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Fernando A. Picasso
Mequette Sorenson, Instructor
ETHC 2430
November 20, 2014
Final
Obesity
The Problem:
Growing up I was always fed well. And when I mean by well, I mean that I ate large quantities of
the highly addictive foods that wouldnt have given me a six pack. My diet consisted of about four to five
very hefty meals. Breakfast would consist of Hot Pockets or some microwavable dish. Lunch was mostly
school served pizza or a chicken patty sandwich with fries and a lot a fry sauce on the side. When I got
home from school I would eat two three-entre Mexican meals that my grandmother didnt bother to think
that it was a lot of food for a kid. These meals usually consisted of a good serving of red rice, refried
beans, sauted meat saturated in sauces, and all-you-can-eat corn tortillas. After dinner, I would help pick
up the table, do chores, or complete my homework while munching on chips, cookies, or even any
leftovers from dinner. This diet of excesses munching, along with a lack of moderate exercise, were prime
factors that lead to my weight reaching 180 lbs. by junior high. When I graduated high school in 2009, I
reached my highest weight of 260 lbs. At this state of health, it was safe to say that I was bigger than
normal guy.
The CDC Trends in the Prevalence of Obesity, Dietary Behaviors, and Weight Control Practices
is conducted every other spring semester on public and private school students in the 9th through 12th
grade. When I graduated high school back in 2009, 27.6% of these teens (along with myself) were
holding a noticeable amount of extra weight (a nicer way of saying we were obese). In 2013, 16.6% of
these students were considered overweight (greater than 85% but less than 95% body mass index) while
13.7% were considered obese (greater than 95% body mass index). That is over 30% of these young
adults having a weight that is considered above average. In 2008, the CDC also released a state obesity

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chart that compared White (Non-Hispanic), Black (Non-Hispanic), and Hispanic adults that were
overweight. In Utah, 21.6% of Hispanics were considered obese while White and Black (Non-Hispanics)
and other unaccounted Ethnicities counted for 78.4% of the obese population. That is saying that one out
of every five obese Utahns were Mexican.
The finances of a family plays a significant role with the overall families health. The Income,
Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010 reflected the following statistics:

Age statistics for 66,919 Hispanics living in poverty: 69.5% were under the age of 18. 22.4%
were between the ages of 18 to 64. 18% were over the age of 65.

49,869 Hispanics had an income that was anywhere between half to double their poverty
threshold (federally updated measurement of poverty).

The Hispanics average income was $15,990 less than all the races average and the median is
$11686 less than all races median.

Among Hispanics, the uninsured rate decreased in 2010 to 30.7% from 31.6%, while the number
of uninsured in 2010, 15.3 million, was not statically different from 2009.

Now in no way am I trying to imply that the poor, homeless, or uninsured are the only ones that are in
danger of becoming obese. Those that are more financially stable are still capable of becoming
overweight. Take my story for example, I never lived in poverty but yet still become overweight. All
financial classes are capable of becoming overweight.
The following pieces of data were obtained from a USA Today Article published back in 2012
regarding obese Mexican population: About 22% of Mexican American adults had high blood pressure in
2006, which has been at a stable rate for the last few decades; About 20% of Mexican-American adults
have high cholesterol, which also has been at a stable rate for the last few decades. Other illnesses that
can come from being overweight or obese include diabetes, Coronary Artery Disease, Coronary Vascular
Disease, heart attack, stroke and even cancer.

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My Intervention
I would propose an idea to get locally owned restaurant owners to go out to schools and/or
daycares and educate children of healthy food choices when they go out to eat at restaurants or even while
grocery shopping. I would want these food presentations to be targeted towards fifth to eight graders
because this is a period of growth for these young teens that I feel is necessary to educate them about how
food choices can affect their growing bodies. If we can educate these kids about healthy food choices by
the time they get into high school, then certain statistics about obesity in schools could eventually fall if
programs like this is consistent with health education.
The kinds of restaurants that I would feel comfortable presenting to kids would be ones that
promote one (or more) of the following criteria:

Organically grown produce/Humanely raised animal products.

Restaurants that buy a majority of their produce locally (when possible).

Locally owned restaurants that arent recognized at a national level.

Restaurants that already practice healthy food choices for their customers have a staff of workers that
are educated, and should be willing to educated, about what types of foods to look for when it comes to
healthy food choices. It is also important to recognize which restaurant establishments are benefitting
their communities, financially speaking. Whenever produce that is locally grown is brought in from out of
state, it takes away from the local farmers who grow that particular crop. There are some produce that
arent capable of growing in certain climates which creates a dependency on out-of-state produce. If a
restaurant depends on out-of-state produce from some of their inventory, then it would be acceptable for
this place to present in front of kids. By staying with restaurants that you can only find within your state
will benefit the community.
What I would want for these restaurant establishment to teach kids is what foods to look for when
they go out to eat. A fun way to educate these kids about healthy food choices is by demonstrating how to
prepare a healthy dish that is served on a daily basis that that restaurant. Examples of this can include

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preparing delicious guacamole from a Mexican establishment, making a healthy sandwich with a variety
of ingredients from a sandwich establishment, or even providing samples of a homemade soup with fresh
ingredients from a place that specializes in soups; things that can be prepared with ease in a fun
environment. Some restaurants might not be able to prepare some of their products in a demonstration
because it requires a good amount of time to prepare. Establishments like bakerys or fine dining can
bring in produce, or other everyday products that can be found in a grocery store, and educate how to pick
the ripest (ready to eat) produce or the healthier choice of breads (whole wheat bread vs. white bread).
The thing that makes these types of food demonstrations fun is that it is all up to the restaurant
management team to make it into what they want to. So finding the right type of restaurant establishments
is vital for promoting healthy food choices.

