Hello and welcome to the Nutrition Divo podcast, I'm your host Monica Reinegel.

The term Obesogenic Environment gets tossed around a lot these days, as one of the issues

that's contributing to growing rates of overweight and obesity.

And it means simply that the environment in which we live promotes obesity, and it

wasn't always this way.

In fact, that term doesn't seem to have come into usage until around 1988.

But today, the places in which we live, work, play, shop, and travel tend to minimize,

or even actively discourage, physical activity.

It's hard to walk to the grocery store or to the drug store when there are no crosswalks

or pedestrian signals to help you cross busy streets.

It's hard to bike to work when there are no bike lanes, or nowhere to secure your bike

once you get there.

And I know more than once I've given up and just taken the elevator because I could not

locate the stairwell.

And the food side of this equation is even more extreme.

The other day, I went to the big box hardware store to buy a ceiling fan.

And trucks selling hot dogs, fries, tacos, and other snacks lined the entire parking lot.

You know, in case you get too hungry, walking from your car to the entrance of the store.

And then once I was inside, I walked by what seemed like a quarter mile of candy and

chips and soda to get to the cashier at the hardware store.

Then on the way home, I stopped to get gas, and while I was waiting for my tank to fill,

a television built into the gas pump blared on and started showing me ads for a local burger

...