Outside Foods and Wealthy - Healthy - Chubby in the New Urban Food Environments: Evidence from India and Mexico

Abstract

Overweight and obesity has surpassed other forms of malnutrition like underweight and hunger both geographically and in percentage, and has become a global challenge. This non-communicable disease is too often attributed to a lack of individual self-control, however, this fails to address the underlying issues of the soaring obesity epidemic. Thus, this paper builds on evidence from the epicenters of this epidemic in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) - specifically Hyderabad (India) and Mérida (Mexico) - to propose that there are New Urban Food Environments. These environments are characterized by a new urban middle class, who are spending more money on ‘outside foods’, or foods that are prepared and possibly consumed in places other than home, and the ’wealthy-healthy-chubby’ nexus. The latter is a trend where older generations of the rising urban middle class equate health with being overweight, both linguistically and conceptually, while younger generations struggle with a double health and beauty standard between the expectations of their older family members and those conveyed by globalized media. Turning points for non-disease related weight gain include taking up a sedentary occupation, marriage, performing parenthood, increased digital food services, and extended screen time, as well as Covid-related restrictions. This paper provides insights into the entanglements of the obesity epidemic by shedding light on various facets of individual food environments (including personal background, corporeality, discourse, digitalization, infrastructure, food providers, and food items) from a consumption practices’ perspective. It also explores how these multifaceted elements interact to shape the health and wellbeing of individuals. Ultimately, the concept of the New Urban Food Environment is an important contribution, as it provides insight into the complexity of the obesity epidemic in LMICs, and the need for a range of sustainable transformations in order to address this problem.