Poor man’s weight: Obesity in America’s underprivileged

Is it irony that our poor are too fat? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? I mean for centuries the poor's best aid for receiving alms on the street corner was their bony arms and an emaciated face. How can we give a fat man money for food? We have it all backward in America; the inner-city struggles with obesity while the rich suburbs suffer from anorexia and bulimia. Whatever the struggle, weight-loss in the suburbs or weight-gain in the ‘hood, the underlying issue is food. Our food surplus has become, yes, an annoyance. Caloric intake is a nuisance to both fat and skinny alike but while humans have faced starving (anorexic) conditions throughout the natural history of homo sapiens, we have never faced the dilemma of too much fat. This confuses our body. Instead of ridding the body of the excess, excess fat, as it would other harmful chemicals through our urine, the body continues to store fat as energy reserves. This results in obesity, the condition of having more than 30% body fat.

Obesity is caused because overall energy intake is greater than overall energy expenditure. Genetic disposition to obesity is one culprit, however, the source of calories that the body uses to store fat needs to be available for obesity to occur. It is a fundamental rule of physics, that matter cannot be created from nothing, it has to occur from something. Fat does not occur from birth, it occurs because the body has the caloric intake enough to make fat tissue.

It is hard to take seriously that obesity is a result of being underprivileged. Those with less money should be eating less because less of their income is devoted towards food. However national reports suggest otherwise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that 27% of blacks and about 21% of Hispanics of all ages are considered obese nationwide (17% of whites).1 And lower income minorities are at even greater risk, according to federal statistics. Another report shows obesity starts early. The Boston Medical Center reports child obesity affects 39% of the 2-5 year-olds that have come to the hospital.2 So how can it be that those with less money for food are becoming fat as children? Why don’t they just exercise them?

It is not as simple as taking the kids outside to run around. Many times over, the neighborhoods where these children are living have no recreation areas (playgrounds, parks etc.) for children to play or they are dangerous. Moreover, groceries and markets selling fresh produce are not as easily accessible for urban families. With no transportation to larger supermarkets, it is harder to access varieties of food consistent with healthy diets.

With children pent up inside watching television with a constant barrage of snack and beverage commercials, the recipe is complete. The barrage of junk-food ads only reinforces a desire to eat more junk, filling youngsters up from no just the head but also the waist. The daily cycle continues and children just fill up and out. Unfortunately, this extra weight doesn’t just make poor fat-boy the butt of jokes on the school playground. Real life Chunk faces a plethora of diseases associated with obesity including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus type 2, sleep apnea, and osteoarthritis.4

While about 16 percent of whites who earn about $50,000 a year are obese, that rate climbs to nearly 23 percent among those whites who earn about $15,000. On the other hand, 22.5 percent of blacks who earn $50,000 are obese, but that figure rises to nearly 34 percent for those blacks who make about $15,000.1 One obvious conclusion one could make from these statistics is that foods that cost more (hence only wealthy people can afford) have less fattening contents. This of course is untrue. Fruits and vegetables are not as costly as these stats would have you think. Another conclusion is that I strongly believe is that some Americans are less educated about health than others. Because of the strong correlation between wealth and education, I think it is reasonable to assume that education has a lot to do with the disparity of these numbers.

Of course it is more difficult for urban residents to access recreation areas and groceries without some leaps and hurdles, but “where there is a will, there is a way.” If there is strong enough desire to be healthy, it can be achieved. Perhaps one Saturday or Sunday trip to the local grocer is all a family has time for with one working parent, but with two or more pairs of hands, a week’s worth of food can be carried. If television creates an almost rhythmic cycle of eat, sleep and watch, then another indoor activity should be suggested. Try reading. For exercise, join a sports team. Get a stairmaster or some dumbbells. How about yoga or even taping an exercise show (on ESPN2 during the morning) and following it when you get home. The excuse that an urban environment purports a culture of obesity is a mistake. It is just fuel to the fire of hopelessness that the cycle creates.

