I’m well aware of the Marcus Feisel case; I live in Cincinnati and actually grew up in the same community this happened in. It makes me wonder why the government is more concerned about reporting a child’s BMI on his report card than in checking on the welfare of children in their care.

Bree said: I think one big reason that the government and special interest groups are so caught up in this “war on obesity” is that they get major funding for it, especially at the local level.

Bingo! You nailed it on the head, Bree. And this particular organization that posted the billboards in Cincinnati? They have a very limited community garden program, yet their overall campaign doesn’t seem to address the fact that the only grocery store in Over-the-Rhine, a target community, has a teensy produce section and aisle after aisle of processed and unhealthy foods that are cheaper, take less time to prepare and taste better.

We currently limit the food assistance program so that people who are on it cannot buy cigarettes or alcohol with food stamps. Yet I was in a UDF recently (convenience store/ice cream parlor) and a (thin) woman used her food stamp card to buy a $3.79 ice cream sundae and Krispy Kreme doughnuts! I think the program ought to be further limited so that people who are on it cannot use the funds to buy empty-calorie food that provides little to no nutritional substance. Of course, that would require we actually provide these people with healthier options and as both poverty and food costs rise, this wouldn’t be feasible.

posted on August 22nd, 2008 at 1:28 pm

15 On August 22nd, 2008, Reader Challenge: Healthy meals on a food stamp budget » The-F-Word.org said:

[...] follow-up on yesterday’s post about childhood obesity and poverty, I thought it might be interesting to present a reader [...]

posted on August 22nd, 2008 at 2:11 pm

16 On August 22nd, 2008, Rachel

P.S. Teddy is a dollbaby.

Yeah, a really spirited and sometimes cranky one! I got Teddy at the height of my eating disorder and I think he and my other cats saved me. Teddy was less than two weeks old when I found him so I had to bottlefeed him several times a day, clean his eyes and generally do everything his mother would have done. If I didn’t have him and my other cats to worry about, I think my disorder and depression would have gotten much, much worse. I call my cats my own ‘fur therapy.’

I talked to my vet today because it really doesn’t seem like Teddy has lymphoma, which is usually marked by sickness and weight loss. He’s very healthy and at 19 pounds, is the fattest of all my cats. I started him on a kind of “diet” last year (no food overnight and increased activity thanks to the new kitten we got for him) and he gained weight. So, before we do the lymphoma biopsy, I’m taking him to see a special feline dermatologist next week. I didn’t even know there was such a thing!

posted on August 22nd, 2008 at 2:38 pm

17 On August 22nd, 2008, Catgal

See! Diets don’t even work for cats!

I was astounded to see the statistics you posted regardig Google and Childhood Obesity vs. Childhood Abuse. Very scary…

I have six cats and have seen my share of giant vet bills. I totally agree with you Rachel that if you adopt a pet that you are morally responsible for it’s wellbeing. Exactly as you would with a child.

I know that animals are not people, but they are living beings that deserve to be treated without harm. As a childless by choice woman, I can totally understand how the furbabies can be like family.

posted on August 22nd, 2008 at 5:35 pm

18 On August 22nd, 2008, Rachel

Catgal: Haha, that’s what I said. My vet yesterday told me he’s concerned about Teddy’s weight and suggested a really expensive prescription diet food. I’m already feeding him the Iams brand weight control formula. The vet suggested regulating his intake or feeding just him diet food, but both aren’t feasible for a couple reasons:

1. I have five cats and they all have a communal food bowl. I can’t feed one cat one food and the other cast another food without hovering over them twice a day, half an hour a day (2 feedings at 15 mins. each).

2. One of my cats was a feral kitten and while she’s made great progress in six years, she’s still very skittish and prefers to hide upstairs or in the basement. If I fed the cats just twice a day and then removed the food bowl, she’d starve.

