But poverty is also written on Bailey's body, made heavy since childhood by a poor person's diet of cheap, fattening, processed foods larded with high-fructose corn syrup, fat, and salt. As a result of her diet, Bailey has suffered from diabetes since she was 13.
It is, doctors acknowledge, a paradox that hunger and obesity are linked. And doctors say obesity and diabetes among the poor are on the rise, as many families faced with hunger often have little choice but to eat nutritionally disastrous foods to survive.
"You can't find fresh fruits and vegetables in this neighborhood," said Bailey, a high school graduate who has not found work since her census job ended in the summer. She was raised by her grandmother Etherline Bailey, 73, who lives with her.
Bailey said she had to leave community college because of money trouble and was taking steps to return.
She gave up walking in the neighborhood after she was mugged and now tries to do kickboxing indoors.
"I ate a lot of instant noodles and drank a lot of Hawaiian Punch from the corner stores up here," said Bailey, a sweet-faced woman who is afraid of dying young of a heart attack, as her mother did when Bailey was 3.
In Philadelphia, around 25 percent of nonpoor adults are obese, compared with about 34 percent of poor adults, according to Public Health Management Corp. figures from 2008 analyzed by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.
Children are measured differently, with overweight and obesity combined. The overweight/obesity rate for nonpoor Philadelphia children is around 40 percent. For poor kids, it's almost 52 percent.
And 17 percent of poor adults in the city have diabetes, compared with 12 percent of those who aren't poor, PHMC figures show. Diabetes rates for both groups have been increasing since 2000.