Kids are often easily influenced by ads and fads. Watching constant TV increases the odds that these will affect children. We are not alone. "One in every four children is obese [in Europe]. This mean future health problems. We made fun of Americans in a way. It is a European problem now," [EU Health Commissioner Markos] Kyprianou said in an interview with London's Financial Times.5 In other modern cities of the world, this same cycle has trapped another society's youth.

''I used to go to KFC, McDonald's, Burger King,'' he said. ''I used to go to White Castle. They had these great specials, so I used to go every day.''1 These are quotes describing the eating habits of an urban youth suffering from obesity. Had he known (how did he not is the real question) that these foods were high fat, high calorie, would he still partake?

We have little discipline in America to avoid habits and foods that are unhealthy. It is easier to order a cheeseburger at McDonalds than to prepare a turkey wrap or a salad at home. Denying the pangs of hunger are even more difficult, especially when subjected to the torture of a thousand commercials (10,000 would be a closer estimate, the number of food commercials a child sees in a year). Those who endure the struggles of keeping fit by regular exercise know of the struggle that this can be. However, although it is a struggle, it is achieved if it is important enough.

One common focus is the impact of corporate food advertisements and their product’s availability to children. Parents should not have to worry about their children purchasing junk food at the lunch counter at school, should they? However, pizza, cheeseburgers, fried chicken and potato chips, all high in fat, are commonly sold in schools for lunch. Why have do we shy away from healthier foods for kids in schools?

Instead of wasting millions studying the genetic dispositions and the effects of obesity, both handy excuses that add to the cycle, why don’t we spend the same millions on improving after school programs, improving community-based health education on nutrition, exercise and obesity and creating green space for at-risk communities. Have medical personnel show urban residents where they can get cheaper produce and locate closer recreation areas for exercise. With no hope to better yourself, sometimes it is easier to take a bite of a double cheeseburger, enjoying the succulent taste of fatty foods, rather than the daunting chore of exercise in self-restraint. I think it's time we present hope and fix conditions that can be helped rather than present ever-worsening statistics about fat people in urban areas. We know people are fat, lets stop talking about it and work for solutions to avoid the costly repercussions.



1 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=980CE3D81238F935A15751C1A9669C8B63
2 http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/12/29/obesity_battle_starts_young_for_urban_poor/?page=1
3 http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003496449_obesity27m.html
4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity
5 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/20/health/main668194.shtml

Firefly takes Amazon's bestsellers by storm

I am pleasantly surprised to see Firefly sitting with silver on today’s (12/27/06) Amazon.com top DVD sales podium (The gold goes to Little Miss Sunshine). For those who have never heard of or seen Joss Whedon’s masterful series, give it a spin. When finished, check out the feature length film, Serenity for the culmination and completion of events. Give it half a chance and you’ll be singing Mal’s praises long after the final episode is seen. At this point you will have joined the “Browncoat” ranks: the loyal fans of this series and Whedon’s ‘verse.

http://www.amazon.com/Firefly-Complete-Ron-Glass/dp/B0000AQS0F/ref=pd_bxgy_d_text_b/104-6641525-4791964
http://www.amazon.com/Serenity-Widescreen-Chiwetel-Ejiofor/dp/B000BW7QWW/ref=pd_bxgy_d_text_b/104-6641525-4791964

Illegal Immigrants I. What are some people thinking?

WHAT ARE SOME PEOPLE THINKING?

