By Sean Mussenden
Media General News Service
Media General News Service
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WASHINGTON -- Fat? Blame Congress, at least partly.
As the Senate prepares to vote this week on a farm bill, more health researchers say federal subsidies for soybeans and corn worsen the nation's obesity problem, especially in low-income communities.
Government financial support spurs farmers to plant certain crops, creating an abundant, cheap supply of fat-producing soybean oil and high-fructose corn syrup. Nutritionists say these building blocks for scores of fattening foods -- from hamburgers to soda and potato chips -- hurt the nation's health.
Congress re-writes the nation's farm policy every five years. When lawmakers wrote a new bill this year, health advocates hoped to see subsidies for fruits and vegetables to offset subsidies for corn, soy beans and other crops.
But the 2007 farm bill is moving toward passage with few major changes to subsidy programs..
The House passed its version this summer, and the Senate is set to begin debate on its bill this week. While both add extra money to promote fruits and vegetables in school lunches, neither adds new subsidies for most fruits and vegetables.
"If you keep everything the same, and add in a little bit for vegetables, it's not the same as going back to the drawing board and creating a healthy farm bill," said Dr. David Wallinga, director of food and health for the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, a non-profit research and advocacy group.
Poor diet and exercise habits have exacerbated the nation's obesity problem. The problem is particularly acute in the South. Ninety-nine of the 100 fattest counties in the United States -- those with the largest percentage of obese or morbidly obese adults -- are in the Southeast, according to a Media General News Service analysis of federal obesity data compiled by Thomson Healthcare.
Researchers have found that the poorest communities tend to have the most obese people. That correlation is especially strong in Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina, the Media General analysis found.
Several factors contribute to the link between obesity and poverty, but health researchers are still sorting out how big a role each one plays.
Flashy ads send powerful messages to eat fast food instead of healthy food. Unhealthy food often tastes better and satisfies hunger faster than nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables.
Low-income neighborhoods face additional challenges. They tend to have more fast-food restaurants and fewer places to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. Many poor people lack transportation or time to get to well-stocked stores in wealthier neighborhoods.
And, eating healthy costs more than eating unhealthy food.
Everyone needs a certain amount of calories to live - around 2,000 a day - whether those calories come from steamed broccoli or French fries, grilled chicken or Big Macs.
It costs far less to get the calories from unhealthy foods with added oils or sweeteners than it does from nutritious foods like fresh vegetables. Energy-dense foods made with subsidized crops like soybean oil and high-fructose corn syrup have been linked to heart disease and diabetes.
"There's a huge cost disparity. It's not a coincidence that low-income people will gravitate towards cheaper, energy-dense foods that are nutritionally poor," said Adam Drewnowski, director of the nutritional sciences program at the University of Washington.
His studies have found that foods made from subsidized crops - like cookies and soda -- cost five times less per calorie than unsubsidized foods -- like carrots or orange juice.
Drewnowski finds it ironic that the Agriculture Department encourages people to eat vegetables like lettuce or carrots that are not subsidized, and therefore more expensive, while giving people an economic incentive through subsidies to buy foods it says they should eat sparingly.
"The farm bill is geared to production of calories, not nutrients," he said. "It's resulted in a diet that is energy rich but nutritionally poor."
Farmers and food manufacturers who use subsidized crops say that health researchers overstate the link between federal farm policy and obesity. They say the obesity epidemic has several causes.
Jon Doggett, vice president of the National Corn Growers Association, said researchers do not place enough importance on larger portion sizes over the last few decades.
"When I was a kid, I remember drinking Coke out of a 6-ounce bottle," he said. "When was the last time you drank a 6-ounce Coke?"
In many products, ingredients derived from subsidized crops like corn and soybeans account for a tiny fraction of the cost, he said.
Dr. Robert S. Lawrence, professor of health policy at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, argues that Congress should provide more of an economic incentive for people to eat nutrient-rich foods.
"One of the best ideas would be to subsidize fresh fruits and vegetables," he said. "The competition for a place on the dinner plate ought to at least be on a level playing field."
Since the 1980s, fresh fruit and vegetable prices have risen by nearly half, adjusted for inflation. The costs of sugar and fat that go into processed foods have fallen slightly, though that trend could be tempered this year. Rising corn prices, driven up in part by the demand for ethanol, have helped send food prices higher in recent months.
If the government gives people an economic incentive to eat unhealthy food, it also gives farmers an incentive to grow the crops that make food less healthy.
Thomas Wayne Murray grows corn, wheat and cotton in Russellville, Ala.
Murray said he will grow only crops that have a subsidy safety net.
