Comments on: Who’s the Fattest of Them All? Obesity Rates Rise in 37 States http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/08/19/whos-the-fattest-of-them-all-obesity-rates-rise-in-37-states/ A blog about science, politics, and how to let each help the other without compromising them both. Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:29:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: Weekly Science & Politics News Roundup | Reality Base | Discover Magazine http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/08/19/whos-the-fattest-of-them-all-obesity-rates-rise-in-37-states/#comment-728 Weekly Science & Politics News Roundup | Reality Base | Discover Magazine Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:26:31 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/08/19/whos-the-fattest-of-them-all-obesity-rates-rise-in-37-states/#comment-728 [...] More bad news for the South: Memphis has the highest infant mortality rate in the [...] […] More bad news for the South: Memphis has the highest infant mortality rate in the […]

]]> By: Sanjiv Sarwate http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/08/19/whos-the-fattest-of-them-all-obesity-rates-rise-in-37-states/#comment-710 Sanjiv Sarwate Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:35:29 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/08/19/whos-the-fattest-of-them-all-obesity-rates-rise-in-37-states/#comment-710 Barry Glasner's "The Gospel of Food" does a pretty good job of unearthing the classism (and latent racism) in debates over food and obesity. And solving the "problem" will involve more than simply banning X type of food, restaurant, whatever. It's complicated, but two of the biggest culprits are cheap corn and cheap gas, both of which seem funny to say now, with both at higher than usual prices. But corn subsidies have helped make meat, dairy, and corn sweeteners cheaper. We have also built a vast culture that is very car dependent, as shown by our sprawling suburbs and exurbs, which are basically inaccessible and unnavigable without cars. Those who can afford a car therefore drive, a task made easier by cheap gas. Those who can't afford a car tend to get left behind. And the businesses that survive in areas where a lot of the left behind people live are fast food restaurants, which represent the best calorie-to-dollar value for many people. Poor people don't eat a lot of fast food because they're lazy or stupid - they eat a lot of it because they fill their bellies for less (in both time and money) than they would buying groceries and cooking their own food. Then we cut recess and P.E. because we needed more time for teaching to standardized tests. That can't help. But hey, why should fat kids get in the way of corporate welfare for test design companies? And there are extensive studies (read "Mindless Eating" for a few) showing how it's not all that difficult to get people to eat when they're not really hungry. The food companies have perfected these tactics and deploy them quite readily. As I see it, obesity is a symptom of a host of underlying socioeconomic issues. Merely targeting obesity as if it were a disease on its own misses the cultural and social trends that enable it. Barry Glasner’s “The Gospel of Food” does a pretty good job of unearthing the classism (and latent racism) in debates over food and obesity. And solving the “problem” will involve more than simply banning X type of food, restaurant, whatever. It’s complicated, but two of the biggest culprits are cheap corn and cheap gas, both of which seem funny to say now, with both at higher than usual prices. But corn subsidies have helped make meat, dairy, and corn sweeteners cheaper. We have also built a vast culture that is very car dependent, as shown by our sprawling suburbs and exurbs, which are basically inaccessible and unnavigable without cars. Those who can afford a car therefore drive, a task made easier by cheap gas. Those who can’t afford a car tend to get left behind. And the businesses that survive in areas where a lot of the left behind people live are fast food restaurants, which represent the best calorie-to-dollar value for many people. Poor people don’t eat a lot of fast food because they’re lazy or stupid - they eat a lot of it because they fill their bellies for less (in both time and money) than they would buying groceries and cooking their own food.

Then we cut recess and P.E. because we needed more time for teaching to standardized tests. That can’t help. But hey, why should fat kids get in the way of corporate welfare for test design companies?

And there are extensive studies (read “Mindless Eating” for a few) showing how it’s not all that difficult to get people to eat when they’re not really hungry. The food companies have perfected these tactics and deploy them quite readily.

As I see it, obesity is a symptom of a host of underlying socioeconomic issues. Merely targeting obesity as if it were a disease on its own misses the cultural and social trends that enable it.

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