Babies' hunger reflects inflation

Mariana Chilton

and John Cook

are pediatric researchers

As pediatric researchers, we don't need the morning paper to tell us about rising food and fuel prices. We see the evidence every day on the bodies of babies in the emergency room at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children. Young children arrive anemic and underweight; some even require hospitalization to treat the health effects of inadequate nutrition.

Recent news coverage confirms what health professionals have been seeing all year: The current inflation in food and energy prices is taking a toll on America's most vulnerable children. The Labor Department reports grocery prices up 5.1 percent over last year. The picture is worse for many staple items: Bread is up 12 percent, milk 17 percent, and eggs a staggering 25 percent since February 2007. With oil prices sitting steadily above $100 a barrel for the first time in our nation's history, experts agree that food prices will continue to climb significantly in the coming year.

While an inadequate diet jeopardizes health and learning at any age, the implications are particularly grave for children under 3. Poor nutrition during what science has proved to be the critical period of brain growth has lifelong implications for children's ability to learn. It compromises children's school readiness, limits educational achievement and, in the long run, impairs their ability to participate in the workforce.

Before the current spike in food prices, in 2006, the government found that 12.6 million children in the United States were living in households lacking access to enough food for an active and healthy life. The government calls this "food insecurity." Most of us would think of it as hunger. Research on more than 27,000 infants and toddlers by the Children's Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program (www.c-snap.org) finds that food insecurity has serious health consequences for babies and toddlers. It puts them at risk for poor health, increased hospitalizations, and developmental delays, which can jeopardize their mental and physical readiness for school.

The impacts of hunger on the health of poor children are seen every day in Philadelphia. About 15 percent of the families we interview are food insecure. This is significantly higher than the national rate of 11 percent. One child out of every three in our city arrives at kindergarten already behind in the skills they will need to learn to read. Many arrive hungry.