I saw a billboard in my drive to work that said "1 in 6 Americans struggle with hunger", this sign gave me pause. What does that mean? Is that true? I would argue that nearly every American struggles with hunger.
I know that the sign is trying to call attention to people who's unfortunate circumstances have caused them to have little or no food; and that being truly hungry due to lack of access to food is an appalling and fixable problem in this country. I have participated in multiple activities throughout my life to assist with this issue, donating to food banks, a day of fasting in college to donate the funds the dining hall would have spent that day, collecting can goods with my Girl Scouts door to door, donating canned food at poker tournaments in exchange for extra starting chips, ect. But what occurred to me as I thought about that sign :
"What about the other struggle with hunger"
I come from a family of over weight people, almost without exception every member of my immediate and extended family has struggled with being over weight. This is also a struggle with hunger, this can also result in critical health issues, self esteem issues, social issues. I believe that the issue of lack of access to food is actually an easier issue to fix in our country.
We are a country with a food network, celebrity chefs, eating contests, a diet industry that is a billion dollar business, tail gating and free samples begging us to buy more food. Most of us don't know what hungry feels like, we know how to eat on a schedule, we know how to snack at a party, we know how to eat when we feel bad or are celebrating something. We have break up ice cream eating, unlimited buffets, clean your plate rules, and bragging rights for eating the largest hamburger.
After my surgery I am struggling with hunger. I am not sure when I should eat, I keep trying to ignore the feeling in my stomach when it is empty. I tell myself, you just ate two hours ago you can't be hungry. However, when I saw the Doc for my 1 month check in he said I'm not eating enough. No one had ever said that to me before in my life. He explained that I am eating too few calories to lose weight; I was putting my body into starvation mode. He said don't ignore your body give it high protein nutritional food when it asks for it, stay hydrated and the weight will go away. Seems simple enough....struggling with hunger.....a universal American issue.
Melena, loved your Blog today! You really knew how to enlighten us here, as for you, you have to eat to lose, weird, but so true.
ReplyDeleteBoy! I agree with you! I understand the people that are not able to afford food for their families, but those that struggle not only with hunger, but food in general is more like 9 out of 10! Struggling to get thin, struggling to stay thin, and even some struggling to gain weight! Managing calories in and calories out is not an easy task! Take me back to the old days without all the refined and processed foods. With exercise done every day in daily tasks. Seems like it was easier then to maintain a healthy weight, and no one even thought about it!
ReplyDeleteAlso remember that eating good food can be more expensive than eating things that make you fat. If all you can afford are rice and beans or eating at the dollar menu, it is easy to get overweight.
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