Issue Brief
Obesity, Diet-Related Disease, Food Access,
and
Community-Based Solutions
The health effects of poor
diet are taking their toll on people living in America. People of color suffer
disproportionately from diet related diseases and research indicates that this
is tied to a lack of access to healthy foods.[1]
While in theory, people are free to choose what types of food to eat and feed
to their families, in reality, their choices are limited to the foods that are
accessible and affordable to them. In many communities, healthy and appealing
fresh foods are not widely available while fast food and junk food - high in
calories, low in nutrition - abound. Choices are also highly influenced by
advertising as food companies spend $11 billion in advertising, mostly to sell
processed and fast foods, as compared with the $350 million spent by the
Federal Government annually to promote healthy eating.[2]
Witnessing the destructive
effects of poor diet on friends and family, people have begun to come together
to increase access to healthy food in their neighborhoods. They are planting
gardens, starting farmers’ markets, teaching and taking cooking and nutrition
classes, organizing to stop the sale of soda and junk food in their schools,
and getting salad bars into their cafeterias. They are recruiting family-owned
supermarkets to locate in low-income neighborhoods that chain stores have moved
out of and asking corner stores to stock more fresh fruits and vegetables.
Community efforts are
critical to reducing health problems like diabetes, heart disease, stroke,
certain cancers, and high blood pressure. As community members get organized to
confront the issues and foster solutions, they develop grassroots leadership
and community power.
The Problems:
Obesity and Overweight
continue to increase.
·
An estimated 61 percent
of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese.[3]
·
The percentage of
children and adolescents who are defined as overweight has more than doubled
since the early 1970s.[4]
·
A recent study conducted
in the Los Angeles Unified School District found that 50 percent of
African-American and Latino students were overweight or obese.[5]
·
A survey of children in
California found that nearly one-third were overweight or at-risk for
overweight. African-American, Latino, and Asian/other children were more likely
than White children to meet this criterion.[6]
Diet Related Disease
Costs Lives
·
Diet is a significant
factor in the three leading causes of death in the United States – coronary
heart disease, certain types of cancer, and stroke— responsible for over half
of all deaths in 1994. [7]
·
The USDA estimates that
healthier diets might prevent $71 billion per year in medical costs, lost
productivity, and the value of premature deaths caused by just four
diet-related diseases.[8]
Communities of Color
Suffer Disproportionately
·
Obesity rates increased
for all ethnic groups in the US between 1991 and 2000 but obesity rates among
Black and Hispanic populations were highest and increased the most.
Percent
Obese
|
|
1991 |
2000 |
|
White, non Hispanic |
11.3 |
18.5 |
|
Black, non Hispanic |
19.3 |
29.3 |
|
Hispanic |
11.6 |
23.4 |
Source:
CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Washington, DC:
CDC.1991-2000.
·
Non-Hispanic black and
Mexican-American adolescents ages 12-19 were more likely to be overweight (24
percent) than non-Hispanic white adolescents (13 percent).[9]
·
Mexican-American children ages 6-11 were more likely
to be overweight (24 percent) than non-Hispanic black children (20 percent) and
non-Hispanic white children (12 percent).[10]
·
People with lower
socioeconomic status have higher mortality, morbidity, and risk factor levels
for heart disease and stroke than people with higher socioeconomic status. [11]
Low-Income Communities
and Communities of Color Lack Access to Healthy Food
·
Studies indicate that
wealthier neighborhoods have two to three times the number of supermarkets than
do lower-wealth areas. Neighborhoods that are predominately Black or Latino are
also less likely to have supermarkets than White neighborhoods.[12]
·
Access to supermarkets
is linked to healthier diets. Therefore, communities with limited access to
supermarkets also tend to have less healthy diets.[13]
·
A survey of residents in
one South Los Angeles neighborhood found that seven in ten residents (70%) did
not want more fast food restaurants even as new fast food establishments were
planning to locate in the area.[14]
·
Farmers’ Markets have
arisen as a way to provide local farms with a direct source of income while
providing fresh produce to communities. In the last eight years, the number of
national farmers markets has increased 79% to 3,100 markets nationally.[15]
Along with food stamps, the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program and the
Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program provide low-income people with the
means to access these high-quality fresh fruits and vegetables.
