Obesity falls hardest on low-income minority communities because subsidized, hyperpalatable processed food is cheaper and closer than fresh food. Fast food and its marketing crowd their neighborhoods. The weight shortens lives. It deepens disability and poverty. It also reduces political participation.
What does weight have to do with minority population and voter suppression?
We hope the title of this article gets your attention, and that it might convince you to read our comments. We are not conspiracy nuts. We don’t believe in conspiracy theories at all; we leave the meaning of the facts to you.
We present the facts as we see them every day, as owners of medical practices treating severely injured and disabled patients. Our view is definitely skewed. That is because we don’t see patients who are healthy and happy. We only see patients who suffer from significant disease. Most often, they have been pushed aside medically, economically, and socially. In short, they are “marginalized.”
Suppose we told you that a completely man-made and preventable plague was spreading across the United States. It would affect 75% of the population within twenty years, cause countless deaths, and cost over $215 billion per year. You might pay attention. Like most epidemics, obesity is speeding up. It now affects 17% of all children and teens in the United States. That is triple the rate from just one generation ago. Obese children are more likely to become obese adults. They carry a significantly higher lifetime burden, both economic and medical. If you are overweight or obese, there is a 90% chance you will develop type 2 diabetes. Yet if you smoke for 30-40 years, you have a 10-17% chance of developing lung cancer. Ask yourself which you fear more, being overweight or smoking. Most people think smoking is more deadly. (This is not meant to suggest smoking is good for you. It is meant to put the issue in context.)
Low-income families already face high stress and poor mental health (such as anxiety and depression). The causes are the money and emotional strain of not having enough food, low-wage work, and poor access to health care. Poor transportation, poor housing, and violence add to it.
The federal government spends more than $20 billion a year on subsidies for farm businesses. Most of it goes to the largest producers of corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and rice. This subsidized production lowers the cost of making processed foods that contain high fructose corn syrup. At the same time, demand for processed foods containing high fructose corn syrup is boosted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which runs several food aid programs. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) now lets people buy almost any food. The exceptions are alcohol, hot foods, and foods eaten in the store. On average, people on SNAP eat about the same number of calories per day as people who are not. But they typically eat more hyperpalatable (tasty) foods made with fructose and industrial seed oils. In fact, low-income people who were eligible for SNAP but did not use it ate fewer processed foods. People on food stamps get about 12 percent of their daily calories from sugary drinks. Higher-income people get 6 percent. This holds even as overall soda sales fall in the U.S. SNAP households spend about 5% of their food assistance budget on soft drinks. They spend 9.3% on ‘sweetened beverages,’ which include soft drinks, fruit juices, energy drinks, and sweetened teas. The sweet drink industry has lobbied hard to keep SNAP from limiting soda purchases.
Some of this could be caused by a lack of access to other foods. Low-income neighborhoods often lack full-service grocery stores and farmers’ markets. Many of their stores do prefer to stock heavily processed foods that sit on the shelf and are less likely to spoil. Even when healthy food is available, especially fresh produce and meat, it is often of poorer quality in lower-income neighborhoods. That makes these items less appealing to buyers.
Low-income communities also have more fast-food restaurants, especially near schools. These places sell high-calorie, low-nutrient food at low prices. Low-income kids also see disproportionately more marketing and advertising for products that promote obesity. These ads push unhealthful foods and discourage physical activity (for example, fast food, sugary drinks, TV shows, and video games).
Due to safety concerns and the risk of violence, children and adults are more likely to stay indoors. There they sit still, watching television or playing video games. This further raises the risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes.
By 2035, data suggests that nearly 100% of the African American female population will be overweight or obese. The real issue is not directly the women themselves, but their children. The children are then predisposed to obesity. That is due to a change in their genetics caused by environmental epigenetic factors (outside forces that change how genes act). This change will cause a genetic shift for 3-5 generations. It will shorten lives and worsen disability. It will lower lifetime earnings and school performance. It will raise rates of incarceration.
Placating the masses with hyperpalatable, non-nutritious, subsidized food keeps poverty and obesity going. It passes them from one generation to the next through changes in genetics. Poverty cuts how much a group takes part in the economy. It does this through both disability and a shorter life span. The end result of specifically targeting low-income minority communities with processed food messaging is reduced political participation. Less political participation then reinforces the cycle of economic poverty. This is what weight has to do with political participation and voter suppression.
Frequently asked questions
Why is obesity more common in low-income communities?
Cheap processed food is easier to get than fresh food. Low-income neighborhoods often lack full-service grocery stores and farmers’ markets. The stores they do have stock processed food that keeps on the shelf. Fast-food restaurants cluster there, especially near schools, and children see more advertising for junk food. Safety concerns also keep families indoors and less active.
How do farm subsidies make processed food cheaper?
The federal government spends more than $20 billion a year on farm subsidies. Most goes to the largest growers of corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton and rice. That lowers the cost of making processed foods sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. Food assistance programs let people buy that food freely. The sweetened beverage industry has also lobbied to keep soda purchases allowed under SNAP.
How does obesity affect children and future generations?
Obesity now affects 17% of U.S. children and teens, triple the rate of one generation ago. Obese children are more likely to become obese adults. A mother’s weight shapes her children through epigenetic changes that can carry forward for three to five generations. Those changes shorten lives, worsen disability, lower earnings and school performance, and raise incarceration rates.
What does obesity have to do with voter suppression?
Cheap, subsidized, hyperpalatable food keeps poverty and obesity running from one generation to the next. Poverty and poor health cut how much a community takes part in the economy. They do it through disability and shorter lives. The end result of targeting low-income minority communities with processed-food messaging is reduced political participation. That in turn reinforces the cycle of economic poverty.
Related reading
Sources
- Petersen R, Pan L, Blanck HM. Racial and ethnic disparities in adult obesity in the United States: CDC’s tracking to inform state and local action. Preventing Chronic Disease. 2019. PMID 30974071
- Hall KD, Ayuketah A, Brychta R, et al. Ultra-processed diets cause excess calorie intake and weight gain: an inpatient randomized controlled trial of ad libitum food intake. Cell Metabolism. 2019. PMID 31105044
Medically reviewed by Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP
Interventional pain physician, addiction medicine specialist and obesity medicine diplomate.
Licensed in Missouri and Illinois.
Last reviewed June 17, 2026
