While you are pondering
Slate
‘s Hive project
in which readers submit their own plans to reduce childhood obesity, please take a look at this fantastic
New Yorker
profile of Dr. Nadine Burke
(unfortunately subscription-only). Burke is the medical director of the Bayview Child Health Center, which services a very poor section of San Francisco. She has done research that shows that there is a correlation between traumatic situations-known as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)-and chronic health problems ranging from depression and obesity to cancer and heart disease. As Burke puts it, “In many cases, what looks like a social situation is actually a neurochemical situation.”
To combat the effects of these ACEs Burke is working to create a treatment protocol, like the ones oncologists use to treat cancer. For anyone who believes that problems like childhood obesity are purely a matter of choice and behavior,
The New Yorker
article may make you reassess.
