Why fighting obesity and fighting hunger are the same in the US
Poverty and unemployment have driven the dual rise in food insecurity and obesity, especially in rural US, but many in cities are also susceptible
The US is notorious for its weight problem. With just 5% of the world’s population, it’s home to 13% of the world’s overweight and obese people. Roughly two-thirds of adults in the US are overweight or obese and, even more alarming, 38% of boys and girls aged 10 to 14 years.
At first glance, these numbers seem to reflect over-abundance — Americans have more food than is good for them. But the problem is more complicated than that, and worse: many of the same people who struggle with extra weight also regularly go to bed hungry. That may sound like an impossible contradiction, but dig deeper, and it quickly becomes clear how hunger and obesity are related. Both are often rooted in poverty...
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