Health Related Problems

                                                               FASTFOOD

Fast food is a driving force behind the childhood obesity epidemic and a host of diet related health conditions, predisposing our kids to a lifetime of health problems. Click on the diagram to find out more about the potential long-term effects of fast food on a child’s health.  If McDonald's and the rest of the industry began to Value [the] Meal over short term profits, we could prevent escalating healthcare costs and start to reverse an epidemic of diet-related disease.

A Generation At Risk

The most frightening part of the epidemic of obesity and diet-related diseases is its effect on our kids. For example, nearly one-third of America’s children are now overweight or obese, and it’s predisposing them to new and life-threatening health conditions.

Conditions such as kidney stones, “adult onset” diabetes and thickening of the arteries are becoming more common in children at increasingly younger ages. How did we get here? The food that corporations market to children is hurting them in ways we never imagined.

argeting Low-Income Communities

Obesity and diet-related diseases, like diabetes, disproportionately affect low-income and minority communities.

While the movement toward locally-grown, sustainable food systems is taking hold across the country, many communities are still missing out on these exciting changes, making due instead with fast food and corner stores. It’s the perfect formula for elevating rates of diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Find out how some communities are working to bring an oasis of nutrition to these “food deserts.”


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Pesticides and Food:
Health Problems Pesticides 

Laboratory studies show that pesticides can cause health problems, such as birth defects, nerve damage, cancer, and other effects that might occur over a long period of time.  However, these effects depend on how toxic the pesticide is and how much of it is consumed.

For these reasons, the Federal Government, in cooperation with the States, carefully regulates pesticides to ensure that their use does not pose unreasonable risks to human health or the environment. In particular, the Federal pesticide program is designed to ensure that these products can be used with a reasonable certainty that they will pose no harm to infants, children, and adults.

Pesticides, which are any substance intended to prevent or destroy pests, are used to protect food from bacteria, weeds, mold, insects and rodents. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, pesticides can be harmful to people, animals or the environment because they are designed to kill or harm living organisms. Because of this, pesticide residue on the foods you eat can have an effect on your health. Though the government regulates pesticide use, residues are still found in our food supply.


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Barriers to access
to child health care



A number of financial and non-financial barriers may delay or prevent poor
households from seeking health care for their sick infants and children. Such barriers
include geographical access or distance; financial barriers; sociocultural, language and
ethnicity-related barriers; and lack of knowledge and awareness, which can together
lead to low demand for and use of services, particularly by the poor.
Geographical distance:
Distance and long travel times to health facilities
remain key barriers to access in many rural
communities in the Region.
Financial barriers:
Even where health care services are available, the cost of seeking care may delay or
prevent poor households from accessing them.
Lack of knowledge and awareness:
The generally lower levels of health-related
knowledge and awareness among poor and
marginalized groups may result in low demand
for health care services. To realize the benefits of
seeking care for sick children, caregivers must know
where and when to seek appropriate health care.
Delays in seeking health care have been estimated
to contribute up to 70% of child deaths.
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However, health information may not reach poor
and marginalized populations for a variety of
reasons, including physical distance to health centres
and limited outreach in many areas. Low levels of
education and linguistic or cultural barriers may
likewise make health information or other health-related information, education and
communication (IEC) inaccessible.