(ARA) – Surprisingly hunger and obesity can be linked. The same communities can suffer from both epidemics. There are nearly 2 billion overweight people in the world, while 1 billion people in the world are underfed, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United States.
In the United States, recent data shows 17.1 million households lack access to and resources for enough food for a healthy life, according to the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). At the same time, obesity rates in 28 states nationwide increased last year with two-thirds of states (38) having adult obesity rates above 25 percent, according to a report from Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation titled, “F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2010.”
Weight Watchers’ third annual Lose For Good campaign inspires people to achieve healthy weight loss while helping others in need. “We should not live a world where children go to bed hungry and face malnutrition,” says David Kirchhoff, president and CEO of Weight Watchers International, Inc. “We need to take action and I’m proud that our company and its members are inspired now more than ever to improve their own lives while also contributing to the health and well-being of others.”
Hunger impairs children’s health in significant and long-lasting ways, impeding growth and development, contributing to poorer mental health and playing a part in a child’s greater susceptibility to obesity.
You have the opportunity to make a difference for a great cause in the following ways.
1. Get involved
The national third annual Lose For Good campaign from Weight Watchers focuses on both achieving better health and fighting hunger at the local, national and global levels.
As Weight Watchers meeting members and online subscribers lose weight and participate in other activities through Oct. 23, Weight Watchers will donate up to $1 million to two organizations that help feed children and families: Share Our Strength and Action Against Hunger. In addition, food drives are being organized across the country, allowing members and online subscribers to donate food in their communities to spread the good even further. Visit a Weight Watchers meeting room near you, or learn more about donation days in your area at Meetup.com/WeightWatchers.
2. Volunteer
Resources are available to help locate volunteer opportunities all over the country – such as with Operation Frontline, a program from Share Our Strength that connects families with food by teaching them how to prepare healthy, tasty meals on a budget. You can find a volunteer opportunity near you by visiting www.strength.org.
3. Make a donation
Many great programs focus on long-term strategies to end childhood hunger – and they straddle the difference between feeding a family tonight and helping to ensure that a family never again has to worry about where the next meal will come from. You may not think a dollar goes far, but by investing in the right organization, it can go further than you might imagine. For example, as little as $35 can help feed a child three meals a day for more than a month, according to Share Our Strength. For less then the cost of a nice meal out, you can help a child forget about his or her hunger, and focus on just being a kid.
As the leading organization working to end childhood hunger in America, Share Our Strength works to surround children with healthy nutritious food. “Children in America are hungry not because they lack food,” says Bill Shore, co-founder and executive director, “but because of a lack of access to programs that can help.”
To find a local Weight Watchers meeting near you, or learn more about Lose For Good, visit www.loseforgood.com.
Courtesy of ARAcontent