”The Obesity Epidemic” was the focus of a Special Edition of CBS Sunday Morning on October 25, 2009. Watching the show it occurred to me that this “epidemic” has not been handled in the same way others have. Ten years ago the former US Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher also declared an “Obesity Epidemic.” Historically, a concerted effort is made to reverse the course of epidemics. In this instance, however, all reports seem to indicate worsening of the situation. One has to question the national prevention strategies used so far and ask whether new thinking and approaches should be brought into focus.
It is interesting to me that, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2008 Colorado was the only state with a prevalence of obesity under 20%. CDC data also show Blacks had 51% higher obesity prevalence, and Hispanics 21% compared with whites and that in 1998-2008 one of seven low-income children were obese. The report added, however, that “the obesity epidemic may be stabilizing.” It would seem income and ethnic considerations affect our weight, but how can Colorado’s be explained? Bits of information from here and there depict the people of Colorado as “on the move,” valuing a healthy life-style and supporting the use of their state’s sales tax to create open space and trails for walking and riding.
Going back to the CBS Special Report, such comments as “the extra calories (we eat) are money in the bank” and “ask not what you can do for your country, but what you can eat for your country” gave me a lot to ponder. I asked myself “money in whose bank?”
I also reflected on my recent experience searching through the colorful cereal boxes in a major grocery store. At The Village of Promise (the San Diego Health Outreach Program serving children of incarcerated parents) we start our monthly workshops with breakfast for the kids. I could find only two kinds of cereal (in less colorful boxes) to offer them that did not have extra sweetening, discouraging to those of us who want to promote good nutrition without increasing calories (often “empty” calories).
The CDC online health information states, “American society has become ‘obesogenic,' characterized by environments that promote increased food intake, non-healthful foods, and physical inactivity. Policy and environmental change initiatives that make healthy choices in nutrition and physical activity available, affordable, and easy will likely prove more effective in combating obesity.”
Adults are said to be overweight if they have a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9, obese if they have a BMI of 30 or greater. (See the chart included with this article for your BMI.) Why should we be combating obesity? Included among the answers suggested by recent health reports are the bulging health care cost for obesity, being at risk for a number of chronic diseases, the risk of our children having a shorter life span, the disadvantage in a global economy, the ongoing issues of not fitting into seats, emergency crew concerns about how to safely transport some obese individuals, and the billions spent in weight loss programs.
An article “The Problem with Obesity” by the Berkeley Media Studies Groups for the Strategic Alliance’s Rapid Response Media Network, proposes a “reframing” of our ideas about obesity. The group asks the question “what’s wrong with how obesity is framed now?” Among the points made in this article were:
A focus on weight instead of nutrition may lead people to adopt weight-loss diets rather than eating nutritious food.
Stigmatization can lead to such extreme responses as bulimia or anorexia -- and to the less extreme ones as being ashamed to exercise, which can lead to avoiding health promoting behaviors.
A focus on obesity favors stakeholders like the food, pharmaceutical and diet industries. These various industries can blame people’s inability to control themselves, arguing problem “users,” not problem products, cause obesity (I am reminded of the cigarette and alcohol debates of the past.)
As it is considered a personal condition, not a social condition, obesity moves the conversation “downstream,” making it harder to shift the focus “upstream” to the conditions that inhibit healthy eating and physical activity.
Keeping these points in mind, here are a few things for us to consider as a community:
Describing the environment we want to see.
Saying why it matters. Going beyond doomsday statistics to name the values that motivate us to advocate for changes.
Knowing how we’ll respond when opponents say it is all a matter of personal responsibility.
Article by:
Carmen K. Samuels, United Church of Christ, La Mesa
