Since shelters provide families with three meals a day, it might be easy to assume that families eat nutritious, well-balanced meals and do not experience issues of food insecurity or obesity when they are staying in shelter. However, many families living in shelters struggle with obesity and food insecurity on a daily basis. During focus groups conducted with families living in shelter, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Homeless Health Initiative (HHI), a health outreach program for women and children living in West Philadelphia shelters, learned that many families are dissatisfied with shelter meals and struggle with issues of weight and obesity. HHI also learned that, like the Smiths, families staying in West Philadelphia shelters have all experienced some type of loss – loss of home and sometimes loss of relationships, safety or health – which can lead to feelings of disempowerment, especially in a shelter environment characterized by authority and strict rules.
Obesity | Operation CHOICES: Nutrition and Fitness Programming to Combat Obesity and Food Insecurity for Families in Shelters
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Best Practices, Case Report, Clinical Practice, Conditions and Issues, Homeless Services, Nutrition