Poverty + Food Insecurity = Obesity

Nearly two years ago, researchers at Johns Hopkins University predicted that by 2015, nearly 75 percent of the population in the United States will be overweight or obese.

As our waistlines have continued to grow with the mass availability of highly processed packaged foods and cheap meat made possible by government subsidy programs, it might seem as though weight gain is a symptom of overabundance.

However, there is a very real link between being poor and being overweight, regardless of how contradictory these problems seem to be.  When hunger is lurking and money is tight, many people tend to purchase the foods that offer the greatest caloric content for the price.  Unfortunately, these products usually aren't fruits and vegetables.

The fact that there is a correlation between poverty and obesity is not news.  It has been documented in studies, and can be observed first-hand in many low-income communities across the country.  (However, new data suggest that gender and age are significant factors in the link between poverty and obesity, and that young girls may be the most at-risk demographic.)

So, the question really is how do we fix it?  The answer is not to limit the expansion of fast food restaurants or corner stores that only carry products of little nutritional value, and simply making nutrition information more widely-available does little to curb unhealthy eating choices.

The way that I see this, it is a structural problem that needs a step-by-step solution.  Here are some of the most important actions I feel need to be taken:

1) The first thing that needs to happen is for the government to stop the grain crop subsidy program that makes unhealthy processed food and cheap meat the most widely-available products in low-income communities.  Instead, the USDA should focus on promoting specialty crop (fruit, vegetable, nut) production designed to reach consumers directly (instead of food processors).  A new report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that only about 30 percent of Americans consume the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables.  When that number starts to rise, obesity levels will start to fall.

2) Invest in nutrition education.  Every school in the country needs to have a nutrition program that teaches children how to eat healthy, and even more importantly, how to prepare healthy foods.  Also, every state in the nation (and some already do this) needs to offer nutrition education classes to each person receiving WIC or SNAP benefits.

3) Once fresh fruits and vegetables become more affordable (I see this happening, although not immediately, through my first suggestion), we should begin to restrict the food WIC, SNAP and other recipients of federal food aid are allowed to purchase with their government benefits.  These programs are meant to be supplemental, and are not intended to serve as a person's main source of food.  If people want to use their own money to purchase chips, soda and other products that lack any nutritional value, that's fine with me.  I just don't think taxpayer money should be used to make such purchases.

These suggestions will not eliminate the poverty/obesity link, but they will help to make healthy food more widely available, and consumed, in low-income communities.  And that's an important first step to curbing obesity.

(Photo credit: Tobyotter on Flickr)