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Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology
University of North Carolina
School of Public Health, CB 7461
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
june_stevens{at}unc.edu
Obesity now rivals smoking in terms of health care costs and adverse effects on health and well-being, and the rapid rise in the prevalence of obesity over the past 2 decades shows no signs of leveling off. The current and future consequences of the obesity epidemic for national health make Food Fight a very timely book. Brownell and Horgen challenge the reader to reexamine the toxic environment in which we live and take note of many of the ways in which we, as a nation, have allowed this environment to encourage overeating and inactivity.
The authors explore the economics of food and make clear that the profit motive of the food industry is not consistent with the current nutritional needs of the nation. Simply stated, increased food consumption means increased profits—but increased food consumption is not consistent with the health needs of our overnourished population. The authors expose the role of corporations that sell foods that contribute to the obesity epidemic, but they stop short of painting the food companies as nefarious villains. Indeed, the authors seem somewhat sympathetic to the dilemma faced by these corporations and cautiously consider the roles that these food companies could play in solving the obesity problem.
In addition to addressing the economic aspects of our toxic environment, the authors confront the thorny issues of personal choice versus "big brother" public policy interventions. They take a reasoned approach and present strong arguments for viewing the food environment in the same way as we do air and water, for which public policy intervention is accepted for the common good. Most easily accepted will be changes that affect the environments of children. The picture painted of children subjected to highly seductive, well-coordinated campaigns to entice them to consume high-calorie foods is sobering. These campaigns permeate television and movie programming aimed at children, accounting for hours of advertising, point-of-purchase prompts, and inducements within schools. A full understanding of how children are targeted, along with the stark fact of the recent 300% increase in the prevalence of obesity in children, is likely to leave few Americans unmoved.
Food Fight gives a less-detailed accounting of the role that the food industry plays in the obesity epidemic than does another recent book, Food Politics (by Marion Nestle, 2002). Also, the issues of food safety and labor practices summarized in Fast Food Nation (by Eric Schlosser, 2002) are not considered in Food Fight. Instead, Food Fight describes the current obesigenic environment and then focuses on solutions in the form of public action. Recommended actions are summarized in a final section of the book and include taxes on unhealthy foods, limits on food advertising, a national strategic plan to increase physical activity and healthy eating, and research to better understand large-scale efforts to change diet and activity.
The authors quote Gandhi on the progress of social movements: "First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win." If you are in the ignoring or the laughing stage concerning this issue, you need to read this book.