Healthy Food Options Found Less Accessible to Latino Kids

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It has been reported that there are more obese Latino kids than their peers. The reason could be because many of them do not have the option of finding healthy foods.

NBC News informed that non-profit organization Salud America stated in their website that school cafeterias in communities where most of the population are Latinos do not have access to healthy food options. The only option they have is to get foods from the vending machines, which are mostly unhealthy products or junk foods.

The director of the organization, Dr. Amelie Ramirez, believes that the concern authorities should provide more food options for kids at school. They must have many food choices including healthy alternatives.

"We're encouraging schools to do away with their vending machines, and options like that, because children are surrounded by unnecessarily high caloric food," the director said. "Also within close proximity of these schools are convenience stores and fast food restaurants that also contribute to the increase in our Latino students' weight."

The obesity problem amongst Latino children is increasing and the organization thinks that there is not enough action by the officials to stop or control the epidemic.

"Our food portions have increased over time as well, so there are all these extra calories," Ramirez added. "In addition to the nutrition, our kids also don't have access to safe spaces for physical activity and exercise."

Yahoo! News previously reported that many cities in the state of California have reached an agreement with public schools in 2010 to provide enough facilities for students to perform their physical activities. The state, which population composed of 38 percent Latino, has made significant progress.

Nevertheless, the Latino organization wanted to make it a country-wide project to make sure it will help decrease the obesity epidemic amongst the children in the community.

First Lady Michelle Obama has mandated to provide healthy food options in all schools in the country. However, the Latino community does not believe that the schools in their area are following the federal mandate.

The study that was conducted by the organization suggests that schools, where students are predominantly Latinos, have weaker policies compared to white-majority institutions.

Meanwhile, the University of California San Francisco news outlet reported that poverty plays a big factor on health. The future result could be devastating as they will end up living with various obesity-related diseases if these kids continue to gain access to unhealthy foods.