Fast Facts

Food

  • 13 million, or approximately 17.8 percent, of children in the United States live in poverty. The rate of poverty for children under 18 remains higher than for those aged 18 to 64 and for those 65 and over.
  • According to USDA estimates, 7 million, or 17.6 percent of households with children under age 18, were food-insecure in 2004.
  • Research indicates that even mild undernutrition during critical periods of growth impacts the behavior of young children, their school performance, and their overall cognitive development.
  • According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an estimated 13.8 million children lived in food-insecure households in 2004, an increase of more than 1 million over 2001. [USDA/ERS, Household Food Security in the United States]
  • 30 percent of client households with seniors had to choose between buying food and paying for utilities and heating fuel. [Hunger in America 2006]
  • Nearly half of all non-elderly low-income families that used a food pantry in 2001 were working families with children. [Urban Institute, Many Families Turn to Food Pantries for Help]
  • 66 percent of all client households served by the America's Second Harvest Network have annual incomes below the federal poverty line for 2004.
  • 28.5 percent of client households served in nonmetropolitan areas reported that their children often or sometimes did not eat enough during the past year because there was not enough money to buy food. [Hunger in America 2006]
  • It is estimated that during 2002, 34.9 million people lived in households that at some time were uncertain of having or unable to acquire enough food for all of their members because of insufficient money or resources.
  • Overall, households with children had more than twice the rate of food insecurity as those without children.
  • It is estimated that 8.5 million people, including 2.9 million children, live in homes that experience hunger—where meals are frequently skipped or individuals go without food for a whole day. [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Household Food Security in the United States, 2002]
  • Millions of poor children suffer from chronic undernutrition—the underconsumption of essential nutrients and food energy. Nutrient deficiencies can lead to serious health problems, including impaired cognitive development, growth failure, physical weakness, anemia, and stunting. [Tufts University School of Nutrition]

Shelter

  • The rate of home ownership for working families with children is lower than in 1978, according to a report released by the Center for Housing Policy.
  • The home ownership rate for minority working families stagnated at 45 percent, far below the rate for white families (71 percent) as of 2003. [Center for Housing Policy]
  • Studies have shown that children of homeowners are more likely to perform well in school and are less likely to have behavior problems.
  • About 14 million people pay more than 30 percent of their monthly income for rent and utilities, and more than 6.7 percent pay more than 50 percent of their income for rent. One poor family in seven lives in housing that is severely physically inadequate.
  • Between 1997 and 1999 there was a 9 percent drop in the number of rental units available to very low income renters. [Habitat for Humanity]
  • According to a 1999 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development report, 4.9 million households and 10.9 million individuals face "worst-case housing needs." These families:
    • Are renters receiving no government assistance
    • Make less than 50 percent of the area median income
    • Pay more than 50 percent of their income for rent and utilities, and/or
    • Live in housing with severe deficiencies, such as having no hot water, no electricity, no toilet, or neither a bathtub nor shower.

    [U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, A Report on Worst Case Housing Needs in 1999]
  • Of the 30 million households with housing problems, 14.5 million qualify for government aid, yet only 4.1 million are receiving any. [Habitat for Humanity]
  • To afford the median fair-market price of a two-bedroom rental unit in the United States, a worker would have to earn a wage of $12.47 per hour, 233 percent of the current federal minimum wage of $5.35 per hour. [Habitat for Humanity]
  • In 1999, it cost an average of $580 per month to rent a house. For 14.8 million U.S. households that make $10,000 or less per year, a year's rent is about 80 percent of their annual income. [Habitat for Humanity]

