In Australia, LaVelle studied a native community located in the Central desert. Formerly hunters and foragers living on wild foods, the community was settled by the government in the 1960's and has grown to the point where hunting has become impossible. "I don't think there's a wild animal within 50 kilometers there," LaVelle said.
In the past, people often walked for days hunting bush food -- a diet low in fat. Today their diet consists of packaged and processed foods, imported by truck, while lifestyles of adults are sedentary due to high unemployment. Compared with earlier studies, children now living in the community are heavier than their grandparents at the same age, but not taller. Obesity has become an increasing problem among the adults, despite the fact that many of the younger children are underweight.
"In my opinion, we need to think about this problem in cultural environmental context," says LaVelle, "including a serious review of available healthy fast foods in schools and ways to build more physical activity as a normal part of living. I live three miles from the URI campus and would walk or bike to work but there are no sidewalks or bike paths."
"I often jokingly tell my students that since they don't habitually chop a cord of wood before class, they should put weights on their cell phones."
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