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In recent years, child obesity and overweight have surfaced in health issues of epidemic proportion in the United
States. In Ohio, the issue is just as alarming. And while it may seen counterintuitive, poverty, hunger, and food
insecurity can have a paradoxical association with child obesity. Many believe that obesity and hunger cannot co-exist,
wrong assuming that if people are overweight they cannot be hungry and that obesity is only attributed to a lack
of self-discipline. This argument masks two direct causes of obesity -- hunger and poverty. Therefore, due to the
evidence linking poverty, hunger and obesity, it is important that policymakers better understand how they are
interconnected.
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Childhood Obesity and Overweight in Ohio
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- 13.9% of high school children are overweight - the 4th highest in the nation7
- 11.1% of low-income children ages 2 to 5 are overweight which is the 33rd highest in that nation8
- 20.6% of Ohio’s public school 3rd graders were overweight9
- Third graders who were eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunch were significantly more likely to be
overweight than students who were not eligible10
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