A Supersized Problem
By:Kadijatu Bah
In the old days kids would run around outside and play in dirt. Now, at 12 years old they wear extra large shirts. In New York City, the rates of obesity have rapidly increased over the years. In the South Bronx specifically, 31 percent of the children who started daycare were obese and 16 percent were overweight. According to CDC, at such a young age, this puts them in a position where they are prone to more obesity-related health issues, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Dr. Kristen Roberts, a pediatrician at Jacobi Medical Center, spoke of her daily evaluations of the children she sees. "About 50 percent of the children I see are overweight and 20 percent are obese, which is worse than being overweight. The only way obesity can be slowed down is if society decides to provide better school lunches and offer less junk food," Roberts said. She also stated that there should be gym provided in schools every day, more recess and more playgrounds.
The topic of obesity has been well documented and paints a worrying picture for the people of the South Bronx. For example, a study done in 2007 by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene titled "Obesity in the South Bronx: A Look Across Generations" showed that nearly half of public school students do not exercise at least 20 minutes for three days a week. Furthermore, the percentage of students who watched TV for more than three hours a day stood at 60 percent, and a whopping 80 percent eat fewer than five servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
New York City has been helping both adults and children in easing the growing epidemic. To combat the issue of people not eating enough fruits and veggies, New York City placed Green Carts all over the boroughs. Green Carts are stands where people can purchase fresh fruit and other health products. Anthony Torres Jr., the son of Anthony Torres Sr., helped in translating for his father, who owns a Green Cart stand on the Grand Concourse.
"Business has been good, better than expected. It's a huge neighborhood so more people come." As his father spoke in Spanish, Torres explained that "some of the people who come here aren't physically unhealthy." Hopefully Bronx residents continue to take advantage of the Green Carts.
Physical activity is essential for people. Rapid weight gain occurs when a person consumes large amounts of calories and does not burn them off. Obesity puts an individual life in danger of strokes, heart attacks and other potentially lethal conditions. New York City is helping in combating obesity by placing park-like backyards in new apartment complexes. People can take walks, exercise, and even ride bikes in their very own backyard. Janae Mitchells lives in one of these buildings with her elderly mother in the Fordham section of the Bronx. "My mother is getting old now, so she can't go very far, but with the backyard I can take her downstairs and come back up easily," Mitchells said. These buildings are designed to give people a convenient option for physical exercise.
Weight loss is a very difficult process that requires willpower and determination. "In eighth grade I started playing basketball, but my weight was in the way. I was playing but I wasn't as good. All I really could do was shoot," said Sadi Fofana, a 16-year-old who attends Fredrick Douglass Academy in Harlem. "I was around 189 pounds, but I started playing ball more and working out and during the process I got taller as well." Fofana said the weight loss helped him by making him quicker during games and also lighter on his feet.
As witnessed by Fofana, losing weight is not such an easy journey, but thankfully the people of the South Bronx are now being introduced to valuable resources that have been largely absent in the past.
