Adulthood- Socioeconomic Factors

Question 1

Socioeconomic Factors Affecting Nutrition

Answer 1

• Health Disparities: a significant difference in the overall rate of disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality or survival rates in a specific sub-population as compared to the health status of the general population

Causes:
- Poverty
- Access to food
- Education
- Cultural or language barriers
- Disability

Question 2

Poverty

Answer 2

-Defined as having inadequate economic resources for the consumption of basic goods and services

• 2024 Federal Poverty Level- Measure of income issued annual by DHHS to determine eligibility for government social programs
  *Family of 4 =$32,120
• Poverty = poor nutrition= poor health outcomes
• Inadequate dietary sources
  *Poor food quality
• Food hunger vs Food insecurity
  *Hunger- personal physical sensation of discomfort
  *Food insecurity- lack of consistent access to sufficient food to maintain a healthy lifestyle

Question 3

National Food Security

Answer 3

High Food security: Never had to worry about where you had to get your food from

Marginal Food security: Most of the time you are not worried, but for some periods of time you are

Low Food security: More food insecure than you are not

High Food security: Starvation- never knowing what your next meal is going to be

Question 4

Poverty and the Impact on Education

Answer 4

• Strong correlation between the cost of food and dietary quality
  *Low costs food items typically have increased caloric density with poor nutrients adequacy
• Early impact!
• Kids who struggle to receive and adequate diet have difficulty focusing and learning in school settings resulting in poorer grades
• This limits their opportunities to earn better jobs, and ultimately reinforces food insecurity for their own children.

Question 5

Access to Food

Answer 5

• Food Desert/ Low Access Food Points
• An area that has limited access to affordable and nutritious food.

-Food Swamp
* An area with an abundance of fast foods, convince stores, junk food outlets, and liquor shops.

-Food Oasis
* An area with high access to supermarkets or organic food stores with high quality nutritious foods
- Trader Joes
- Whole foods
- Farmer Markets

Question 6

Access to Food

Answer 6

• Food insecure homes lack geographical access to quality food- proximity to supermarket vs fast foods and corner stores
  *Supermarkets- greater food variety and healthier choices
  *Corner stores- less variety and nutrition poor choices
• Accessibility to store
  *Transportation- Do you have a car? How do you plan to bring the groceries home?
  *Store hours- most people in poverty work multiple jobs, corner stores, fast food stores have late hours
• Affordability
  *Fresh produce and high-quality foods are more expensive
  *Supermarkets need to make a profit

Question 7

Government Nutrition Assistance Programs

Answer 7

• Social Nutrition Programs to address this issue. Mainly run through the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Nutrition Services (FNS)
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
• Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
• Head Start Program
• National School Breakfast and Lunch Program
• Community Food Banks
• Second Harvest
• Mobile Food Pantry

Question 8

Social Programs: SNAP

Answer 8

• USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
• Supplemental program that provides nutrition benefits to supplement the food budget to needy families so they can have access to healthy food
• 1 in 8 people and 1 in 4 children receive SNAP support
• Eligibility
• US citizen or permanent resident: exceptions- children and elderly
  *Income- based program. Net income cannot be higher than 100% of the poverty guidelines
• Family of 4, net annual income for the household cannot be more than $33, 475
• Approved food items include: Fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, breads and cereals, snack foods, non-alcoholic beverages, seeds and food producing plants
• Prohibited items: Alcohol and tobacco products, prepared hot food items, supplements

Question 9

Social Programs: SNAP-Ed

Answer 9

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program Education- funded by the Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Grant program
• Goal: Improve the likelihood that individuals who are eligible for SNAP will make healthy nutrition choices that prevent obesity and associated chronic disease
• Founded in 1988 through cooperative extension programs through land-grant Universities and is now available in 50 states
• Services: Nutrition Education programs

Question 10

Other Social Programs

Answer 10

1. USDA Supplemental Nutrition Program for Woman, Infants, and Children (WIC)
   - Provides supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk
2. DHHS Head Start Program
   - Provides early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and families
3. USDA National School Lunch Program
   - Federally-assisted meal program that provides low cost or free lunches to school-aged children daily
4. Food Pantry
   - Local distribution center where families in need can receive food