The Downside to National Donut Day

As some of you probably already know, today is National Donut Day. Yea! Free donuts? You very well may be wondering how there could be a downside to that. Well, before you go overboard on the jelly donuts and bear claws, I have some bad news called childhood obesity.

It’s a problem, and it’s having an effect on children from a very young age. PolicyMap has a number of health indicators including data on adult obesity, low-income preschool obesity rates, and diabetes. This health data comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The figures on low-income preschool obesity were derived by a CDC analysis of the Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System.

Low-income preschool obesity is a problem that is spread out across the US, with rates in some places as high as 25%. This means for some areas of the country 1 in 4 children age 2-4 from low-income households already face the negative health impacts of obesity. Because children ages 2-4 are too young to be making their own food decisions, it’s especially important that parents & adults make wise health decisions.

Take a moment to check out your county & how it compares to the rest of the country. How high are rates of low-income preschool obesity, diabetes, and adult obesity in your area?

So although we love donuts, it may be best for everyone that it only comes around once a year. I’ll be eating my donut today with extra sprinkles and perhaps a helping of veggies on the side.