Social structure plays major part in obesity problem

Americans hear about their worst problem every day.

It's barked at them by TV drill sergeants and blasted on the radio by people who claim to be doctors. It's made millionaires out of chemists and celebrities out of washed-up athletes. It's also a problem of our own creation.

The problem is: Americans are fat.

It's been common knowledge for years now that America has high rates of obesity and all of the fun health problems that go along with it.

Previous attempts to rectify the problem have focused almost exclusively on motivating the individual. These attempts have failed and we're getting fatter.

Perhaps it's time to look at things differently. We should think about some of the other factors that may be at the heart of the problem.

More than 66 percent of Americans are overweight, according to 2007 survey funded by the National Center for Health Statistics. Even more unsettling is the fact that the same survey shows that more than 32 percent of Americans are obese, which means their weight puts them at heightened risk for health problems.

Rates of obesity have increased dramatically in the past 15 years. The NCHS data show 56 percent of Americans are overweight. The percentage of overweight Americans increased to 65.2 percent in 2002, an increase of nearly 14 percent. What's even more startling, is that rates of obesity have more than doubled since 1994, with 32 percent of Americans listed as obese compared to 1994's 15.

These statistics have not been kept secret. They've have been force-fed down the throats of everyone with access to a TV, radio or the Internet.

So if everyone knows about the problem, why hasn't anything happened?

Nobody knows.

Well, some people claim to know, but their solution to the problem seems to be calling everyone lazy and then flexing their own rippled abs.

I disagree - it's not completely an issue of laziness.

I can't say for sure what the problem is, but I think we've taken a rather individualistic approach to this problem. We've taken an approach that may ignore issues grounded in our social structure.

Americans have tried, and spent millions of dollars in the process, to incorporate exercise into their daily routines. The government has spent millions pushing programs that focus on getting people out there and moving. We're all doing the Louisiana two-step, right?

Most of the previous efforts to slim down Americans focused on getting individual people to make healthy choices.

However, individual people often have more things going on in their everyday lives than just trying to lose weight - they have families, responsibilities and other stresses.

They also exist within a structure that may not be all that supportive of making healthy choices.

Recent academic research has brought light to food deserts, or areas where access to high-quality food is limited. These areas could be limited by location - meaning there are no local supermarkets, by finances - they can't afford to buy good food or they lack the cooking skills to prepare fresh food.

Food deserts are most common in areas that are highly rural or urban - areas that, according to the NCHS and US Census, just so happen to have the highest rates of obesity and poverty in the country.

The most common scenario for a food desert is an inner city ravaged by urban sprawl. As the wealthier population leaves the city, so do most of the large scale businesses, including supermarkets. This leaves poor residents with very few options for healthy food choices - especially if they lack transportation.

A mother can either buy a few apples for five bucks, or she can buy a lot more junk food for the same price. If you're concerned with feeding your family for the long-term, the junk food may look like a better option.

I'm sure she wants to keep her family healthy, but it may seem better to have them eat poorly than not enough.

That's not to say it's wrong to place some blame on the individual. Of course our individual actions play a part in our health, but those actions are always set in the context of our environment and that effect cannot be ignored.

It's easy to call people lazy or weak when they are unable to lose weight and become healthier. However, not everyone goes through life with the same access to skills and resources.

Until we begin to address obesity at the structural level we are not going to see changes. We're not going to get healthier, and we may be faced with a generation of Americans that were condemned to sickness and disease by their lack of resources before they realized it.

Originally published in The Daily Reveille...