Bringing healthier food to
the city is a joke. If you ask city officials what they’ve been doing to pump
our citizens with vitamins, minerals and protein, they’ll tell you that their
health-driven initiatives have been a success. Really? Then why did the Health
Department recently report that The Bronx has the highest obesity rate among
the city’s boroughs – at 32 percent. Their initiative to bring healthier food
to low-income neighborhoods, Shop Healthy NYC, is great – but whose choice is
it to actually consume nutritious foods? YOURS!
Bring on the whole wheat
bread, milk, fruit and nuts! The Health Department thinks that because its Shop
Healthy NYC program urged bodegas to stock their shelves with “healthier canned
goods,” its going to make a difference. FAT CHANCE!
The agency also thinks that
by displaying water and low calorie refrigerated snacks at eye level in bodegas
and supermarkets, people are going to magically agree to change their eating
habits and turn into health gurus. WAKE UP!
In case you’ve been living
under a rock for the past several years, you can clearly see that there a LOT
of overweight people in our community – and look at why that is! We’ve got
three – count them – THREE McDonald’s in Canarsie alone! We’ve got five Dunkin
Donuts in less than a 15-block radius! Ever count the Chinese food joints?
Those are a dime a dozen here, and most dishes – that actually have flavor –
are loaded with sodium, starch and empty calories. If they ONLY sold healthy
dishes, like steamed fish and veggies with whole grain rice, you’d better
believe they’d go out of business because no one will habitually order these
flavorless delights.
Let’s get real. When most
people go into a local bodega, it doesn’t matter where the nutrition bars or
water bottles are located – patrons are still going to order that egg, bacon
and cheese sandwich on a roll every day before work. Go ahead and display
produce at the front of the store or at the checkout...Those who refuse to eat
healthy don’t care where you put that pile of apples – as long as they have
access to convenient fattening snacks somewhere in the mini-mart.
I’m not really sure why the
city’s claiming obesity rates are largely due to the lack of healthier foods.
What healthier foods do the obese not have access to? If the overweight choose
not to eat vegetables and fruit – that’s THEIR decision. How much trouble do
city folk have to go through to get a bag of carrots to munch on instead of
cookies?
We’re not living in the boondocks
or the suburbs where access to a simple supermarket is a 20-minute car ride
away. Also, living in the city is an advantage for those who want to stay fit –
all you have to do is walk to most stores. Some stores are less than a mile
away! Get your big ass off the couch and take that walk every other day to pick
up some nutritious grub!
I recently started watching
the cable television show “My 600 Pound Life.” This series tries to motivate
the severely overweight to turn their lives around and change their unhealthy
ways. In almost every episode, the “food victims,” as I call them, are given
fattening, greasy meals by their friends and loved ones. Sadly, consistent
exercise and a well-balanced meal play a very small part in their personal
weight loss attempts. But that’s THEIR decision to shove crap down their own
mouths. If you’re really unhappy with the way you look, don’t blame the city or
state.
One of the problems the city
needs to realize is that healthy food is NOT affordable. This is a wellknown fact,
but produce and healthy snacks shouldn’t just be more visible in bodegas, they
should be CHEAPER so low-income residents can afford to eat healthy on a
regular basis – but that’s NOT happening. The cost of whole wheat and whole
grain foods – if purchased every week – gets expensive. Is the city able to
enforce cost decreases on healthier foods? NO!
You can also make certain
foods healthier by altering the ingredients. Got pasta? Add mixed vegetables!
You can prepare chicken in so many healthy ways, there’s no excuse to soak it
in oil every time you cook. I don’t agree with the whole “easier said than
done” excuse – if all you eat is crap, you’re going to look and feel like crap!
It’s THAT easy and it’s also easy for the Health Department to point fingers at
local grocery stores for poor choices that are really made by individuals!
Who cares about advertising
healthier food? You’re gonna shove your face no matter what the city does,
right? Grab that extra double cheeseburger and be proud New Yorkers!
Originally published in Canarsie Courier newspaper
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