Public Health and Peru
As the 2016 recipient of UC Berkeley's Center for Global Public Health Reporting Fellowship, as well as a recipient of a Tinker Grant from UC Berkeley's Center for Latin American Studies, my summer research project took me south of the hemisphere to Peru.
With just a backpack and my cameras in tow, for 15 weeks I explored the country and documented the food environment. My photojournalism project in the coastal, urban city of Trujillo captured how dietary changes have created a public health crisis by contributing to the rise of non-communicable diseases such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
Project Proposal
Peru suffers from a double burden of malnutrition with high rates of undernutrition and stunting, as well as high rate of overweight and obesity.
Arriving in Peru
How have dietary changes in Trujillo, Peru have contributed to the rise of noncommunicable diseases in Trujillo?
Weight Consciousness
One morning when walking through Trujillo, I saw a woman and her two children sitting on the sidewalk next to a scale that read, “controle su peso” or “check your weight” for the price of 0.50 soles ($0.15).
Cooking with Esperanza
Meet Esperanza. She is a 70-something year old abuelita that opens up the kitchen in her home every Monday through Saturday from 12-1pm.
The Starches that Fuel the Peruvian Diet
Though famous for the hundreds of potato varietals, many other starchy items such as corn, wheat, rice, and pasta, have become a fixated part of the Peruvian diet.
Transportation and Chronic Diseases
A look at how the built environment can improve public health in Trujillo, Peru.