2/3 of us are either obese or overweight in America.
Low education level & income. Lack of access to fresh food & exercise.
These are a few factors that correlated to the obesity epidemic. Individuals with more education, higher income, easier access to grocery stores tend to be less likely to be obese, but the difference is minute.
The biggest difference is exercise. Four of the most obese states in the US have the most adults who do not exercise.
Eating healthy and exercising will make an impact, but that involves changing habits, adopting a different lifestyle, new foods with different taste.
These are some of the hardest things in life to change.
People have become busier and their spending power is lower. The effect of that is the demand of cheap, fast, and filling foods. In a lifestyles like that, who wouldn’t appreciate the dollar menu? That’s why in lower income neighborhoods, there are significantly more fast food restaurants.
Demand tends to find its way to supply.
In 2011, we were granted the Innovation fund by the Center of Disease Control (CDC) to produce a documentary to be used when addressing this topic to the public.
The eight of us involved in this project were brought up differently in various parts of the world. We were ethnically diverse, had diverse food culture, diverse in body mass index, and had different socio-economic status.
What we shared in common was a busy lifestyle, we ate crappy food, and the interest in this subject.
We documented our thoughts in the process of finding out what it will take for us, individually, to be healthier. We talked about hacking habits, focusing on finding nutrients, making sure the refrigerator only contains real foods, taking pride in food preparation and etcetera.
Food, as it turns out, does not only to provide comfort and to solve hunger. Food sustains life. The obesity epidemic in the US is a symptom for a larger society issue, but changes can happen on a personal level. Because these changes are personal and hard, there is no one solution that can fit all.
This is no marketing strategy, not a new and short-lived product, and definitely not a band aid solution. This is a documentary that serves as a catalyst for collective action. Collective action leads to a demand for whatever that works for a community to lead a healthier lifestyle. And demand tends to find its way to the supply.