Youth in food-insecure homes made more visits to doctors for mental health: study
CTV
The Canadian Medical Association Journal has published a study saying that because of financial problems, children and adolescents under 18 in food-insecure Ontario homes made 55 per cent more visits to doctors for mental health reasons compared to those who had enough to eat.
The mere thought of grocery shopping causes so much anxiety for Jaimee Aragones that she avoids entering stores knowing she would return home without some food she can no longer afford for her kids.
Aragones said her husband has increasingly taken on the responsibility she once considered a "me time" break from their three- and six-year-old boys. On the rare occasion that she does help out, she "grocery hops" to at least three stores to get the best deals.
"Everything just adds up and I just get really frustrated and anxious," Aragones said from Richmond, B.C., where she works as a medical office assistant.
Despite the couple's efforts to stick with a budget, Aragones said constant money struggles about basic needs, including rent, make her feel "defeated."
She is also worried about how that stress could affect her kids, especially her older son who is told they'll have to "save that for later" when his favourite treats don't show up in the fridge.
Aragones said she considers the couple fortunate because they both have jobs but that she can't imagine the emotional impact on families who may have even less money for food.
On Monday, the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) published a study saying that because of financial problems, children and adolescents under 18 in food-insecure Ontario homes made 55 per cent more visits to doctors for mental health reasons compared to those who had enough to eat.
