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