An Urban's Rural View

Obesity is a worldwide problem, not just an American one, the Economist reports. The U.S. is Number One, with two-thirds of its population overweight, but Mexico, Venezuela and South Africa are giving us a run for our money. The Brits are right behind, with 60% overweight. "Even in China," says the magazine that calls itself a newspaper, "one in four adults was too fat in 2008." (http://tiny.cc/…)

Editorializing on the causes of this global phenomenon, the Economist sees both sides of the argument. "Obesity is, at its heart, the result of many personal decisions. But the rise of obesity -- across many countries and disproportionately among the poor -- suggests that becoming fat cannot just be blamed on individual frailty," the magazine says. "Millions of people, of all cultures, did not become lazy gluttons at the same time, en masse. Broader forces are at work."

And the solutions? The Economist supports taxing sugary sodas and efforts to educate citizens on healthful eating. Mostly, though, it thinks it's up to individuals to solve the problem. The headline on the Economist's "leader," or editorial, says it all: "Fat chance: The state can do some things to encourage people to eat less, but not a lot."

As if too reinforce the Economist's point, two USDA economists just released a study showing that Americans largely ignore the USDA's "Dietary Guidelines," Uncle Sam's most important effort to educate the public on healthful eating. Examining extensive data on grocery-store purchases, Richard Volpe and Abigail Okrent found less than 60% adherence to the guidelines.

And health consciousness isn't, on the whole, improving. True, there were some encouraging signs. Comparing expenditures in 2006 to those in 1998, the economists found consumers spent more on whole grains and cut their meat expenditures. But the proportion of their food budget that went to processed foods increased, and the share to fruits and vegetables fell.

"Given that U.S. consumers have consistently eaten too few fruits and vegetables, any decrease in expenditures for these foods weakens overall purchase healthfulness," the economists wrote. "Examining food purchases from this broad perspective suggests that food purchase quality has not improved discernibly over this time period."

Urban Lehner

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