“Why the Wealthy Aren’t Healthy” had a color scheme that demanded attention. I was intrigued by the title and by the variety of data that was presented, so I began to ask the presenters some questions. That map that is shown there details all of the locations one can buy food in on the Upper East Side as categorized and observed first-hand by the presenters. They came to the conclusion that wealthier people are more likely to be obese because there are more funds for food so wealthier people choose to eat out more often. The most shocking piece of information I saw to corroborate their conclusions was that of all of the places to purchase food in this zipcode, only 1% were fruit and vegetable and 37% were restaurants.
I was very impressed by the energy this team had while presenting their poster, as well as by the overall oral presentation. This poster was in good company, as many of the posters from this morning deserve attention, but there was something about this group’s work that stayed with me throughout the day.
It makes me glad to hear that people are very enthusiastic about their work! More energy seems to give more credibility, which is fitting. I remember discussing this poster in class the other day and hearing all of the different criticisms that students had though and I think that maybe they aren’t correct in saying the wealthy are not healthy.
I agree with some students from class that said wealthier people actually have it easier to be healthy than those of a lower socioeconomic status. People with more money have the freedom to spend more on food that is more expensive and usually more healthy for that matter (e.g. organics). Instead of eating off the dollar menu as someone without a lot of money might do, a wealthy person can order a salad or go to a more upscale location which is more costly, but also more healthy.
I also think that the frequency of the types of food merchants in an area can’t really depict what the health of a neighborhood could be in NYC. If someone wants to go to a healthy place to buy food, there are many different means of transportation to get there in the city. It also seems that a lot about health is personal choice and although wealth may play a role in your food purchases, it isn’t so clear cut.
Even though there seems to be some debate over the poster, I think it is really nice and that the team did a good job. It’s good to hear that they were passionate about their work; that is important. They also acknowledge in their conclusion that it is uncertain whether or not this actually affects health.
(Reading your post made me think of this:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/~users/c/u/cus236/burger.png
)
As we discussed in class, there’s a lot to consider regarding the methodology of this poster. However, one of the exciting things about poster sessions is that they often represent works in progress and thus an opportunity to help the presenter with future communications about their work. There’s even opportunities to influence how the work progresses if you can bring an insight that the presenter did not consider. Based on the photo you posted, it is eye catching. The title should be bigger though.