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Stakeholders/Interviews:
I typed up a letter for a number of restaurant establishments that I felt would be appropriate for
this type of project. In the letter I addressed that I wanted to create a program for restaurants that serve
fresh food to educate kids in elementary schools and daycares about healthy food choices. If they were
interested in doing something of sort, I asked what types of foods they would prepare or bring in to show
the kids, what it would cost the company to do this sort of demonstration, if this would benefit their store,
and if there were any obstacles in creating such demonstrations. I then dropped them off a letter at three
establishments (Bombay House: Indian food, Costa Vida: Mexican food, New Thai Caf: Thai food) and
emailed three corporate establishments (Caf Zupas: American food, Rodizios Grill: Brazilian food,
Kneaders: Bakery). The letters that I delivered by person were left because either the manager wasnt
there at the time or the manager needed to speak with their corporate offices about it.
With the busiest shopping season almost beginning, all three corporate offices that I emailed
responded that they werent able to assist me and wished me luck on the project. The letters that I hand
delivered and were waiting for on their corporate office had the same response. And I was never able to
get a hold of one of the managers who I left the letter with their staff. Six restaurant establishments that I
felt would have been perfect stakeholders werent able to assist me with getting some numbers and
opinions. The reason I chose these six establishments to interview is because I feel it would be important
to incorporate a variety of cultural cuisine and introduce them to the kids so they are more open to food
than becoming used to burgers and fries.
Most servers that I quickly spoke with agreed that there is a problem regarding childhood obesity.
One of the waitresses at the New Thai Caf told me that almost every other kid that came in didnt want
to eat their food or made some sort of comment because it was food that they werent used to eating. She
also mentioned that the food choices kids learn are dependent on how parents teach their kids about
health.

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Problematic Areas:
I have identified four areas that could be problematic with having local restaurants promoting
healthy food choices to kids in schools.
1. Parents that arent used to a healthy diet.

Parents that dont have any sort of motivation to take care of what they eat, or their
overall health, then this gives their children little to no motivation to take care of
themselves.

2. Parents who cant afford a healthy diet.

Parents that are financially struggling and are unable to buy fresh produce or meats.
These types of family might be dependent on local food banks with canned foods that are
heavily processed or meats that have been refrozen too many times to be considered safe.

3. Big name corporations that heavily target kids with mind washing ads.

Big named restaurants that depend on their colorful and fun advertisement to attract kids
with the promise of a toy with every kids meal are easily recognizable to any kid that
watches a good amount of T.V. These kids meals might also be an inexpensive way of
providing food to children in a family who is in a financial struggle.

4. The commitment of the stakeholders.

It would take serious commitment on the restaurant establishments that would want to
participate in demonstrating to kids how to eat healthier. Management might have other
priorities in their stores than to be sending out their workers and materials/supplies to
teach kids about health.

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Costs:
All costs would be covered by the restaurant establishments. It could benefit the company
because these expenses can be recorded either as a business expense or donations that could help them
when it comes to taxes. Now what would be recorded as costs can include the produce/products used
during the demonstration, salaries for those individuals doing the demonstration, transportation cost (if it
requires multiple trips), and any fee for asking a school to hold an assembly, or classroom discussion, for
kids. Another type of cost for the restaurant would be handing out coupons or promotions to the kids.
Even though the restaurants will be providing free food for the kids the restaurant will be eventually
paying for that free food. But rather than seeing it as giving free food away, it can be seen as a
promotional expense to bring in new customers to that establishment.
I got my idea from this one event while working for this Mexican grill. A manager and I went to a
daycare to prepare fresh guacamole for the kids. We talked about how important healthy foods were to
their growing bodies, what types of snacks are ok in moderation, and even promoted the grills location
by handing out free kids meal coupons. Not only was it a great way to bring in business, but it also gave
us the opportunity to create new bonds with daycares in our community and educate kids about healthy
diets. And it only cost the company a case of avocados, a few cups of diced jalapenos, onions, cilantro,
and a few dozen two oz. bags of chips.

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Conclusion:
I want to promote an opportunity for kids to find out about the options they have when it comes
to choosing the foods they want to consume. I am sure that not every kid will be excited about seeing
someone prepare a sandwich or being handed some foreign food they have never tasted. But being a
person that has experimented with my diet and losing a significant amount of weight through diet and
moderate exercise, I want to show kids what they can accomplish with hard work and dedicating to a
healthy lifestyle. By having a variety of restaurant establishments with different cultural cuisines
educating kids about their food options when they go out to eat will hopefully inspire a kid to educate
him/herself about their overall health.

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References
Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, Jessica C. Smith. Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance
Coverage in the United States: 2010. Current Popluation Report. Washington D.C.: United States
Census Bureau, 2011. Online Report.
CDC. Differences in Prevalence of Obesity Among Black, White, and Hispanic Adults. CDC, 17 July
2009. Online Report.
Hellmich, Nanci. "Obesity rate climbs among Mexican-American Adults." USA Today 28 March 2012.
Online Article.
YRBSS. "Trends in the Prevalence of Obesity, Dietary Behaviors, and Weight Control Practices." n.d.
Online Document.