It is undisputed that the biggest public health concern of our time is obesity. We know the devastating financial toll it takes on our healthcare system, the burden it places on our communities and impact it has on an individual’s quality of life. Health professionals, politicians, community leaders, food industry experts, school administrators, corporate managers and parents are just a few of the important stakeholders working together to solve the obesity epidemic. Looking for possible solutions to the obesity crisis was the charge of the “Farm and Food Policy and Obesity Workshop” held at the University of California, Davis on May 21-22, 2010. The renowned speakers included university professors, economists, researchers, dietitians, agricultural and resource experts, USDA representatives and public policy leaders. The proceedings from the conference can be found on UC Davis website. The speakers weighed in with opinions and ideas for solving obesity. One underlying theme became apparent; we have no actual scientific evidence that any specific strategies work. It was also clear that we walk a fine line between the obesity crisis and a hunger epidemic occurring simultaneously in our country.

Strategies are currently underway in some communities to improve health while providing nourishment in an economically feasible way. Farm and food policy holds some promise to accomplishing this goal. Many are already looking at ways to connect people to the food supply, by offering a variety of nutritious foods in school food service operations, increasing the availability of farmer’s markets and/or supporting local farmers to continue to provide their communities with a variety of wholesome, safe and affordable foods. However, it is important to recognize that policies regarding farming and food are just one piece of the puzzle. There is still much to learn about how to get people to prepare and consume healthy food, how to create an environment conducive to health and still allow for personal choice. Food choice decisions are extremely complex and are driven by hunger, cost, taste preferences, emotional issues, cooking skills, time, food access just at name a few. Gail Woodward-Lopez of the UC Berkley Center for Weight and Health discussed this during her presentation titled "Research Informing Policy Change". Her research shows that the policies with the most impact are those that limit consumer sacrifice. For example, restaurants that "optimally default" their offerings to healthier ingredients and acceptable portions were more successful than those that provided menu labels which tend to be confusing to consumers. She concluded that research and evaluation should impact community action and policy change.

When developing solutions to the obesity crisis we all need to look at the big picture and resist placing blame on one piece of the equation. We must broaden our perspective and focus on what really works and more scientific studies are needed to determine what does work. However, I think we can all agree that policies shouldn't drive research, but the research should drive the policies. Farm and Food Policy can potentially help the obesity crisis but this alone will not solve it. A collaborative effort to look at the totality of issues impacting food choices will move us in the right direction toward improving our nation’s health.

Ashley Rosales, R.D.

Project Manager