Obesity is not relegated to low-income
people, but it is most prevalent there. As discussed in Week 6,
low-income people have many reasons for their weight problems. Eating poor quality food because they can’t afford healthy fare is the #1 reason.
This then points to a societal structure as the cause, and therefore
societal power structures as the source of the solution. Poor people
need more money to spend on good food. The Scientific American article discusses
the connection between food stamps and obesity. One creative solution
that helps make healthier foods more appealing and affordable for
low-income families is the idea of “With a swipe of a food stamp debit
card on a handheld credit machine, shoppers at the Harvest Home Farmers
Market receive a stack of wooden tokens worth a dollar apiece. And for
every five they cash in for bananas, lettuce and the like, they win a
two-dollar Health Bucks’ coupons” to buy more.”
Obesity in both sexes is seen as a
failure, by the person and by their culture. Overweight children are
frequently targets of bullying and overweight adults are routinely
passed over for promotions. Obesity advocates refer to discrimination
against, and hate speech directed at, overweight people as the only
remaining “acceptable contempt” in American society. This is especially
cruel because, medically-speaking, the difference between
healthy-weight and overweight people is more than simply willpower. New
behaviors and having healthy food available is important. In some
cases, there are metabolic problems that contribute; diseases such as
depression, hypothyroidism and SAD, among others, include processes that
depress normal metabolism, and increase the hunger-stimulating
hormones. Asking people to be ravenous 24×7, while working and
parenting, is not viable. Geneen Roth and others have pointed out that
those with adequate financial resources, successful careers, happy
families and low stress not only have joy-based lives, but their
biochemistry makes healthy eating easy. These characteristics are less
likely to be present in the lives of less-powerful people: minorities,
women, the disabled, low-income.
Watch the following video on food and health ( https://youtu.be/7OP9qFD7tFU?si=H_ehrRrcU9kqWSWh ). How can we combat issues such as obesity in the U.S.? What effect does the media have on food selection and health?
Discuss
the factors that influence childhood obesity. In your discussion, be
sure to address the adjustments/shifts needed in order to remedy
childhood obesity. Be sure to explore notions of food quality, quantity,
access, and other lifestyle factors that shape this condition.
