Malnutrition's Negative Effects On Homeless Children

According to a new report taken this past January, 564,708 people in the U.S are qualified as homeless. This means they spend their nights living in their car, a shelter, or on the streets. Not only do they not have a roof over their head, but they usually have no food in their stomach. Not ingesting the proper nutrients is also know as malnutrition. Malnutrition affects a person's weight, causes disease, and has a negative impact on a child's educational development. It is critical for the human body to receive enough vitamins and nutrients every day. However, most homeless people often eat foods that have a high fat content and small amounts of essential nutrients.
According to research, “obesity may have replaced underweight as the new malnutrition” ("One-Third of US Homeless Are Obese."). Families that have little to no money cannot
Some health risks are growth delays, anemia, cardiovascular problems, gastric ulcers, and skin diseases. On top of that, malnutrition also creates problems like learning disabilities, growth delays, and more (“Improving the Nutritional Status of Homeless Children”). Psychological diseases are also common for homeless people. Research done in Massachusetts states that 70% of homeless parents suffer from personality disorders. Around 13% of homeless parents are living with Schizophrenia ("One-Third of US Homeless Are Obese."). If Homeless people were able to eat a steady diet, it could prevent many of these diseases (Coufopoulos). Once a homeless person is sick, they do not have the same opportunities for treatment like the general public often does. Most health places will not treat the homeless because they “don’t want to deal with them” or because they do not have insurance. They also usually have no source of transportation to transport them the a hospital or clinic ( “Nutrition and Health Services Needs among the Homeless”). This puts homeless children and their parents in