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Poverty And Health : Low Income Limits Choices Essay

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Poverty and health: Low income limits choices to cheap and unhealthy foods

Poverty tends to impact society on several different levels, whether it may be through the impact of the economy, social effects, education, health, but most importantly malnutrition; which is said to be the most common effect of poverty. Poverty affects millions of Americans by limiting their choices to cheap and unhealthy foods. It also limits the physical access to healthy food choices as it relates to diet costs and reliable access to the proper resources, which in turn creates a direct correlation between poverty which leads to obesity, as well as other diseases.
“The biggest enemy of health in the developing world is poverty” (Annan). It creates ill-health conditions which forces individuals to live in certain unpleasant environments without proper shelter, clothing, and most importantly food. “In the United States, the overall poverty rate climbed to 15.1 percent, or 46.2 million, up from 14.3 percent in 2009. The official poverty level is an annual income of $22,314 for a family of four (The Census Bureau).” Based on the statistics above, one is left to wonder how an individual can survive on such an income, far less for being able to purchase and consume affordable nutritious meals. It is often argued that life is full of choices and one can choose to adopt a lifestyle of healthy eating, but what happens when poverty strikes and there is no choice but to try to survive?
In focusing on the

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