Obesity Scans and the Real Hunger Games

I’m a really awkward cheerleader. As my neighbors can attest, cheering for sporting events comes natural to my husband; he’s loud and passionate. Meanwhile, I make weird arm motions and say “go” and “yeah” in my normal speaking voice. Sometimes I say inappropriate things at the defense like “Kill him!” (Because football is supposed to be a fight to the death, right?)

Magic obesity-crushing
DXA scanner.

A story on the Nightly News with Brian Williams earlier this week had me yelling at the TV with gusto that I’ve never been able to muster during a Ravens game. Said story was on the future of obesity measurement. The segment covered research claiming that far more Americans, especially older women, are obese than previously thought. Using a DXA scan that can separately measure bone density, muscle weight, and body fat for “a few hundred dollars” a pop, the researchers found that an additional 13% of people are actually obese given their body fat.

Researcher Eric Braverman, MD criticized BMI, our standard obesity measurement, saying, “BMI is an insensitive measure of obesity, prone to under-diagnosis, while direct fat measurements are superior.” He goes on to say that these tests “will pay off enormously” as “fat is costing the country a fortune by not measuring.”

Brian Williams called this a “game changer.”

Magic wand cures obesity
when used with
a healthy diet and regular
exercise.  

The report worked off the assumption that obesity is worse because we don’t know how to measure it. Perhaps if we had a good screening test, we could make everyone thin and healthy by using, ugh, magic. (Yeah, the magic part is where the logic broke down for me too.)

I was surprised that this story made the news, let alone elicited shock and awe. It must have been a slow news day. I guess neither Mitt Romney nor Joe Biden made a gaffe to fill up three minutes of the broadcast.

It’s non-news, because at best, this test will have zero effect on obesity. I think that there are also ways that it could make our problems worse. A more expensive test for obesity further separates our haves (money, health insurance) from our have-nots (crappy food, no health care). It also takes the focus away from actual solutions to the obesity problem.

The DXA scan, while less expensive than a heart transplant, is more expensive than stepping on a scale. Even a cheaper alternative test suggested on the broadcast, a leptin blood test, comes with obstacles (e.g., need for health insurance, needles hurt).

Better obesity measurement: muffin-topometer

Money used towards this new high-tech test that tells us what we already know based on our muffin tops—we need to lose weight—could be better spent in a variety of ways: improving our food supply, making fresh produce more affordable, encouraging mixed land-use developments, adding sidewalks to neighborhoods, getting me out of my pesky underwater mortgage. (Okay, the last one might not have much effect on the obesity epidemic, but would be a solid use of money.)

Adam Drewnowski: I <3 him.

There’s also the minor detail that people who can afford more expensive versions of medical tests, groceries at Whole Foods, a gym membership, a personal trainer, a bike, high-tech running shoes, and race entrance fees, are not obese. That’s because, according to Adam Drewnowski, my favorite researcher, “Deep down, obesity is really an economic issue.”

Dr. Drewnowski’s research has shown that only 4% of those who shop at a Seattle Whole Foods are obese, compared with nearly 40% who shop at lower-priced Albertsons stores.

This all feels very Hunger Games-esque to me. Money is spent on needless medical testing for those who have disposable income, while so many others eat dollar-menu, pink-slime laced burgers and have no access to healthcare outside of emergency rooms.

It makes me think of the Hunger Games scene where Katness and Peeta are at the celebration in the affluent capitol. Because of the abundance of food, the hosts offer a cocktail to help the party goers throw up so they can continue to eat. Meanwhile, the majority of the population, living in the poorer districts, is starving.

Of course, today’s American poor are not hungry. They are overfed on high-fructose corn syrup and genetically modified fat manufactured from soy beans.

I think that movement towards urban gardens; WIC/SNAP (née food stamps) acceptance at farmers markets; food revolution movies, documentaries and books; and eating-local movements are moving us in the direction of a real “game changer.” But I’m sad to say, Brian Williams, we just ain’t there yet.