I recently read the
Atlantic’s current cover article, “How Junk Food Can End Obesity.” The author, David H. Freedman, makes
some truly excellent points, arguing that many expensive, unprocessed “health foods”
actually contain just as much sugar and fat as processed foods. Freedman
discusses the classed nature of obesity in America, and how the working class
and poor have significantly higher rates of obesity. He identifies the
fast food industry’s growing practice of swapping out less healthy ingredients
for healthier ones as the most promising solution to curbing the obesity
epidemic in America. Freedman continues to argue that “healthy food” does not
appeal to the working poor, citing the McDonalds McLean Deluxe, the company’s
worst product flop of all time. He
also describes the one bodega in East LA selling produce as empty compared to
the other junk food laden bodegas.
Though I agree with many of his points, I was bothered by a seemingly
paternalistic message in the article, that poor people don’t want healthy food.
I found myself wondering as I read this article, why is it that people know
what is good for them but choose to eat something that is bad for them
anyways? We all know we are
supposed to eat more fruits and vegetables. And history has taught us that concluding “x group of people are just lazy and
don’t care about their health” is a discriminatory and reductionist
argument. I think it’s time to
look at the deeper cause.
The reality is that food is not simply fuel, and
skyrocketing obesity rates among the poor are not just about food availability.
Food has an incredible amount of
personal and cultural significance.
Food is a comfort, a ritual, a bonding experience or a moment of
peaceful solitude. We cannot discount
the emotional, psychological relationship that humans have with food. If you
are making minimum wage, struggling to pay for groceries, living expenses, and
health care, or worse are unable to find a job at all, you will likely feel huge
amounts of stress. It’s not surprising
that when we fell stress we tend to reach for the easily available and
inexpensive “comfort foods” that light up the reward centers in our brains,
releasing the “feel good” chemicals dopamine and endorphins. Food is the least expensive and most
readily available coping tool for stress, and it takes time and money to reach
for healthier alternatives like exercise and hobbies that lead to personal
fulfillment. It’s not about people deciding what is “healthy” to
eat. Everybody knows what they should
eat, and beating them over the head with shame and statistics won’t change
anything. The key to ending the
obesity epidemic is not more Whole Foods Markets or a better McDonalds. It’s ending the cycle of poverty and
stress through social reform. The
most promising solution to the ending the obesity epidemic is a minimum wage
you can live on, healthcare that won’t leave you bankrupt, and upward mobility through
to a decent education.
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