·
Residents have nurtured
thousands of community gardens to grow their own vegetables and build
community.
·
Many communities have
recruited family-owned supermarkets or formed joint ventures with supermarkets
to ensure expanded community input about the food that is made available.
·
Parents, teachers, food
service directors, and youth are joining forces with local farmers to bring
healthy and appealing choices into school cafeterias through farm to school
programs.
And Advocating for
Policies which Support Healthy Diets
·
From Hartford,
Connecticut to Berkeley, California, many cities have launched food policy
councils to ensure that food and nutrition issues are addressed through
public-private partnerships and municipal policies.
·
Across the country,
community groups are working to expand the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition
Program and the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program to meet the needs of
all eligible people.
·
Farmers’ Markets are
working to gain access to equipment that will allow them to continue to accept
food stamps that have been changed from paper coupons to electronic benefit
transfer (EBT) cards.
·
Parents, teachers, and
youth have organized to ban the sales of sodas in their schools and reduce the
sales of other unhealthy foods that compete with the National School Lunch
Program.
Lack of access to fresh,
healthy, and affordable food has contributed to an increase in obesity,
overweight and associated health problems. But people are working together to
reverse these trends. They are purchasing local farm-fresh produce for school
lunches, starting urban gardens, partnering with merchants who sell healthy
foods and reduce the sale of junk food, and developing a host of other
innovative strategies to put community health first.
Numerous organizations have been formed to assist communities across the nation in fostering healthy local food systems.
·
Community Food Security
Coalition (local groups across the country)
·
Center for Food & Justice (schools)
·
Rooted In Communities
National Network (youth)
·
American Community
Gardening Association (community gardens)
·
Farmers’ Markets,
Community Supported Agriculture, and Direct Marketing
Contact
Information:
Michelle
Mascarenhas
Food
and Society Policy Fellow
1531
Fulton Street, San Francisco, California 94117
Ph:
(415) 929-8867 email: mlm@sonic.net
www.foodandsocietyfellows.org
[1] Morland, K.; Wing, S; and Diez Roux, A. The Contextual Effect of the Local Food Environment on Residents’ Diets: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. American Journal of Public Health. November 2002, v92 i11 p1761-1767.
[2] Frazio, E. America’s Eating Habits: Changes & Consequences. Washington, D.C.: USDA. 1995, p4.
[3] Overweight is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999. www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/defining.htm
[4] National Research Council. Diet and health: implications for reducing chronic disease risk. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. 1989.
[5] Slusser, W. and Neumann, C. TITLE of SNE presetation Los Angeles: UCLA School of Public Health. 2001.
[6] Special Report on Policy Implications from the 1999 California Children’s Healthy Eating and Exercise Practices Survey (CalCHEEPS). Woodland Hills: The California Endowment. 2000.
[7] Frazio, E. p5-32.
[8] Frazio, E. p5-32.
[9] Ogden CL, Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Johnson CL. Prevalence and trends in overweight among US children and adolescents, 1999-2000. JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association. Oct 9, 2002 v288 i14 p1728(5).
[10] Ogden CL, et. al.
[11] Keys, A. Decline in Deaths From Heart Disease and Stroke--United States, 1900-1999. JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association. August 25, 1999 v282 i8 p724.
[12] Morland, K.; Wing, S; Diez Roux, A.; and Poole, C. Neighborhood Characteristics Associated with the Location of Food Stores and Food Service Places. Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2002, 22: 23-29. Shaffer, A. The Persistence of L.A.’s Grocery Store Gap. Los Angeles: Occidental College Center for Food & Justice. 2002.
[13] Morland, K.; Wing, S; and Diez Roux, A..
[14] Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy. Adams La Brea Community Survey Results. 2002.