Hungry kids are hospitalized more often. They’re at a higher risk for developmental problems and their moms are more likely to be depressed. Yet, hunger rarely comes up when those kids and their families see a doctor.
“We are blind to (hunger) as clinicians,” said Dr. Diana Cutts, a pediatrician at Hennepin County Medical Center who’s been researching the ties between food and health for more than 15 years. At any given time at least a quarter of her patients don’t have enough food, she said.