"You always have to think, if things go bad, can I get my money back?" he said. "We just have to have it to live."
As the Senate prepares to vote this week on a farm bill, more health researchers say federal subsidies for soybeans and corn worsen the nation's obesity problem, especially in low-income communities.
Government financial support spurs farmers to plant certain crops, creating an abundant, cheap supply of fat-producing soybean oil and high-fructose corn syrup. Nutritionists say these building blocks for scores of fattening foods -- from hamburgers to soda and potato chips -- hurt the nation's health.
Congress re-writes the nation's farm policy every five years. When lawmakers wrote a new bill this year, health advocates hoped to see subsidies for fruits and vegetables to offset subsidies for corn, soy beans and other crops.
But the 2007 farm bill is moving toward passage with few major changes to subsidy programs..
The House passed its version this summer, and the Senate is set to begin debate on its bill this week. While both add extra money to promote fruits and vegetables in school lunches, neither adds new subsidies for most fruits and vegetables.
"If you keep everything the same, and add in a little bit for vegetables, it's not the same as going back to the drawing board and creating a healthy farm bill," said Dr. David Wallinga, director of food and health for the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, a non-profit research and advocacy group.
Poor diet and exercise habits have exacerbated the nation's obesity problem. The problem is particularly acute in the South. Ninety-nine of the 100 fattest counties in the United States -- those with the largest percentage of obese or morbidly obese adults -- are in the Southeast, according to a Media General News Service analysis of federal obesity data compiled by Thomson Healthcare.
Researchers have found that the poorest communities tend to have the most obese people. That correlation is especially strong in Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina, the Media General analysis found.
Several factors contribute to the link between obesity and poverty, but health researchers are still sorting out how big a role each one plays.
Flashy ads send powerful messages to eat fast food instead of healthy food. Unhealthy food often tastes better and satisfies hunger faster than nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables.
Low-income neighborhoods face additional challenges. They tend to have more fast-food restaurants and fewer places to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. Many poor people lack transportation or time to get to well-stocked stores in wealthier neighborhoods.
And, eating healthy costs more than eating unhealthy food.
Everyone needs a certain amount of calories to live - around 2,000 a day - whether those calories come from steamed broccoli or French fries, grilled chicken or Big Macs.
It costs far less to get the calories from unhealthy foods with added oils or sweeteners than it does from nutritious foods like fresh vegetables. Energy-dense foods made with subsidized crops like soybean oil and high-fructose corn syrup have been linked to heart disease and diabetes.
"There's a huge cost disparity. It's not a coincidence that low-income people will gravitate towards cheaper, energy-dense foods that are nutritionally poor," said Adam Drewnowski, director of the nutritional sciences program at the University of Washington.
His studies have found that foods made from subsidized crops - like cookies and soda -- cost five times less per calorie than unsubsidized foods -- like carrots or orange juice.
Drewnowski finds it ironic that the Agriculture Department encourages people to eat vegetables like lettuce or carrots that are not subsidized, and therefore more expensive, while giving people an economic incentive through subsidies to buy foods it says they should eat sparingly.
"The farm bill is geared to production of calories, not nutrients," he said. "It's resulted in a diet that is energy rich but nutritionally poor."
Farmers and food manufacturers who use subsidized crops say that health researchers overstate the link between federal farm policy and obesity. They say the obesity epidemic has several causes.
Jon Doggett, vice president of the National Corn Growers Association, said researchers do not place enough importance on larger portion sizes over the last few decades.
"When I was a kid, I remember drinking Coke out of a 6-ounce bottle," he said. "When was the last time you drank a 6-ounce Coke?"
In many products, ingredients derived from subsidized crops like corn and soybeans account for a tiny fraction of the cost, he said.
Dr. Robert S. Lawrence, professor of health policy at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, argues that Congress should provide more of an economic incentive for people to eat nutrient-rich foods.
"One of the best ideas would be to subsidize fresh fruits and vegetables," he said. "The competition for a place on the dinner plate ought to at least be on a level playing field."
Since the 1980s, fresh fruit and vegetable prices have risen by nearly half, adjusted for inflation. The costs of sugar and fat that go into processed foods have fallen slightly, though that trend could be tempered this year. Rising corn prices, driven up in part by the demand for ethanol, have helped send food prices higher in recent months.
If the government gives people an economic incentive to eat unhealthy food, it also gives farmers an incentive to grow the crops that make food less healthy.
Thomas Wayne Murray grows corn, wheat and cotton in Russellville, Ala.
Murray said he will grow only crops that have a subsidy safety net.
"You always have to think, if things go bad, can I get my money back?" he said. "We just have to have it to live."