Steatopygic: Greek for meaning “fatty buttocks.” In ancient times obesity was a symbol of wealth. If you had money, you could afford large amounts food, which could not be accessed by the majority of people.

Today, it is not a symbol of wealth anymore. It has, in a sense, become connected to those in the lower class of American society.

Even though less Americans are unemployed than years before, there are still plenty of families that are tight on money. According to the National Poverty Center, the poverty rate in 2010 was the highest since 1993.

Right now children are being taught how to live a healthy life in school, but their parents have more control over this than they do. Instead, parents should be educated on how to go about feeding their family a healthy diet on a budget and on a time constraint - habits that if not followed contribute to child obesity.

When lower-income families sit down to cut their spending, high quality and healthy food are often the first to go. These are seen as wants, not needs.  We need food to survive, but we don’t necessarily need organic vegetables and high quality meats.

Although this makes sense, this is not a sacrifice that families should be willing to make. Organic foods, fruits, and vegetables are what humans have eaten from the beginning of our existence. Although we can survive on cheap processed foods, our bodies thrive on these healthy options.

Things like the dollar menu and kids meals make it easy for families to make budget cuts in the food department. Why would you buy a bag of baby carrots that costs two dollars at Harris Teeter, when you could spend four dollars and get an entire meal for your child at McDonalds?

The drive-thru is a savior for a lot of parents who are on the run. Feeding your kids dinner before you have to run to your evening shift at work can be made easier by a trip through the McDonalds drive through or throwing some chicken nuggets in the oven.

Had you walked into my kindergarten class 13 years ago and asked my classmates how many of them had two working parents, the numbers would have been scarce. But today, the numbers are much higher.

With both parents working, there isn’t one parent at home to cook them healthy and balanced meals. This means that children in lower income families working at strange hours are more likely to eat fast food, thus contributing to obesity.

I know this from personal experience, not because both of my parents work, but because with two siblings my mom always had to drive someone to some extracurricular, sports activity or a friend’s house. Some nights it was just easier, and less time consuming, for her to take us to Burger King or Wendy’s than it was to try and cram fixing a meal into the day’s schedule.

Parents who have these strange hours should find quick and healthy solutions, like pre-cooking meals or healthy fast options like salads.  But unhealthy foods should never be a substitute for attention.