Fat Zones

Is it true for kids, not just adults?
I suspect it's true for kids. The data is for adults.

How did you get the idea to investigate obesity in this way?
ZIP codes aren't actually the ideal way to look at obesity because they are created for the convenience of delivering mail. The problem is there are no data at any other geographic scale below county level. Certain states sent a behavioral risk-factor survey, administered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, to adults in some states, including the state of Washington. We looked at King County. We stopped at ZIP code because there was no finer scale available.

What's next? Will you look at other ZIP codes?
We would like to look at other geographic areas. The premise here is that maps of health and disease and maps of poverty and wealth are very often one and the same. The point of looking at maps is that if you're a public-health official, you know where the problem is, so you can target your resources appropriately. You need to know exactly where to intervene, and which neighborhood is vulnerable. That's why this work is so important.

Will everyone now want to move to rich, thin ZIP codes like Beverly Hills 90210?
That is probably the best way of losing weight!

What about the July study in the New England Journal of Medicine that said someone's weight gain was associated with weight gain in his or her friends, siblings, spouse and neighbors?
I don't think Paris Hilton has any fat friends. Most of your friends live in the same area. Or at least in a ZIP code much like yours.

I remember first meeting you nearly 20 years ago, when you were researching whether overweight people had a "fat tooth," not just a "sweet tooth"—something that drew them to calorie-dense foods. Is there an update to that research, and does it relate to this work?
Yes, it does. I've talked about the sweet tooth and the fat tooth, and the kind of connection to this work is very direct. The sweet and high-fat foods are much, much cheaper. After I started studying taste, I started looking at cost. The added sugar and added fat were not only good tasting and satisfying. They were also cheapest. And they're available even in the lowest-income ZIP codes. The whole thing connects up, like it or not, through money.

© 2007