It is widely acknowledged that both overweight and obesity Free Essay Example

It is widely acknowledged that both overweight and obesity are directly linked to factors that determine the lack of proportion between the corresponding energy intake and energy use. Both aspects related to environmental and behavioral factors are impacted by the rapid urbanization rates with consistent access to lower cost of high calorie food items, the lack of exercise and the increase in sedentary habits and importantly, the constant changes in the labor market with the increase in female representation at all levels (Popking & Readon, 2018; Cutler D, Glaeser E, Shapiro J. 2003 ).

Social and technological, international and local forces have all contributed to profound changes in the food system (Industrialization, trade liberalization, privatization of government food programs) and today it is more commercialized at a period when urbanization in Latin America is increasing and more people chose convenience vs.

time consuming food preparation. Popkin and Reardon also pointed out that there is a noticeable shift to adopt more convenient, ready to eat and industrialized foods and that a “complete return” to “traditional foods” will not take place any time soon.

The authors observed that important changes in the adoption of prepackaged or industrialized food can be considered as a “snowball effect” because of the consumer’s choice in the increased demand for ultra-processed foods (UPF) has resulted in an increased investment in UPF, hence, there are currently more processed food in the market. Some other factors fueling the “snowball effect” include a large percentage of people, mainly women, entering the labor force and working outside the home, and less time invested in the preparation of healthy diets.

Women’s increasing participation in the labor market is often linked to the lack of time to devote to household chores such as cooking which has resulted in the adoption of convenient easy-to-prepare meals with the accessibility of these foods through a growing chain of supermarkets and corporations.

These trends are part of the region’s development of food patterns over the last 30 years favoring the consumption of over-processed foods , high in sugar, salt and with high levels of fat instead of the adoption of healthy diets rich in vitamins, fiber and micronutrients through the consumption of fruits and vegetables, legumes and nuts.

Examples of trends affecting LAC countries include:

Multinationals and rapid market penetration are other important forces affecting the food systems with consequences for the public when choosing food products. Market penetration in Latin America has been aggressive in the last decades not only in urban areas but even in rural and other remote areas such as in the Brazilian amazon where supermarkets are scarce and food choices are limited.

According to Monteiro and Cannon (2012), Brazil has not yet lost its traditional food systems, unlike other regions -northern North America or Europe-, hence, this is an opportunity to create and implement policies that limit the impact of Big Food/Big Snack. The authors state that “traditional food may not be nutritionally ideal,” but it does not lead to obesity in the way that UPF does, and the staples of rice, beans, and cassava are minimally processed. Further, “family and social life is connected to eating and drinking in Brazil and may contribute to saving the system.” There are also further recommendations for policy adoption suggesting the “establishment of public-private partnerships between the government and Big Food (not national or local supply chain stakeholders), support cooperatives and family farmers, protect and stabilize the prices of healthy foods, and reduce volume of sugar/salt in food supply, either in the value chain or in food.”

Chile has experienced “supermarketization”, (Garcia Grandon, 2018) which is the “consolidation and concentration of power within the food retail sector – as one of the main forces that drives dietary patterns.” This supermarketization results in increased use of credit cards (and credit debt) to finance household food expenditures, which most affects low-income consumers.

In Ecuador, access to cash determines food security for low-income families in urban centers, whose purchasing power is “more tightly linked” to food security than in rural areas, where food production availability determines food security. Further, mirroring general observations made by Popkin and Reardon about food security and obesity in LAC, “the tendency toward decreasing levels of physical activity and sedentarism in the Ecuadorian population coupled with the increasing consumption of micronutrient poor energy-dense, processed, convenience, and fast foods linked to the nutrition transition is expected to continue to modify the experience of reproductive-aged women and their households regarding Household Food Insufficiency (HFI), obesity, and obesity-related chronic diseases.”

Finally, Gartin (2012) makes some observations about food access and UPF in Paraguay, where lower-income residents pay more to eat healthier. With a recent increase in supermarkets around Paraguay, “open-air market vendors have closed their grocery businesses as they are unable to compete with supermarket prices, which results in closures of smaller grocers and corner stores since the open-air market is their primary supplier.” Gartin suggests that the people’s decision to shop for food closer to home results in a “compromise” of their nutrition intake and that lower income residents may favor access to convenience stores (with less variety of food options) over supermarkets where they access more variety but at higher prices and because they tend to engage or establish “more personal relationship with food retailers” at the local level.

Gender and Obesity (Areas for Research to tackle Overweight and Obesity)

Through the review of the literature related to overweight and obesity in Latin America, three main areas have been identified as entry points to study why women are more affected than men taking into account gender as a major element in the development of future interventions, and at the same time, it helps with the determination of entry points to fight these health conditions in the region. The research area studies include: 1- Women confined in rural settings with lack of mobility, access to health and education; 2- Women who play a role in the informal food system (Street food provision) and 3- Aspects of time use and existing labor patterns that affect the preparation of healthy diets at the household level. These area studies are, by no means the only ones, however, most of them are interrelated, impacting the women’s vulnerability to these unhealthy patters.

Women’s roles as pertaining to different ways they are affected by trends of overweight and obesity: