Health

Obesity: Balancing Healthy Living and the American Way - Part 2

Written by Emily Ferreira on April 21, 2008 3:07 pm EST

So the question being posed is: What can be done to minimize obesity in the US? At the moment, there are several FDA-approved medications and weight loss drugs (or sympathomimetic drugs) that can be used to combat obesity by suppressing an individual’s appetite. But, the obesity dilemma continues to increase giving us enough evidence to prove that we need to reevaluate the angle at which the problem is being viewed. How about we look at the root of the disease as well as the factors that influence obesity! Here are a few potential causes/reasons that I think facilitate the obesity crisis in the US:

• Intense advertising and marketing of fast food. A perfect example would be Taco Bell’s TV advertisement promoting the “fourth meal”. This ad encourages viewers to eat late night/early morning (12am - 3am) meals. The convenience and low cost of fast food and drive-through restaurants makes it an easy catch for individuals such as college students and those that work graveyard shifts.

• Location, location, location. As fast food chain restaurants become more competitive, you can now find any one of the major fast food restaurants on every corner or located within less than a 1/4 mile of one another. This extremity may not be the case for all smaller towns and cities throughout the US; however I live in Orlando FL and it is very apparent in this metropolitan city.

• High cost of healthy foods. It can cost an arm and a leg for someone on a tight budget to purchase healthy food alternatives such as organic fruits, vegetables and grains along with juices and fruit dr.

• Oversized meal portions. The large food portions typically offered at popular restaurants as well as the option to “super-size it” only influences the occurrence of gluttony and obesity in the US.

• False and/or misguided beliefs about nutritional content. Many people make a conscious effort to choose more healthy meals such as salads and soups instead of burgers and fries. However, these individuals often fail to realize the true difference in nutritional content between “healthy” and “unhealthy” foods. Did you know that a Mc Donald’s Premium Caesar Salad with Crispy Chicken has only 1g of fat less than a Mc Donald’s Quarter Pounder® which has a total of 19 grams of fat? You may as well choose the burger!

(Image credit 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

• Hefty fees charged by exercise facilities. Once again, it is oftentimes hard for someone on a minimal budget to afford the membership fees offered by many of the leading exercise facilities.

• Convenience vs. Nutrition. Although the disparity between these two factors remain significant, I have to admit that I have seen an effort on the behalf of restaurants and food stores to offer more healthy options such as salads and fruit bowls.

• Reluctance to walk the extra mile. I often see parents load their kids into the car to drive them 4 blocks to school and I can’t help but classify them in my mind as being purely lazy human beings. How hard is it to walk your kids 10 minutes to school? This unwillingness to walk the extra distance can also be seen with individuals driving around shopping malls and amusement parks in scooters. While I respect the fact that the elderly as well as legally disabled persons are in need of the extra assistance, I see very health individuals taking advantage of the use of scooters in public areas.

I am aware that, to an extent, some of the above factors are simply part of the American way. Competition among business that try to offer more convenience at lower prices is something that consumers crave, and often value. So, what realistic measures can we take to break the unhealthy habits of the US population without sacrificing the industrious aspects of the American culture?

Steps to Creating a Healthy Lifestyle

1. Facilitate and teach healthy eating habits in schools. Specific health standards need to be created and implemented by the Board of Education to regulate the nutritional content of food and drinks offered in schools. Additionally, the Board of Education needs to alter the school curriculum to teach health eating habits, encourage physical activity, and bring awareness to the consequences of poor eating and exercising habits.

2. Create controls on advertising and marketing methods used by the food, beverage and restaurant industries. The FTC should actively regulate the marketing efforts used by companies to promote unhealthy foods and beverages. Children are especially susceptible to marketing techniques calling for a need for the federal government to place controls on the amount and type of advertisements used on popular media channels such as TV and the internet.

3. Improve access to nutritional foods. We need to break the connection between convenience and unhealthy foods and factor nutritional value into the picture. Typically convenient companies that offer food and beverages such as fast food chains, gas stations and convenience stores need to start offering healthier food options such as pre-made salads and fruit bowls instead of hot dogs loaded with melted cheese.

Image credit: celticman53225

4. State funding for nutritional health programs. Children and teens would greatly benefit from grants provided on a state-wide level used to promote healthy eating and psychical activity. This would provide a great starting point from which measureable results could be obtained.

5. Funding for Research. Financial support is also needed at this time for experimental and prevention research along with community- and population-based research that can help to reinforce supports for supervision and assessment efforts used to fight obesity.

6. Increasing affordability. Make healthy food options and psychical exercise facilities more affordable for the middle to lower income individuals. The government needs to open up in this gap in order to create an equal ground where individuals from different income levels can still afford to eat healthily.

7. Zoning laws. Convenience is good but is there such a thing as too much convenience? I gave you the example of how fast food chains are positioned in Orlando, where you may often find 3 to 5 popular fast food restaurants consecutively in a row. You can then drive within a ¼ mile radius of these food chains and find the same restaurants within a 5 minutes drive. I know that money talks in situations like this but can’t state governments put their foot down and regulate the zoning of fast food restaurants?

8. Promote health through physical activity or “walking the extra mile”. Social norms are heavily influenced by marketing and advertising efforts seen on television, the internet, etc. So, how about creating a public marketing campaign promoting the importance of daily exercise or “walking the extra mile”. This ad campaign can encourage individuals to engage in physical activity more regularly and inconspicuously attempt to create somewhat of a social stigma against being lazy through unneeded actions such using scooters or driving to your neighborhood mailbox instead of walking.

Image credit: JDLBB

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