Healthy People 2010 Objective: Reducing childhood obesity in poor communities
             One of the stated goals of "Healthy People 2010" is to eliminate health disparities between different socioeconomic groups. Promoting a healthy weight and increasing physical activity must be the cornerstones of any health promotion policy, particularly in light of America's burgeoning obesity epidemic. Everyone in America, poor and rich, is growing fatter-however, the epidemic seems to be suffered by the poor in greater numbers, and the poor have fewer resources to treat the causes of obesity. The 1994-1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes of Individuals (CSFII) survey showed significantly higher Healthy Eating Index (HEI) scores for wealthier respondents (Martin 2005:2).
             Most of the currently existing literature suggests that poverty and obesity is causal as well as correlational. The poor have less access to lower-calorie, nutritious food and safe places to exercise. "Poverty and disease can participate in a vicious cycle wherein each one perpetuates the other. Deprived living conditions, malnutrition, and poor access to health care can advance the progression from poverty to disease. The resultant disease can lead to more poverty via the association of disease with limited employ-ability, high health care expenses, and losses of skills and ability. This can become a tough cycle to break" for the members of the next generation, who often continue to emulate their parents' unhealthy lifestyle and remain in poverty (Martin 2005). The School Nutrition Program notes that nutrition and lack of exercise lead to poor concentration, lower test scores and higher rates of school absence ("Childhood obesity crisis poses financial losses to schools," 2004, Business Wire).
             In America, sugary, energy-dense foods are both highly palatable and cheaper than less processed,more difficult to prepare but healthier foods like fr...