The increase mirrors a nationwide trend. There has been a more than 270% increase in the number of obese children compared to the 1970s.
Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said while more kids are hungry today, more kids are also obese, adding the solutions are not quick hits.
"It involves more access, more affordability when it comes to nutritious and fresh foods, especially for vulnerable families," Brooks outlined. "It's recalibrating after the hiccup with SNAP."
Most Kentucky schools are able to provide free meals to all students through the Community Eligibility Provision, and national research shows that those participating schools saw a relative reduction in obesity compared to nonparticipating schools.
Aliete Yanes Medina, a Jefferson County senior high school student, said social media can trigger mental health problems in students who don’t have a certain body type.
"Sometimes if they don't look the same as they see in social media, they may think that they are less worthy," Medina observed. "It's honestly something really, really sad."
Karena Cash, data and research director for Kentucky Youth Advocates, explained that food insecurity is closely linked to poor nutrition.
"Parents just having to rely on really cheap, ultraprocessed food that's closely associated with obesity," Cash stressed. "We also know that kids struggle to access food because they just don't live close to grocery stores."
Research shows kids living in high-poverty neighborhoods – a reality for nearly one in three children in Kentucky – are at higher risk of developing obesity throughout their childhood and adolescence.