On the radio this morning, this latino man (he said "meng" alot) called the station and said the host that his parents were illegals and his parents brought him in from wherever he came. He then served the military in Iraq in '03 and became a citizen. The host said he "had no problem about that". Excuse me? He had no problem? I was aghast. This guy risks his life fighting for a country that isn't even his and in return he becomes a citizen only to hear a nobody radio show host give a "no problem with me" verdict? Where was the "thank you for doing a job I would never do because I am unwilling to risk my body to help out anyone but myself and I think I am entitled to this carefree life because I was born here." And you were born here from native parents? They were Native Americans, wow! Even they weren't really the original inhabitants of the new world. So when these nativists claim to be against ILLEGAL immigration do they claim that their ancestors had to fill out extensive amounts of paperwork just to be lucky enough to get accepted out of the many to come here. No, there families were hungry, impoverished, with no hope for the future and their only escape, their only hope to better their situation was to come to America to begin anew.
"They are only here to milk the system". I can almost hear the nativists publishing and saying this in the 19th century about the Irish. Of course they are here to make money and prosper, whether they stay here or take it back home, why does that matter? What no taxes? Blame their employers for paying them in cash. I still can't figure out how they are getting free healthcare. And if they are, I can't possibly imagine how crappy that care must be. Obviously there probably are individuals who are cheating the system by getting unemployment or welfare checks and cashing in on free healthcare in some filthy hole; but it would likely be few and far between. Americans are fixed into believing their high taxes are helping someone else unwilling to put anything into the kitty themselves. It doesn't take a real genius to figure out where our billions of tax dollars are going. Nevertheless, the existing sentiment on this issue is pro-immigrant because the majority of these people are working very hard to support families and are not being treated very well here. People understand that and feel for them. However, like the gays marching to support their same sex marriage ruined the chances for their candidates to win in past years, Latinos marching in support of working rights to illegal workers negatively highlighted this issue to the American people, all asking the same question that goes beyond sentiment, "Why should illegal workers have rights? Don't they lose those when they sneak over the border?" AND "WHY ARE THEY WAVING FLAGS THAT AREN"T AMERICAN ONES?..."

Shamble Nation

Driving through New York the other day I was listening to the radio and came across a talk show with a typical host speaking on how today’s society is in shambles because traditions are lost, women are not minding children, Spanish-speaking drug dealers are set free to operate in our cities, and nothing is deemed wrong anymore in our society. Swinging couples, Dope-happy Miss Americas and the legalization of marijuana all seem to point to the end of America’s rigid traditions. Is this for the worst?

It is true that more women are working now than ever before. Women’s incomes are also approaching those of men and our society is becoming less chauvinistic. Equality among sexes is America’s ethical fortress. Do we blame many of today’s problems with children on the fact that both parents are working? Of course. Children need more help than ever in the ever-confusing, fast-paced environments we have manufactured. In past generations, nobody had money and society tried to keep in pace with the rich neighbors down the street (The Joneses). Now our capitalist comsumption and global reach have made it possible to try to keep up with Cribs folks. Now we need two jobs to buy 72 DVDs for Christmas, a Widescreen 1080p HDTV with a surround system fit for a typical megaplex. And dont forget our 60 GB Playstation 3! We need new cars every few years and digital cable and internet and those new boots that just came out. We need the new iPod and a new Prada handbag. We need so much stuff, of course we need more money.

Housing prices had soared so high, I was wondering how anyone could live outside of Smith Hill in Providence. Even Mattapan prices went up considerably. Who can afford these places? It is no wonder this generation has logged considerably more time at the office than a standard 45 hour week (meanwhile our gadget-inferior Europeans average less than 35 hours a week at work). With so much time at the job and less time at home, how does anyone have time for a kid these days? It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why child obesity (and obesity in general), delinquent schooling, loss of ethics, depressed and despondent behaviors and crime are effecting the young people in our country. It’s worse in the inner city where cash-strapped single mothers are continuing a cycle with no end by being chained to a low paying job, struggling to raise a family and only have a few hours a week to battle against the dereliction of influence that surrounds their kids while at work. Meanwhile, the barrage of advertisements on the television from every outfit; be it selling cars, trucks or super TVs, make it seem normal that everyone should have what they sell. They have created a false reality and have addicted adult and child alike into a have-to-have culture where we are measured by our toys, not our character. If we let material dictate our lives, we become just what we consume, junk. My favorite so far this year, is the commercial where two neighbors are sparring over whose car it is parked in the street in front of their houses. Is that a normal Christmas present?

