The Skinny on Obesity Research

New America Media, Commentary, Rahul K. Parikh, M.D., FAAP, Posted: Jan 23, 2007

EDITOR'S NOTE: A new study on California junk food stores and healthy produce vendors tells us what we already know. Better that researchers and health advocates trace the links between poverty and obesity and advocate for more economic opportunity for poor people, writes NAM contributor Rahul K. Parikh, M.D., FAAP.

Researchers at the California Center for Public Health Advocacy just released a study showing that our state has four times as many fast food restaurants and convenience stores as it does grocery stores and produce vendors. The obvious implication is that it's easier to buy junk food than health food. To determine this, the researchers devised a unique metric, called the Retail Food Environment Index (RFEI), which measures the ratio of junk food vendors to produce vendors to describe the state's "food landscape."

So, if you live in San Bernardino County, you have the dubious distinction of living in California's worst food landscape: there are five unhealthy outlets for each healthy one. If you live in Santa Cruz County, you'll be pleased to hear that yours is the healthiest, with a 2-to-1 fast food to healthy ratio.

So what?

While the study makes for nice press (Gov. Schwarzenegger issued a statement praising the report) and good cocktail party talk (especially if you live in San Bernardino or Santa Cruz), it gives no new insights into the obesity epidemic. And the policy recommendations of the study group -- such as making sure there are more fresh fruit and vegetable vendors visible and available, or that fast food vendors list the food facts about what they sell -- are also cliché.

And that's the problem with a lot of obesity research -- we're well past the point where we need to spend precious time and money discovering things that either, 1) we already know by looking out our window -- i.e., too many of us are overweight and it's easier to find a burger than a bell pepper, or 2) that don't change our management of the problem. Over and over again, I've seen such studies in both medical journals and the mainstream media. This new study is no exception.

In addition, if you're going to develop a fancy metric and make recommendations, you had better make sure that they matter. Prove to me, for instance, that cities or counties with a high RFEI have higher rates of obesity and type II diabetes than those with a lower one. Or show me how many people who read nutritional information while standing in line to order a bacon cheeseburger and fries at Carl's Jr. change their mind, step out the door and drive over to Whole Foods to buy a salad instead.

Studies like this one distract us from acknowledging and tackling the core problem that's causing obesity: a widening socioeconomic gap between rich, middle and poor. This is what makes it harder for middle class families, many with two working parents, to find time to buy and cook healthy meals. Families living below the poverty line don't earn enough money to buy anything other than cheap, calorie-dense fast food or to find a safe place for their children to exercise outside.

These problems -- that fruits and vegetables are prohibitively expensive, that families below the poverty line are more likely to be overweight and that a lack of public playgrounds and programs exist in poor neighborhoods to encourage physical activity -- are all scientifically established facts.

So my advice to "obesity experts" everywhere is: Don't reinvent the wheel. Instead, apply your intelligence, passion and resources to fight obesity by developing policies and programs that bring people economic opportunity to move up in the world, so that they have the time and money to live healthier lives. That's a strategy that will cut rates of obesity in San Bernardino, Santa Cruz and everywhere else.

Related Stories:

California's Food Landscape Encourages Obesity

Poor Neighborhoods Lack Access to Fresh Produce

Why Children's Hospitals Sell Junk Food



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