The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, released every 5 years by the US Department of Health and Human Services, encourage individuals to prioritize healthy eating in every life stage, to consume food that is dense in nutrients across food groups, to stay within daily caloric guidelines, and to limit added sugars, saturated fat, sodium, and alcohol.  While the path to good health through nutrition appears to be straightforward, it is a more complex matter.  The eResources available through the Michigan eLibrary (MeL) offer information on additional factors that are thought to contribute to the obesity epidemic in America.

Access to Healthy Foods

Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints offers content that allows individuals to take a critical look at factors impacting health and nutrition.  One factor is access to affordable, healthy, nutrient-dense foods. The Impact of Food Environments on Obesity Rates, a research article published in the Journal of Obesity, outlined the correlation between the prevalence of food deserts, food swamps and obesity.  For the purposes of this study, food deserts were defined as areas lacking grocery stores with healthy foods and food swamps as areas that were primarily inundated with fast-food restaurants and convenience stores. The findings suggested that community gardens, farmers' markets, modified zoning regulations, and incentives for grocers to do business in lower-income areas could help toward healthier outcomes for residents.

Corporate Influence

The report, How food companies influence evidence and opinion, illustrates how leaders within the food industry were seeking ways to influence public policy, discredit research or studies that were conducted outside of those already sponsored by those corporations, and to gain positions on boards of medical and other health related organizations.  The article Beyond Nutrition and physical activity: food industry shaping of the very principles of scientific integrity highlights the conflict of interest that occurs when corporations sponsor research related to health.  Not unlike the studies sponsored by tobacco companies to deny the harms of secondhand smoke, those involved in the food industry have shaped research and disseminated information that meets its interests.

Resources at the Ready

For those interested in learning more about health equity and initiatives to improve health and nutrition outcomes for all, MeL offers eBooks such as A Health Equity Approach to Obesity Efforts, Driving Action and Progress on Obesity Prevention and Treatment, and Advancing Obesity Solutions Through Investments in the Built Environment.

If you have any MeL eResources questions or issues, contact [email protected] for help.