Obesity More Common In Low Income Families: Expert

“Nutrition experts say children in low-income families are far more likely to be obese than those from wealthier homes.

A study by Dr Jenny O'Dea, associate professor of child health research at the University of Sydney, revealed that childhood obesity is more of a problem among poorer families rather than a disorder linked to affluence. ’The low-income children are two and half times more likely to be obese than the higher-income children,’ said Dr O'Dea. ’So there's something protective about income and health, and we've known this for a long time.’

But Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says the national focus of the government's childhood obesity prevention efforts is not misdirected. ’An effective national strategy has to be tailored to the different demands of different localities, but the overall objective has to be this - you can either let the figures go up and up and produce an epidemic of chronic diseases, or act nationally to bring it down,’ Mr Rudd told reporters in Brisbane.”

http://www.nit.com.au/News/story.aspx?id=15210