EricK
Senior Member
The oddest aspect is that however much the food costs, and whatever type of food is chosen, buying and eating half as much would be cheaper and less likely to lead to obesity.
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Poor people are fat because they can't afford healthy food
- Thread starter NobleSavage
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There certainly is a cultural factor. In my neighborhood, the whole state, actually, obesity is higher than the national average. We also have a higher than average colon cancer rate. We celebrate with food. There is no such thing as a party which is not actually a feast. When we combine these cultural factors with a state which has a lot of poor people, it's no surprise there are a lot of far poor people.
If obesity is viewed as a health problem, the connection between poverty and obesity becomes a little stronger. While food maybe cheap in this country, healthcare is not. Even though most poor people have access to public assistance, those programs are short on preventive care. I am fortunate to be able to afford major medical insurance(for the time being, at least). I have never been obese and my lifestyle has always been fairly healthy. Despite that, I am a shipwreck of a human being. My doctor closely monitors my blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and all that other stuff, with the hope that the handful of pills I take every morning will keep my vascular system functioning for another 3 decades, or so. If not for this intense intervention in my body's natural inclinations, I would probably be blind and on my way to severe disability, at age 57. Instead, I go to the gym 3 days a week for a weight lifting regimen and can keep up with men half my age. I owe it all to better living through chemistry, and the chemicals are available to me because I can afford them.
If you buy your produce based on the seasons it's much cheaper--and generally tastes better, also.
Once again it's apple season. A local Hispanic market has red delicious apples for 25 cents/pound. (Around here the best produce deals are almost always at the Hispanic places. I don't know why.) The same places has grapes for 50 cents/pound. Occasionally we find the quality poor but most of the time it just takes a little more care to select good stuff.
The other good local Hispanic market had broccoli for 50 cents/pound. Both had bananas for 3 pounds/dollar.
Narapoia
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Gah - so much cheaper than Australia. Apples are not usually cheaper than $1.30 per pound. Grapes at the moment are about $2.70 per pound but will drop to around $1.30 at the height of the season.
In central Sydney I don't notice a lot of obese people (Though there is one homeless guy that is huuuge) but looking at the regional stats there is a massive issue with obesity in the state and country.
T.G.G. Moogly
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Under the Rose
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The quantity of food eaten is definitely a factor when it comes to body weight and obesity. Portion size today is vastly larger than even a decade ago as fast food markets compete for our attention and dollars with the lure of convenience and no clean up. At the supermarkets, processed food has a long shelf life, is usually ready to eat or quick to prepare and frequently is also cheap, especially when it goes on sale. Fresh food, with the exception of fruits and veggies that can be eaten raw, requires more investment in it's care and preparation. Many people do not live in accommodations that offer a full sized fridge, small freezer, a stove with an oven and a microwave. If you are limited to only having a hotplate and/or microwave, your menu choices are far more limited.
I work in retail grocery and after reading labels for nine years, I do not buy 85-90% of the 'food-like products' that grace our shelves.
I work in retail grocery and after reading labels for nine years, I do not buy 85-90% of the 'food-like products' that grace our shelves.
barbos
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Most fat people are fat because they eat too much, what they eat is not a big factor.
AthenaAwakened
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Nice Squirrel
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Technically it is calories consumed v. calories burned, but there are other factors such as level of activity and hormonal activity due to body and food chemistry. Did you know that diet sodas make you hungry?
EricK
Senior Member
But presumably it's still the case that if, starting a year ago, they had consumed 500 calories fewer each day (of exactly the same types of food as they actually ate), they would be about 50lb lighter, and potentially somewhat richer as well.
Crazy Eddie
Veteran Member
I call bullshit on this claim, because 1) "fast food restaurants and convenience stores" are part of the food desert concept, and their presence doesn't detract from it and 2) Several years ago when the CTA shut down the Western Express bus line, residents of the south side RIOTED. Why? Because for about 10,000 people, the X49 was their only means of transportation to and from the grocery stores on the opposite end of town: a 45 minute bus ride that, without the express, mushroomed to an hour and a half.
Quick foods are bad for you. Fast food -- store bought or otherwise -- is VERY bad for you. Healthy food takes time and energy to prepare, and having to travel more than an hour just to get to a grocery store is time a lot of poor people just don't have.
Jason Harvestdancer
Contributor
Cracked has part of the answer.
It's not just food deserts. It's also the purchasing patterns one must adopt when one is poor.
It's not just food deserts. It's also the purchasing patterns one must adopt when one is poor.
