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Let them eat Doritos: This is not the battle of the bulge

It seems at least once a week the topic of America’s obesity epidemic comes up in conversation. It’s in the news at least once a week, and some people even devote their entire careers to stopping America’s love of glut. Politicians and advocates with an agenda constantly offer solutions, like forcing restaurants to list calories and fat content for meals; restricting the way junk food is sold; and proposals to outright ban some types of food.* 

I don’t buy it.

There is no “obesity” epidemic. What we have here, is a failure to pinpoint the actual problem. When I go to a grocery store, I can buy either a bag of Doritos for $4, or a bag of trail mix for $4. Do I love Doritos? Yes. Do I understand that if I choose Doritos as opposed to trail mix that I’m likely to consume nothing but empty calories that have no beneficial nutritional value? Yes. I am an adult making a choice of what I consume. Sometimes the Doritos win. But the important thing is that they don’t win every time.

This isn’t a failure to educate people about nutrition and healthy diets. Stick an apple and a candy bar in front of any kid, and most likely that kid will know that the apple is healthier for you than the junk food. However, knowing this, even adults go for the instant gratification of the sugary snack fully aware of the consequences. Humans are hardwired biologically to crave the high-fat sugary items. But we also come equipped with a mind capable of rational thought. 

Think of cigarettes. Why does anyone start smoking? Everyone now knows they are bad for you, and yet, many start down the path of nicotine addiction anyway. Restrictions on the sale and advertisement of cigarettes have not significantly made a dent in consumption, and raising prices has done little to stem the demand, even among smokers who can least afford it.

So increasing the cost of junk food, restricting sales and changing the way the goods are marketed likely will have little effect. The only benefit to such an advertising restriction would be to prevent the “wow” factor among children, who are particularly prone to flashy commercials sandwiched among their cartoons. The tug-of-war between the consumerism push and nutritional education offered by some schools sends conflicting messages to children. 

Parents’ role in their children’s nutrition should not be downplayed, but considering how ingrained the junk-food addiction is in our culture, parents cannot always be relied upon to educate their own children about nutrition. Sadly, parents’ own apathy toward making healthy nutritional decisions perpetuates the cycle of unhealthy choices.

The most insidious manifestation of nutritional failure arises among low-income families, who see that a dinner from the value menu at the local fast food chain is cheaper than buying healthy food at the grocery store. This, however, is a misconception. If one takes the time to break down the cost, it is actually more cost-efficient to buy and prepare fresh foods (so long as you stay away from boutique grocers like Whole Foods or the Market District). In actuality, the true burden of healthy, fresh food is the time it takes to prepare the meals, and the perishability of the food. Many low-income families don’t have the time to prepare meals because of work schedules, and if the food isn’t used right away, it quickly spoils, thus the money spent is wasted.

But poverty’s effect on nutritional choices is a beast that rests more with how we can address helping families living paycheck to paycheck, than it does on convincing them that they have the time and money to prepare healthy meals. The more important priority of the two issues — basic survival — should take precedent. 

But for other Americans, we come down to simple choice. When you can afford either the Doritos or the trail mix, you must take personal responsibility for that choice. Doritos are delicious, and to restrict access to Doritos is ridiculous. It also is a matter of personal freedom. If someone wants Doritos all the time, and has no problem with the unhealthy consequences, well this is America, after all. Obese people may require more medical care, which may affect the cost of health care through many insurance plans. But should we restrict all unhealthy choices we may choose to make based on how it affects the cost of health care? Should runners be limited on the miles they run lest their knees suffer too much wear and tear? 

And let’s not forget that thin doesn’t always equal healthy. Someone who doesn’t fit our common perception of a healthy weight may nonetheless be healthier than someone who does. Bodies come in all shapes and sizes, and someone wearing a size 16 may very well run laps around someone wearing a size 3. Internal health, not outward appearance, should be emphasized. But we can’t see a person’s cardiovascular health and low cholesterol levels just by looking at them.

To me, this isn’t an obesity epidemic. Many people walk knowingly and intelligently down that snack food aisle well aware that these foods are fattening. This is a nutritional failure that can only be overcome through a strong marketing push by those that sell healthy options. Remember those “Got Milk” commercials? Brilliant! If there is one thing proven to be effective in American society, it’s advertising. Market it, and they will buy. Make apples sexier than Snickers, and cranberry juice more thirst quenching than Coca-Cola. 

And what should be the government’s role in all this? Because it has a major hand in subsidizing farms, regulating food quality and now is a major player in the health care industry, let’s shift focus from what hasn’t been working — I’m looking at you, food pyramid, or whatever shape it is now — and play like the big boys in mass-market advertising. If the government cared a fraction as much about what you eat as it does whether you lean left or right, we’d be bombarded with ads extolling the virtues of peaches over Pringles. 

Let’s face it. No one is going to stop eating junk food. Certainly not me. But if we can sneak in some healthy nutritional food between our noshing on Twizzlers and doughnuts, I think we’d see some pretty astonishing strides in the overall health of our country. 

*Here’s a link to an article that perfectly illustrates a complex solution to a simple problem of choice: http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-junk-food-alcohol-20120814,0,5813273.story

WHEN I “FINISH” STUDYING

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