There’s no doubt that a nutritious diet is crucial to a person’s overall health. Even a cursory PubMed or Google search will yield numerous examples of studies that show that a healthy diet is a primary factor in preventing both acute and chronic disease. People know this. Popular culture is full of messages to lose weight, eat right, and exercise more. Just look at a few magazine covers the next time you’re in a grocery store. Chances are there’s a diet article on at least one of them.
With all of the information on weight loss, healthy eating, and prevention out there, why is obesity rising along with its close cousin diabetes? Is it culture? Is it lack of time? Is it behavioral? Is it hormonal?
Here’s another possibility – no-nonsense economic incentives.
For many people, the costs of nutritious foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean meats can be prohibitive. Adam Drewnowski, a
To illustrate this concept, the Oregon Food Bank organizes a stunningly effective event every year called the Food Stamp Challenge. The concept is simple – try to buy food for a week for $21 dollars per person, the same amount as a person on basic food stamps would have available. My co-worker participated this year, and quickly found out that the cheapest, most filling food was, for the most part, rather unhealthy. For a week, his diet consisted of mostly potatoes, tortillas and cereal, with absolutely no fresh fruit because that’s what he could afford on his budget. He wasn’t hungry, but his daily nutrient intake was seriously out of whack.
The problem seems overwhelming. Michael Pollen’s book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” perfectly illustrates the entrenched agricultural policies and eye-on-the-bottom-line incentives that make a nutrient-free bottle of Coke or a refined sugar-laden brand of bread the cheapest option.
If this is the case, what can we do about it?
Drewnowski suggests that economic incentives may prove to be more useful than strictly behavioral interventions to improve nutrition and reduce obesity and metabolic diseases.
What do you think? Would economic incentives help? If so, should these economic incentives be targeted at the consumer or the supplier? How do we ensure that all people can afford and can access fresh, healthy food?
-Erin C
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve wondered about this a lot myself, and I think that although you may be correct that people know that “proper diet” and exercise are a part of healthier lifestyle, I don’t think that most people know what healthy eating really is. Although remedial nutrition is taught in 8th grade science class and 48798798743 different diets are all over TV, I think there are a lot of misconceptions about good nutrition. For instance, a lot of people think that healthy food doesn’t or can’t taste good, and they also believe that healthy eating automatically costs more than “thrifty” eating. I’d bet that you could get a lot of raw materials and cook numerous freezable meals cheaper than buying prepackaged or prefrozen meals. What would be an interesting study would be to make that comparison through various weekly grocery budgets. At some point, you would probably get to the point where cost/calorie became a factor. With that information, you could figure out how many people fall at or below that threshold, and then figure out a more targeted solution.
Another problem is the marketing of food. Highly-processed, mass-manufactured foods also have the highest profits, so they have the freedom to buy all the advertising time they want. It’s an unfortunate cycle we’re in. From an educational perspective, we need to teach people that 1) healthy food can taste MUCH better than sweets/treats/bad fats (and that unhealthy indulgence is no reward for your body once it has passed your taste buds!), 2) healthy food can be affordable, especially considering 3) the long term investment you make in better nutrition will be paid by your continued and improved health and ability to earn a growing income. People need to realize the simple fact that we ARE what we eat, and making small, continuous investments in our health have the same returns as compounding interest in financial investments. Those are my ideas anyway.
Thank you, Jeremy. You make some great points. I also think a key to eating well is making the time to do so. It takes a lot longer to prepare food from fresh ingredients than it does to go through the drive-thru or pop a TV dinner in the microwave. I’m guessing that, in some cases, those living in poverty can have less free time, due to possibly working two jobs, longer commute times from not having a car, etc. However, I also think lack of time is something that cuts across all socioeconomic levels. Convincing people to make healthy eating a priority, whether it’s a financial priority, a time priority or whatever, may be an important part of reversing the obesity trend.