Recently, I attended a hospital lecture about the prevalence of obesity. As I settled into my chair and prepared myself to be inundated with the CDC map of obesity, the evening took an unusual turn. Yes, there was brief mention about the negative impact obesity has on our health and society, but surprisingly there was greater focus on environment. As a dietitian I am faced with the challenges that my patients, clients and group members are experiencing within their own environments. Their barriers become mine. Providing an outline of a healthy diet is easy, in fact you can go on the Internet and find hundreds of healthy diets. However, making a change and providing someone with a diet that is healthy and will fit into THEIR lifestyle and environment is the true challenge.
Obesity is a growing public health crisis and costs the US billions of dollars in medical care per year. We have tools like the food guide pyramid, tons of access to healthy nutrition information, the Internet, and nutrition labels on most foods we eat. How can obesity still be on the rise? When you put an apple and a doughnut in front of a person and ask them to pick the healthier option, most people will choose the apple. Our society seems to be learning the basic components of a healthy diet. What we are lacking is the environment, both physically and socially, to allow these components to be implemented.
Our societal structure makes healthy eating a big challenge. When you attempt to make healthy choices, one feels under the scrutiny of their peers and outside of the societal norm. I grew up eating "weird foods" and my lunch was constantly the subject of debate at the lunch table. I remember having baby carrots, organic carob pudding and a tuna sandwich. Let me tell you what kind of commotion this cause, "Eww, what are you eating," "That smells funny," "Why is your food so weird." As a school aged child it is hard to constantly defend your meals and much easier to succumb to the fluff sandwiches and flaming hot cheetos. This is why building a socially acceptable environment of healthy eating is so important.
Programs like SOSmentor strive to educate students on the benefits of a healthy diet and also provide an environment where students feel good about making the healthy choice. Using high school students as mentors for elementary school students begins to restructure the environment. At the end of the SOSmentor program students are encouraged to share their experiences. One of the elementary school students said, "I want to thank the highschoolers for coming after school to show us how to make healthier choices, even when they didn't have to." What a great way to socially build a healthy environment.
You can take this concept into your own environment. I always like to verbally congratulate people when they make healthier choices. "Look how healthy you are," "Wow your food looks delicious," "Your body must be so happy." With a little positive reinforcement we can re-structure our environments.
Physically restructuring environments takes a lot more work; not impossible, just more challenging. The lecture communicated the changes taking place in Los Angeles to restructure the physical environment in lower income areas. Suzanne Bogert, project director for the Network for a Healthy California, gave insight into some of the projects:
• California Complete Streets Act, enacted January 2011
-Attractive roadways designed to enable safe access for bikes, pedestrians, motorcycles, regardless of age or ability
• Transit Oriented Districts (TOD's)
-Providing housing, businesses, services and jobs within 1/2 mile of transit stations to encourage walking and biking
• Healthy Design Ordinances
-Incorporating healthy design standards into county land use, and development poli
cies for unincorporated areas
• Working with municipalities to establish policies that increase access to affordable healthy foods and beverages
Changing an environment is a very difficult task. It takes commitment from all parties involved: consumers, communities, and the government to enact an effective change. Individually it is important to understand why things are changing and how important the change is for our society. Speak up, promote and support the changes that are taking place. Together we can make a difference and create a healthier, more aware society.
Sarah Lefkowitz is a guest blogger. She received her Bachelor of Science from the Pennsylvania State University in Nutritional Science and is Registered Dietitian living in Los Angeles, California. She currently works on building communities focused on health and wellness, creating a support system for a healthy lifestyle. She is also a Lead Clinical Dietitian, counseling patients in an acute care hospital and outpatient counseling in a digestive disease clinic, wound care clinic and center for geriatric health. Here at SOSmetor she is a consultant dietitian writing manuals, developing education materials and giving presentations to high schools and elementary schools.
Stay up-to-date with Sarah and her work at her blog
Nutrition-4-You . Also find Sarah on
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Take Jackie De La O, for example. The 18-year-old student at Civitas School of Leadership, an interdisciplinary school within the Roybal Learning Center, in Los Angeles, wanted to learn more about the causes of childhood obesity, and what she could do to make a difference. She saw kids at her school buying chips and soda from other students, and wondered why there were so many fast food restaurants in her neighborhood. 
