Obesity as an economic -and a political- issue: Back to the Farm Bill

As food prices rise, the costs of lower-calorie foods are rising the fastest, according to a University of Washington study. As the prices of fresh fruit and vegetables and other low-calorie foods have jumped nearly 20% in the past two years, a nutritious diet may be moving out of the reach of some American consumers, noted the UW researchers, who studied food prices at grocery stores around the Seattle area between 2004 and 2006. Meanwhile, prices of very calorie-rich foods stayed stable or even dropped slightly.
"We are an overfed but undernourished nation," said Drewnowski.
Drewnowski and Monsivais argue that the study provides yet another piece of evidence that obesity isn't just a personal problem -- it's an economic one.
"We need to focus on bigger-scale changes, like the farm bill or other policy measures that can address the disparity in food costs," Monsivais said.