Obesity and the environment
Obesity is a condition in which a person's weight is higher than what is considered healthy for their height, and is the leading cause of preventable death worldwide.
Worldwide, the rates of obesity have nearly tripled since 1975, leading health professionals to label the condition as a modern epidemic in most parts of the world.
According to Professor Robert H. Lustig from the University of California, San Francisco, "[E]ven those at the lower end of the body mass index (BMI) curve are gaining weight.
Additionally, glucose intolerance and more abdominal fat were found to be the results of obesogens in animals and the long-term effects of low-birth weight babies.
[8] As several cases have confirmed, farm workers in America have unwillingly or unknowingly worked in fields that had been recently sprayed with TBT and other dangerous chemicals.
While there is no direct correlation between obesity rates and economic status, wealthier countries have more resources to utilize for health and fitness awareness.
[9] According to World Population Review, in 2022 all of the top ten countries with the highest percentage of obese adults are found in the South Pacific.
In contrast, the country with the lowest percentage of total obese adults is Vietnam, with only 2.1%, attributed to chronic food insecurity and child malnutrition.
[10] According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2016 the number of obese people in the United States reached an all-time high of about 93 million, up 33% from 2008.
Some researchers have found that genetics increase the likelihood of occurrence of obesity through higher levels of fat deposition and adipokine secretion.
Most medical professionals agree that environmental factors, poor health, and eating habits are still considered to be the strongest contributors of obesity.
In 2015, Chicago's Mayor Emmanuel partnered with Growing Power, which transported affordable fresh fruits and vegetables to food desert areas.
[23] In 2008, former New York City Mayor Bloomberg introduced the Green Cart amendment, which allowed pushcart vendors to receive a low-cost permit if they were willing to operate in under-served neighborhoods.
[23] Hispanic and Black communities frequently have less access to exercise and fitness opportunities (i.e., public parks) as well as healthy green spaces which creates a obesogenic environment.
[26] In the short term, the residents of these communities are making an economically rational decision when purchasing fast food as it is easily accessible and inexpensive.
Multiple academics cite evidence of differential, negative treatment of the overweight and obese due to commonly attributed stereotypes such as laziness, incompetence, weakness of will, sloppiness, and untrustworthiness.
Disparities in perceived causation are a major hindrance towards physicians' and patients' abilities to create and maintain a balanced obesity management plan.
A study of over 700,000 Swedish men found that, after controlling for intelligence and parental socioeconomic levels, those who were obese at the age of 18 had a lower chance of going to college than their average-weight peers.
[32] Weight bias, fat stigma, and discrimination are factors that many academics say can contribute to hopelessness and depression, encouraging the same unhealthy habits that initially caused obesity.
Professor Marianne Sullivan and her team from Sahlgrenska University Hospital noted that obese subjects exhibited depression scores similar to patients living with chronic pain.
Research indicates children that come from high socioeconomic households typically do not participate in after-school programs because they are already involved in a wide range of extra-curricular activities.
This issue contradicts the belief held by many in the United States that children who come from high-income homes are less likely to become obese as they can be active in safe environmental spaces.
Employees may feel pressured while at work and may eat hurriedly or absentmindedly; once home, workers frequently turn on the TV or engage in their mobile phones instead of focusing on their food consumption and diet.
Ross DeVol, a chief research officer at the Milken Institute, quipped: "Common sense says if you sit around in front of the screen, don't exercise while you are working, change your diet...you are going to gain weight.
[57] The Act remains in place, but has not gone unchallenged: on May 1, 2017, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue signed a proclamation to make nutrition requirements for school meals more flexible.
The Farm Bill focuses on two major thrusts: food stamps and nutritional programs, and income and price supports for commodity crops.
[60] Over the past decade, the U.S. government's farm policy focused on the overproduction of and the reduction in prices of commodity crops such as corn and soybeans.
In contrast, the prices of soda, sweets, fats, and oils declined due to the Farm Bill's subsidy to farmers growing commodity crops.
An example of attempts the U.S. government has made to combat obesity is the 2008 Farm Bill's funding of community gardens located primarily in low income neighborhoods.
To that end, the movement seeks to empower those most affected by the obesity epidemic by including them in the process of brainstorming and creating alternatives to the current food system.