Nice Squirrel
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Yep. I lived that life.
ideologyhunter
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I hear this business too, about the healthy food being prohibitively expensive, and I find it head-scratching. I'm vegetarian. Every day I make a garden salad as half of either lunch or dinner. I call that pretty cheap -- a head of lettuce (about $1) can make 7 or 8 salads, a single tomato can stick around for 3 of 'em, a small red cabbage can go for a couple weeks; if I want to add garbanzos for protein, they're pretty cheap. If I want a vegetable fresh from the produce department, baking potatoes are fairly inexpensive. A simple pasta + sauce combo doesn't stretch the wallet too bad. (Dinner for two, using a store brand thin spaghetti and a national brand marinara sauce...about $2.) Guarantee you that if I went the other way and picked, say, frozen entrees to make those meals, it would be more expensive on average. There are a couple of cheap entrees, like the Michelina line, but they aren't going to be as healthful as the dishes I make.
I wonder if some of the obesity that was mentioned isn't caused by the starchy foods that food banks stock up on. I give to our local food bank, and recently asked the organizer what she runs out of most often. She told me that Spaghettios just fly off the shelves, because her clients want easy-to-fix meals. Which throws it back to personal choice, family preference, lack of interest in healthier, leaner foods... What am I missing? Is it really cheaper to feed your family Hot Pockets and fries than a baked potato, a side salad, and fresh pasta? I'd love to hear the other side of this, the specifics that make what I'm claiming not so valid.
I wonder if some of the obesity that was mentioned isn't caused by the starchy foods that food banks stock up on. I give to our local food bank, and recently asked the organizer what she runs out of most often. She told me that Spaghettios just fly off the shelves, because her clients want easy-to-fix meals. Which throws it back to personal choice, family preference, lack of interest in healthier, leaner foods... What am I missing? Is it really cheaper to feed your family Hot Pockets and fries than a baked potato, a side salad, and fresh pasta? I'd love to hear the other side of this, the specifics that make what I'm claiming not so valid.
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Is it any wonder that people who are not valued by society don't value themselves?
credoconsolans
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For the record. I see a lot of fat poor people.
They tend to eat what is cheap which is high fat, high salt, starchy foods.
Low fat, white chicken breast is $6.98 a lb.
Cheap, full of antibiotics, ground fatty mystery beef is $2.98 a lb.
Guess which one gets bought?
Not exactly healthy. High in starch and if you buy the cheap rice, it's nutritionally a wasteland of empty carbs.
Both spike blood sugar, especially in people of ethnic backgrounds, such as black, hispanic, native Americans, and islanders. The people most likely to be poor.
These are good, but also high in carbs. The cheap kind is not something someone who is inclined to blood sugar problems should be eating.
Excellent source of protein, good for you...how many can you eat a week before you're ready to hurl?
Would not rank this as healthy. Highly processed, especially the cheap kind; the one most likely for poor people to buy. High in empty carbs, another blood sugar spiker.
Not healthy at all.
Good for you, but fattening and high in carbs.
And what are you eating with your cheap chicken and salmon? Canned or frozen green vegetables. Not all of them good for you.
Poor hispanic people eat tortillas and beans. Most of them who are not starving, are heavy.
They tend to eat what is cheap which is high fat, high salt, starchy foods.
Low fat, white chicken breast is $6.98 a lb.
Cheap, full of antibiotics, ground fatty mystery beef is $2.98 a lb.
Guess which one gets bought?
Not exactly healthy. High in starch and if you buy the cheap rice, it's nutritionally a wasteland of empty carbs.
Both spike blood sugar, especially in people of ethnic backgrounds, such as black, hispanic, native Americans, and islanders. The people most likely to be poor.
These are good, but also high in carbs. The cheap kind is not something someone who is inclined to blood sugar problems should be eating.
Excellent source of protein, good for you...how many can you eat a week before you're ready to hurl?
Would not rank this as healthy. Highly processed, especially the cheap kind; the one most likely for poor people to buy. High in empty carbs, another blood sugar spiker.
Not healthy at all.
Good for you, but fattening and high in carbs.
And what are you eating with your cheap chicken and salmon? Canned or frozen green vegetables. Not all of them good for you.
Poor hispanic people eat tortillas and beans. Most of them who are not starving, are heavy.
Poor folks have poor ways, and many of them.
barbos
Contributor
No it does not make me hungry, I don't even drink it.
TV and credit cards
Contributor
Some of y'all really need to read this. It is very true and to the point. I swear, it's like Mitt Romney is dictating some of these posts, completely disconnected from the necessity of life at this level.
It isn't just that healthy food is more expensive, but also that the poorer you are, the harder a life you tend to have, and the less likely you are to have the time to spend a night preparing a meal. You can't afford for just one of a couple to work, and you probably work long hours, and more physically demanding and tiring work. Ever try to find healthy fast food? It isn't easy, especially if you work long hours and most places are closed when you want to eat. Tends to be burger and pizza places open late around here. Earlier you'll find places like Subway, which is probably the healthiest choice, but even eating a lot of that, I have found isn't great for you.
For the very poor, and unemployed, with free time and enough money to buy simple tings like beans and rice, maybe you have a point. For the working poor, not so much.
For the very poor, and unemployed, with free time and enough money to buy simple tings like beans and rice, maybe you have a point. For the working poor, not so much.