Got 1 Percent?
Harlem’s got milk, but according to health officials it’s the wrong kind.
After a New York City Department of Health study found that one out of every four residents here is obese, the city has launched a pilot program to get local bodegas to sell low-fat milk, which has fewer calories than whole milk.
Jorge Melo, a pilot participant and manager of El Barrio Superette on 115th Street and Lexington Avenue, told the New York Post: "A lot of people are buying it - especially older people and mothers with young kids.”
The program comes at a time when area residents’ health is on the decline. Death from strokes is 90 percent higher here and diabetes kills 80 percent more people in Harlem than anyplace else in the city.
Former President Bill Clinton has been outspoken on the subject, raising millions of dollars to combat childhood obesity in the neighborhood. And Harlem's soul food has gone on a diet too. Sylvia Woods, of the world famous Sylvia's restaurant, now promotes sugar substitute Splenda in her recipes and the eatery has just partnered with North General Hospital to launch a healthy cooking class program in neighborhood schools.
While it's unclear just how effective these new initiatives will be, at the very least we have officially stepped into the fray of Harlem's fat.
posted by Rachel Natalie Klein at 1:35 AM
6 Comments:
how bout that nasty colored sugar water they suck out of those plastic bottles all day? And yeah, temp has a point, there is a part across the street from my house and the kids who go to play regularly are not overweight. Its the ones hanging out. Milk is not the issue. Did they consider the fact that most blacks and latinos are lactose intolerant and don't use milk for anything other than cereal? Sorry to bust your bubble but changing the milk isn't doing anything. How bout the low access to quality health care? How about the low quality of foods available to those on a lower income? How about lack of regular exercise and stress due to "outside forces" and quality of life issues. Changing the milk is like putting a bandaid on a levee leak. And we know how that scenario plays out.
I drank whole milk as a kid, and I love it! Not sure if it's all the fault of milk fat, like temp whore and anonymous said. But it might be a good start. I was in the PathMark last night, and overheard some people talking about getting lowfat milk instead of whole; they didn't want to do it, but decided it would be best. Growing up in Detroit, I ate a lot of fast food. I've been trying to ween myself off of it, but I have bad weak spots for White Castle cheeseburgers and Whooper Jrs. (hides head in shame re: white castle.) My mom owned a restaurant and cooked deep fried breaded shrimp and fish (yum), spitted ribs (yummier), and greens and such with all the fatty stuff you can dream of before they got a lot healtier after I moved out of the house. This is the bigger problem than the milk, I think, just all the fat that goes into a lot of black and hispanic dishes as well as the fast food fetish. When I cook collard greens now, I use smoked turkey necks instead of hamhocks, it's a bit healtier and good, IMHO.
Food education is a good start, but better food is costlier and drives up prices, too. As everyone knows, the prices between the local Key Food/CTown/PathMark are a lot different from the Gourmet Garage/WholeFoods/Fairways. A doctor friend of mine here in the Bronx is thinking of working on projects for better consumption/education, but I don't know where she is with the project, or if she's going to pursue it.
Since living in Harlem I have eaten healthier and cheaper.
The Korean market on 125th between Lenox and 5th is my salvation, they have fresh produce, soy milk etc, much cheaper than Pathmark and no long lines.
Also the vegetarian restaurant a few doors to the west is healthy, could be cheaper though.
Would like to see some sushi or other healthy choices on or near 125th
Agreed, the sedentary lifestyle and bad fast food habits are the enemy.
But it is not the only choice on 125th, don’t know about other parts of Harlem.
a huge contributing factor to childhood obesity starts in the school cafeteria. Schools go with whats cheap, not with whats healthy, and they usually never provide a "light" or "healthy" option. Plus you have campaigns by Pepsi and Coke to place vending machines in schools which is a large revenue generator.
Studies have shown, kids that are brought up on fast food are addicted for life.
The soft drink companies push this junk on the young hoping for life long customers.
I cannot believe it!!! I tried to negotiate with the bodega next to my building. They tried carrying 1% milk for 2 weeks and I was the only one buying. I couldn't drink enough milk to make it profitable for them....so we're back to whole milk. I'm really curious to see if this plan will work. I think one of the reasons whole milk is also popular in Harlem is for economic reasons....the higher fat content makes the milk last longer so you run a decreased risk of having it spoil (and therefore go to waste). Organic milk also tends to last longer but clearly that is too expensive for most folks in the neighborhood.
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