A Shared Problem

Among Chileans, a favorite topic to discuss about the United States is our obesity problem. More than a few times, I've found myself in a conversation about the number and size of gordos in the states (Chileans aren't a big fan of euphemisms). Chileans, it seems, have been watching a lot of Jerry Springer and The Biggest Loser. It's true, obesity is an epidemic in the U.S., however, when I'm told that I'm not the typical gringa because I'm not "large and love eating McDonalds," you know that there's some misrepresentation going on here.

Something that rarely comes up, however, is Chile's own growing problem with health and obesity.
I recently got into a debate with some gringo friends about our perception of how fit or fat people are in Chile. They contended, at first, that people are much thinner and healthier here in Santiago. I disagreed. On the whole, though I'd admit I see fewer extremely overweight or obese people than I would in many parts of the U.S., neither do I see many really healthy looking Chileans. And, I'd go as far to say that, depending on where you are in the city, as, just in the U.S., obesity is largely income-related, the number of the severely overweight in Chile rivals our own.

But, these were just my impressions. So, I decided to bring it up with an expert, a Chilean friend of mine who has a background in both nutrition and fitness. He confirmed my suspicions, and added that childhood obesity is especially grave (18% of school-age children are obese; in the U.S. that number is 16%). This explains the relative lack of awareness, even obliviousness of Chileans to the problem in their own country when discussing this issue. It's a new problem.

According to the National College of Nutritionists in Chile, it has come about partly as a result of socioeconomic changes, and the growing availability and consumption of packaged foods. I've seen this first hand at the grocery store. I was once behind a man in line whose items included: two 2-liter bottles of Coke, a large bag of Super Ochos (candy bars), a a triple package of Frac (oreo-like cookies), and two liter-bottles of drinkable yogurt. Not saying this would never happen in the states, and obviously it's not the norm by any means, but there is definitely an obsession with packaged food here, just as much as there is in the U.S., and with sugar in particular. I've mentioned it before, but Coke and other soft drinks are consumed by the gallon both in Chilean homes at the dinner table and out and street kiosks are ready and waiting on every corner to satisfy mid-afternoon sugar cravings. What's shocking is that sugar content is not listed on nutritional facts here. Perhaps sweets-loving Chileans would rather stay in the dark about how many grams of it they consume daily, but I think that their population's waistline, and the health of future generations will certainly suffer for it.