Young children in deep poverty, whose family income is below 50% of the federal poverty line, fare even worse on health and development indicators than children in poverty, according to a study released by the National Center for Children in Poverty. The study compared the well being of children in deep poverty to children who are poor, but not in deep poverty, and to non-poor children.
Compared to other poor children, a higher percentage of young children in deep poverty suffer from obesity and elevated blood lead levels--a serious concern associated with learning and behavior problems. The percentage of young children in deep poverty who have elevated lead levels is three times higher than the portion seen in poor children, and over 17 times higher than in non-poor children.
Source: Science 20, 1/12/16, Risk of Deep Poverty
No comments:
Post a Comment