Healthy Living

  • According to a study by Doug Oman, Ph.D., of the University of California, Berkeley, people who volunteer for two or more organizations are less likely to die from heart disease or related diseases.
  • Children who watched more television and were less likely to participate in vigorous activity tended to have higher body mass indexes. [Journal of the American Medical Association]
  • A child who spends more time watching television ... is at greater risk of experiencing the events (carelessness, lack of agility, ignorance of natural environments) that cause physical injuries. [Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine]
  • We found self-reported heavier TV viewing to be associated with obesity, physical inactivity, negative psychological characteristics, and smoking. [The CARDIA Study, Elsevier Science Inc.]
  • Perhaps the most cogent explanation of the association between TV viewing and obesity is based on a dynamic model: As TV viewing time increases, exercise tends to decrease and snacking tends to increase. As exercise decreases and snacking increases, obesity tends to increase. And as obesity increases, attraction to passive recreation, such as watching TV, tends to increase—a cycle of reinforcement. [American Journal of Public Health]
  • 16 percent of adolescents 12 - 19 years of age are overweight. [Health United States, 2005]
  • 10 percent of adolescents 12 - 17 years of age are not covered by health insurance. [Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Children: National Health Interview Survey, 2004]
  • 59 percent of adults do not engage in vigorous leisure-time physical activity. [Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2003]
  • According to Health, United States, 2005, $1.7 trillion is spent on health expenditures, or 15.3 percent of gross domestic product, with 46 percent using public funds.
  • 23.5 million noninstitutionalized adults, or 11 percent, have been diagnosed with heart disease. [Summary Statistics for U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey]
  • 4.4 million people in the survey period were discharged from hospital inpatient care, with an average length of stay of 4.6 days. [2003 National Hospital Discharge Survey]
  • In 2004, 30 percent of adults engaged in regular leisure-time physical activity. [National Health Interview Survey]
  • 65 percent of people 20 years and over are overweight. [Health, United States, 2005]
  • 30 percent of people 20 and older have hypertension. [Health, United States, 2005]
  • 16 percent of people under 65 years are without health insurance coverage. [National Health Interview Survey]
  • The federal Department of Health and Human Services put the cost of overweight and obese Americans at $117 billion in 2000 and says that being overweight results in 300,000 deaths a year.
  • According to a poll commissioned in May 2003 by the Harvard School of Public Health, obesity has surpassed smoking as a public health concern, with 79 percent of those polled saying that it was a major issue.
  • The recommended amount of physical activity for high school students is at least 30 minutes of moderate activity (does not cause sweating or heavy breathing) five or more days per week, or at least 20 minutes of vigorous activity three or more days per week.
  • Regular physical activity lessens the risk of heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, arthritis, and obesity.
  • Exercise can also improve symptoms associated with mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. [National Center for Health Statistics, Health, United States, 2003]
  • In 2000, poor diet and physical inactivity (400,000) were second only to tobacco (435,000) as the most common actual causes of death in the United States. [Centers for Disease Control]

The following comes from the HEALTHIERUS WEB SITE: Prevention Makes Common Cents, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

  • Expenditures for health care in the United States continue to rise and were estimated to have reached $1.66 trillion in 2003. Many of these costs can be attributed to the diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases and conditions such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and asthma.
  • Approximately 129 million U.S. adults are overweight or obese, which costs this nation anywhere from $69 billion to $117 billion per year.
  • In 2000, an estimated 17 million people (6.2 percent of the population) had diabetes, costing the United States approximately $132 billion. People with diabetes lost more than eight days per year from work, accounting for 14 million disability days.
  • Heart disease and stroke are the first and third leading causes of death in the United States. In 2003 alone, it was predicted that 1.1 million Americans would have a heart attack. Cardiovascular diseases cost the nation more than $300 billion each year.
  • Approximately 23 million adults and 9 million children have been diagnosed with asthma at some point within their lifetimes, with costs near $14 billion per year.
  • Health-care spending was estimated to have reached $1.66 trillion in 2003. Health-care spending is growing faster than the gross domestic product and is projected to account for 17.7 percent of the GDP by 2012, up from 14.1 percent in 2001. A small number of chronic disorders—such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases—account for the majority of deaths each year, and the medical-care costs of people with chronic diseases account for more than 75 percent of the nation's medical-care costs. As the population of the United States ages substantially over the next several decades, the prevalence of chronic diseases—and their impact on health-care costs—will likely increase.
  • According to a recent study by the National Center for Health Statistics, less than a third of U.S. adults engage in regular leisure-time physical activity, and only about one-fifth of adults engage in a high level of overall physical activity. One study looked at adults who were trying to lose weight or maintain their weight and found that less than 20 percent of the individuals were following recommendations about increasing physical activity and reducing calories. Also notable is a finding that only 42.8 percent of obese people who had routine checkups in the past months had been urged during those visits to lose weight.