Narrowing the Problems and the Solutions

Obesity is a symptom of a larger cultural problem. 

The common sense approach here is to focus on food sources and physical fitness. The obesity issue is an easy fix: eat right and be active. Right? The problem is that it’s not that easy…

To help focus my thinking, these are what I see as the cultural problems we are facing along with the solutions I can explore with my Interaction Design thesis:

The Problem Bank

• Not enough fitness time. Within the education system, recess, gym class and the arts have been replaced with more classroom time to beef up our standardized testing scores
• Schools meals not providing what kids need. Cafeterias serve an assortment of fast food and over-processed options with little time for kids to scarf down the meal before heading back to class
• Busy Schedules. Within our homes, cooking whole foods and sitting down for meals have gone by the wayside so that we can keep our busy schedules moving
• Convenience. we choose convenience and pre-packaged meals over the holistic goodness of making food from scratch. 
• Media Overload. At some point, instead of parents sending their kids out to play, television and video games became the new babysitter. Also, relentless food marketing makes a strong impression.
• Broken food system. our government subsidizes the industries that pump out the cheap unhealthy foods that are making us sick (allergies, ADHD, autism, asthma)
• Budget. Healthy foods cost too much and unhealthy foods cost too little.
• Access. In the “food deserts” of our country, low income communities don’t have access to fruits, vegetables, and fresh foods.

The Solution Bank

• COOK (to help the country establish a food culture that extends past fast food and food for speed and convenience)
  • Making food fun, interesting
  • make food more accessible 
  • teach kids how to cook
  • cook seasonally and appreciate the work the local farmer puts into producing the food that provides sustenance for the family
  • pack lunch
  • make meals for your family, share meals with another family
• MOVE (we have limbs for a reason)
  
  • go for a hike, plant a garden, play!
  • 30 minutes of exercise, movement, walking, action per day necessary to offset calorie consumption
• COMMUNICATE
  • Share what you know. Talk to your school board, talk to other families
  • Positive, not preachy. Provide children (and adults for that matter) with an environment that focuses on health and behaviors rather than on weight, affirms their dignity and worth as people rather than focusing on the negative.
  • Hold Big Brands Responsible. Convenient, affordable and tasty food is more than pervasive, it’s pure function (time-saver, stress reliever) and ubiquitous place in culture (especially American culture) cannot be ignored. Demand healthy alternatives and responsible, accurate advertising. The Europeans do! Use your purchasing power to tell food companies what you want and don’t want in your food.
  • Dispel Myths. Dispelling the myths that cooking is hard, hard to learn if you don’t already know, takes up a gigantic amount of time, or that home-cooking requires some sort of mystery talent. It just requires a willingness to learn, explore and experiment and of course, fail here and there.
  • Respect the Farm. Communicate the value of local farmers, focus on finding ways to make healthy food more affordable and available for everyone.