public policy

What About Poverty?

poverty

Obesity isn’t just about drinking too many Big Gulps. It’s also about poverty. Obesity rates are high everywhere, but in poor neighborhoods they’re even higher. In Brownsville, two out of every three children are obese or overweight, three times the national average. Hold that thought and think about Michael Bloomberg’s failed attempt to ban drinks like the Big Gulp. Perhaps if he had looked at obesity as a public health issue and not a problem of bad behavior, he would have won more support, according to an article in The New York Times. Continue reading →