Last night a few students held a public showing of this documentary. There were a number of guest speakers, including a few members from the Public Health Department, and was followed by a really interesting conversation. We were talking about how the area where we live completely affects the status of our health, not just whether you live by mountains or in a desert, but what kind of community resources are in your neighborhood. It makes me think of the area around the school I work in. There are a number of people who have health problems, who don’t eat healthy and nutritious food and get little exercise (which increases the likelihood of high-cholesterol, heart problems etc.), but then you look at what the community has available. There are soo many cheap (but filling) fast food places around here that can provide you with an absurd amount of calories per serving, and if you’re a kid growing up in a low-income community it totally makes sense to buy that ‘two for 1$’ deal at taco bell because it fills you up and you’re probably not aware (or care) about what the nutritional value of those French fries are and what your nutritional needs are, plus you’re hungry anyway and you know this is going to fill you up. So then it starts to connect to education and showing youth the importance of good nutrition, which starts to turn it into policy decisions.
Something that really struck me during this conversation was how often the word “hope” popped up. Granted it’s become a huge buzz word ever since Barak started campaigning, but something a lot of people commented on was the need for long-term opportunities for youth. At one point in the documentary they were talking to a group of middle school-ers, and none of them expected to live to the age of 20 because of the gang violence in their neighborhood. This sets the tone for somebody’s life, how can you tell a kid to eat healthy and exercise because it’ll help them when their older, and they don’t think they’re going to make it to 20.
I don’t think there’s any one group or policy that you can point at and blame (public health can be hugely complicated and it’s amazing how many issues are interwoven into it), but I do think that in the end what it really boils down to is building strong communities with a culture of caring, and easily assessable (and affordable) alternatives and creating an environment where we aren’t alienated from our neighbors (I’ve lived in the same place for over a year and I still don’t know who lives next door). The question is how do we go about doing that…any thoughts?