Who started all this? I believe it began in the post war "greatest" generation where returning GIs were sold the greatest of lies and the worst planned development in American history: The American Dream. A big house, a yard and a car with no black people, destroyed the fabric of community and allowed the rampant segregation of American cities. To which the effects are still manifest in our still horrible race relations and clogging traffic arteries. However, atleast then it was still possible to own a slice of that America dream for a reasonable price. Now, our obsession with the “American Dream” (who came up with that term? It seems anything we coin as “American” has to be a good thing, doesn’t it?) has made it unattainable. Jamming traffic prevents an easy commute and the price of gas continues to skyrocket. Well, until we completely use up this finite resource and our whole transportation infrastructure becomes useless because for some reason we have neglected improving our defunct public transportation systems. We have a laughable transit system in most American cities and our rail system would a laughing stock in the third world. Our insistence on monotransportation will only cause strife in the future. I realize that my point has wandered on this section, but I think it is somewhat apparent that it wasn’t this generation or the few before that created these geographical problems, it was the greatest of them that did.

While I am not a marijuana user, I don’t really understand the reasons for it being illegal. By creating a black market for its sale, we have also created illegal businesses, prevented age barriers and allowed billions of dollars to end up in the hands of, in many cases, notorious criminals selling other products a lot more dangerous than just marijuana. While the tobacco lobby is still quite substantial (Denying and lying about tobacco’s effects for years while doing their own reproachable “studies” and managed to mislead the public about the ill-effects of cigarette smoking and tobacco chewing), I think it’s fair to say that the tobacco industry has less pull now on the strings of government than it did decades ago when it convinced the government to illegalize cannabis sativa.

And if people think the effects of marijuana could be more dangerous than alcohol, I would like to compare numbers of the total number of automobile deaths blamed on alcohol with those blamed on marijuana. Although I don’t have the actual numbers, I am sure latter pales in comparison. Regardless, I am sure there could be (if not already) a breathalyzer that measures THC in the body so that Cops could see how high drivers are and give them a special DUH! citation.

Miss America is skiing with blow and living up life in the Big Apple at Trump Tower? Why not? How else is a girl who obviously has lost touch with reality supposed to act. She has Real World syndrome (The supposed accurate representation of young people living in luxury apartments in large cities and their resulting interactions…somewhat far from any reality I have been associated with). And we, the public, have the gall to look down upon her for living up life. It wasn’t her doping nightlife and nefarious behaviors that shocked the Beauty Pageant community and the public at first; it was her noted absence from corporate sponsored events that offended her uppers. Why should she be held to a higher role model standard? If anyone saw Little Miss Sunshine, the whole beauty queen community needs better role models beginning with the parents of these little girls. Little girls should not be paraded around in full makeup wearing bikinis and high heels. What kind of message are they receiving and what damage is being done on their psyches? How can we expect Miss America from Kentucky, who probably did hundreds of pageants during her childhood to be a capable role model when she had no tangible role models of her own growing up?

I think it’s quite obvious that you cannot simply blame this country’s problems on loose virtue and working mothers. Obviously there are quite substantial roots to these problems and like most diseases, our society treats these problems symptomatically. For example, to ease traffic, we build additional lanes; to raise income, we raise the minimum wage; to alleviate housing shortages, we build more luxury condos. We all know these fixes are never effective. In order to ease traffic, improve public transportation; For housing, make urban areas more appealing. Yet, it’s the method that makes the most money that determines which way is always followed. And until we elect officials who are going to make these widespread civic changes, we must be content with dopey pageant queens and neglected kids. It simply costs too much to have money dictate. Shamble Nation.

Blog Riotus

Potentially, this blog could contain posts about film, sports, art, history, geography, urban development, real estate, politics, education, science, entomology and language. These are topics that capture my interest.