What’s really kind of ironic is that the last time I took Teddy in for the granulomas, my regular vet was on vacation and we instead saw a substitute. I asked her about Teddy’s weight, as he had gained another pound, and she said not to worry and that he’s a big cat genetically.

posted on August 22nd, 2008 at 5:55 pm

19 On August 22nd, 2008, Catgal

I hear you. I have 6, so I know exactly what you mean. I raised one from a feral from about 2 weeks as well, he was soooooo cute. My Maine Coon, Bart had IBD, what an expensive nightmare that was! When we had to put him on special food “Iams”, we bought it dry by the huge bag full and they all get it. The food is down always and they get to practice “intuative eating”.

posted on August 22nd, 2008 at 9:34 pm

20 On August 22nd, 2008, Lisa

Rachel, I hope I didn’t come of as flippant when I brought up Marcus. If more people knew about cases like this - which happen even in rural, bucolic Ohio - they might have a better idea of what really constitutes child abuse.

On a lighter note, I heartily second all the kitty-praise.

posted on August 22nd, 2008 at 11:17 pm

21 On August 23rd, 2008, twincats

Poverty doesn’t garner any government grant bucks, as has been said before, but obesity is a big moneymaker right now and isn’t going away anytime soon.

Obesity is a cash cow for what I like to call the diet-industrial complex. Poverty is the bete noir of the conservatives. Thus, millions of hits for teh obesiteh and a couple hundred thousand for teh poverteh.

posted on August 23rd, 2008 at 12:57 am

22 On August 23rd, 2008, Jackie

I’m so sorry to hear about your neighbors. I don’t know how I’d be able to live next to such people, without wanting to cry myself to sleep every night. :,(

posted on August 23rd, 2008 at 2:18 pm

23 On August 24th, 2008, Elle

Have you tried an all natural diet for Teddy?

Cat foods are mostly made up of fillers and, honestly, offer very little nutritional value. Veterinarians take very few, if any, nutrition classes while in school, and the classes they do take are more often than not paid for by the pet food industry. This is why they tend to push these expensive foods that only they sell - they get a kickback from the company that makes them.

I fed all of my cats dry and canned food for years, without a thought as to how what they were eating might correlate with their health. My husband’s cat, Phoebe, was really underweight and suffered from a lot of bacterial infections. She almost died twice from them, with the vet not being able to understand what was going on. After doing extensive research, I decided to switch my furry children from their normal diets to an all natural diet - bingo! Within just a couple of weeks Phoebe began to gain the weight she so desperately needed and we haven’t had to deal with an infection since.

posted on August 24th, 2008 at 1:17 am

24 On August 28th, 2008, DiosaNegra1967

Word. There was a news story about a family near Philly (Delaware, I think) about a house in similar condition….the couple were on TV pleading with the authorities to give them their kids back and to “not believe that they live like that”….

Neighbors were saying that the house smelled, etc., but they were “good parents”…

I just don’t get it….

My mom got the “you’re killing her” when i was a little “big” kid, but no one would ever say something to the mother next door, who was whipping the crapola out of her kid (with an electrical extension cord, no less) on the street!

{{{{{{love to teddy}}}}}}

posted on August 28th, 2008 at 12:21 pm

25 On September 7th, 2008, vee george

poverty will always exist as long as we live in a society were it is seen a good deed to be giving to charity. Yes, we need charities because the world is in such a state and the poor and neglected need our help. But there would be no need for charities if everything was shared equally. You see, poverty was invented, it was invented so as to allow for the richer people of the land to say, oh! what a shame look at them they are poor, lets feed them, or look at him, or her they need clothes let us clothe them, they need our help. If we would like to go back in history, lets say to the very beginning of existence when the lords and the religious people of the land took control and said, that is your share and this is mine, and so, a division between rich and poor begun. the lords always taking the biggest share for themselves. Now we can begin to understand why poverty still reigns around the world today in the 21st centuary. As long as the planet earth remains then so shall Povery . The good,ordinary and wise people of the earth would like to eradicate poverty for good, but oh no that cannot happen as long as we live in a society were control by the hierarchy still exists, were people regard themselves as superior, and others inferior to them then poverty will always exist. and to be seen to be giving alms to the poor is good and hounorable is all part of that control so that after they have given their alms they can say we helped the poor. In an ideal world, there would be no povery, but sorry to say that cannot happen at this given time. Only through wisdom and understanding can we truely eradicate poverty, and that means a total reflection of every human being and a humbling of the soul to make every man, woman and child an equal,with no one feeling superior, nor inferior to their fellow men. after all the question to be asked is, “who’s world is it anyway”. Does it not belong to all mankind to be shared equally?.

posted on September 7th, 2008 at 10:02 am