Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3
The podcasts this week focused on
a new issue. One of the podcasts
discussed the level of obesity in the United States and in England. The researcher was an American educator who
was studying similarities in both cultures.
Since both England and the United States were individualistic cultures,
the researcher wanted to determine the obesity levels between the two
countries. Oddly, obesity was tied to
poverty. One would expect that poverty
would be tied to hunger. However, it was
found that obesity in the United States was due to food stamp programs and
poverty. As a result, families were
encouraged to buy and eat cheaper, less healthy foods. The researcher further found that obesity in
England was also tied to poor diets.
I have learned a lot by listening to the podcasts. The educators and researchers share an abundance of information that can be used in early childhood education programs in my area. As a result, I will continue to listen to the podcasts after this program is over.
Hi Tammy,
ReplyDeleteThis year, I had two students whose families were benefited with food stamps and when their mom took them to the doctor, to their annual checkup, they found that they had anemia. With these cases I learned that the amount of food does not substitute the quality of it.
Thanks for the interesting information Tammy!
Hi Tammy,
ReplyDeleteI have also read that parents who have been brought up in poverty overfeed their children because they don't want them to suffer the effects of hunger. The fact that the opportunity for physical exercise is diminishing as physical education classes are being cut so more time can be spent preparing for academic testing does not help with the problem of obesity, either. Interesting post, Tammy!
Suzanne,
DeletePoverty and obesity are two primary concerns in early childhood education. I was suprised that they were interelated. However, this could make it easier to address both problems with similar solutions.