An Anthropological View of the Impact of Poverty and Globalization on the Emerging Epidemic of Obesity

Abstract

This chapter explores how social relations have contributed to the emerging obesity epidemic, both in developed and developing countries. It poses that the most important factor in the global increase of obesity at the world level lies in the integrated agroindustry, which produces and distributes cheap energy and expensive micronutrients. This industry has homogenized world tastes and is pursuing ever more distant and specific market niches (i.e., low-income populations, women, teenagers, or children). If the only value dominating present-day nutrition is profit, it is understandable that production should stand on the edge of a sustainability crisis, that distribution should be facing an equity crisis, and that consumption is confronting a commensality crisis. The economic principles ruling current eating habits are at odds with human needs and health, generating both hunger and obesity.