Nearly 1 in 5 young children in the United States are not getting enough to eat, new research found.

[spanone]

Research released Wednesday shows a rise in food insecurity without modern precedent. Nearly a fifth of young children are not getting enough to eat, according to surveys of their mothers by the Brookings Institution, a rate three times higher than in 2008 at the worst of the Great Recession, reports Jason DeParle.

When food runs short, parents often skip meals to keep children fed. But a survey of households with children 12 and under by Lauren Bauer, a Brookings fellow in economic studies, found that 17.4 percent reported the children themselves not eating enough, compared to 5.7 percent in the Great Recession. Inadequate nutrition can leave young children with permanent developmental damage.

“This is alarming,” she said. “These are households cutting back on portion sizes, having kids skip meals. The numbers are much higher than I expected.”

Ms. Bauer said disruptions in school meal programs may be part of the problem, with some families unable to reach distribution sites and older siblings at home competing for limited food.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/us/coronavirus-updates.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage#link-ba9024b

[gratuitous]

1. I wonder what the President will say about this?

A whole bunch of nothing, I'm thinking.

[spanone]

2. I imagine he couldn't care less.

[Newest Reality]

5. The least of his concerns.

[Mosby]

3. The "surveys" rely on self report data.

Which are known to have very weak predictive, explanatory value.

[spanone]

4. You're dismissing this report?

https://www.hamiltonproject.org/blog/the_covid_19_crisis_has_already_left_too_many_children_hungry_in_america

[Mosby]

6. I'm saying that self report is a bad variable.

75% of Americans claim they eat healthy.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/08/03/487640479/75-percent-of-americans-say-they-eat-healthy-despite-evidence-to-the-contrary

But they don't, that's why self reporting is a weak measure.

95% of all americans don't eat nearly enough fiber:

https://www.vox.com/2019/3/20/18214505/fiber-diet-weight-loss

Most Americans don't consume enough essential fatty acids, which are essential because your body can't produce DHA and EPA effectively.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3992162/#!po=1.00000

So I'm not impressed by an article that asks people whether they are getting enough snap money. The problems with diet in this country is much more complex than that.

Hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and obesity are all very high in the US, and it's because of what people are eating, not how much.

[k2qb3]

7. Agree...

Half of the supposedly underfed kids are probably obese.

We do have a serious problem with malnutrition in this country, but it isn't because food isn't available.

It's because Americans eat 150lbs of sugar a year on average and are getting more calories from carbohydrates than they need total.