The link between poverty and obesity

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alonzomourning23

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Obesity in the United States is in part an economic issue, according to a review paper on the relationship between poverty and obesity published in the January 2004 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The article suggests that the very low cost of energy-dense foods may be linked to rising obesity rates.

The paper is by Dr. Adam Drewnowski, director of the Center for Public Health Nutrition in the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine, and Dr. S.E. Specter, research nutrition scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, Calif.

"It's a question of money," Drewnowski said. "The reason healthier diets are beyond the reach of many people is that such diets cost more. On a per calorie basis, diets composed of whole grains, fish, and fresh vegetables and fruit are far more expensive than refined grains, added sugars and added fats. It's not a question of being sensible or silly when it comes to food choices, it's about being limited to those foods that you can afford."

Energy-dense foods not only provide more calories per unit weight, but can provide more empty calories per unit cost. These foods include French fries, soft drinks, candy, cookies, deep-fried meats and other fatty, sugary and salty items. The review shows that attempting to reduce food spending tends to drive families toward more refined grains, added sugars and added fats. Previous studies have shown that energy-dense foods may fail to trigger physiological satiety mechanisms -- the internal signals that enough food has been consumed. These failed signals lead to overeating and overweight. Paradoxically, trying to save money on food may be a factor in the current obesity epidemic.

Many strategies for health promotion over the years have presumed that good nutrition was simply a matter of making the right choices. Drewnowski noted that access to healthier diets could be sharply limited in low-income neighborhoods simply because of the food environment and the nature of the available food supply.

"It is the opposite of choice," Drewnowski said. "People are not poor by choice and they become obese primarily because they are poor."

Drewnowski and Specter concluded that continuing to recommend costly foods to low-income families as a public health measure can only generate frustration among the poor and less well-educated. Americans are gaining weight while consuming more added sugars and added fats. They urge that issues of food costs demand attention.

"There is a need for governmental and policy interventions when it comes to the obesity epidemic," Drewnowski said. "The U.S. Department of Agriculture is addressing this issue with vigor. Government agencies and private foundations have identified childhood obesity as a priority area and are looking for ways to improve nutrition in the schools."

Obesity in the United States has become a social and economic issue that is resisting conventional medical approaches.

"Genetics and family history can predict whether you will become obese -- but then so can your ZIP code," Drewnowski said. "If poverty and obesity are truly linked, it will be a major challenge to stay poor and thin."
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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/01/040105071229.htm
 
Nonsense.

I remember the guy that wrote the book "Chunk to Hunk" (a collection of daily blog records of his weight loss) addressed the very issue of costliness of healthier foods in his own personal diet control. He found that it wasn't any more expensive to find healthier foods.

Beans, whole grain rices, in-season vegetables and fruits, and tuna are just some of the very healthy choices out there that simply don't cost all that much.

The idea that you can't eat healthy because it's too costly is just an excuse for not taking responsibility for your own health choices.

If anything, I see a connection between poverty and obesity (in 1st world countries) more from the fact that poor people tend to be lazier in general and that usually includes their diet decisions. It's lots easier to choose a happy meal or froot loops than it is to prepare healthier homemade foods. I grew up below poverty level and this is mostly what I saw.
 
[quote name='penmyst']Nonsense.

I remember the guy that wrote the book "Chunk to Hunk" (a collection of daily blog records of his weight loss) addressed the very issue of costliness of healthier foods in his own personal diet control. He found that it wasn't any more expensive to find healthier foods.

Beans, whole grain rices, in-season vegetables and fruits, and tuna are just some of the very healthy choices out there that simply don't cost all that much.

The idea that you can't eat healthy because it's too costly is just an excuse for not taking responsibility for your own health choices. [/quote]

Oh well, if a blogger says it, then hell it must be true... Also I dunno where the hell you shop but fresh fruits and veggies, in season or no, are not freakin' cheap in any grocery store I've been in the last 5-10 years.

[quote name='penmyst']
If anything, I see a connection between poverty and obesity (in 1st world countries) more from the fact that poor people tend to be lazier in general and that usually includes their diet decisions. It's lots easier to choose a happy meal or froot loops than it is to prepare healthier homemade foods. I grew up below poverty level and this is mostly what I saw.[/QUOTE]

Well by your stereotypical thinking then I guess you are generally pretty lazy right? If we are going on personal experiences, I've known more rich people in my life to be lazy than I have poor people.
 
Hey... I lived on ramen like every other college kid and I lost 20lbs. Of course.. that was only when I could afford to eat. :whistle2:?
 
Silly, most "fatty" foods are prepaired foods and typically thry cost more than their unprepaired equivalents. Store ready chicken, cakes, TV dinners all cost more per pound than their unprepaired equivalents.

So perhaps the link is more between another condition of the poor such as being overworked or undereducated rather than simply being impoverished which is the real link.
 
I'll tell you what the link is: They're not my problem(s) and I don't give a fuck. :lol:
[quote name='Kayden']Hey... I lived on ramen like every other college kid and I lost 20lbs. Of course.. that was only when I could afford to eat. :whistle2:?[/QUOTE]
I don't think I've had ramen in 5 years. At least. :lol:
 
its true that when you go to the grocery store healthy premade foods have a higher pricetag there are cheap healthy foods but its a small amount.

Honestly tho I feel that an average person could eat a big mac 3 times a day and still not be obease its the amount of the food thats more important than what kind of food.
 
It's even less the amount of food than the amount of exercise. If you sit on your ass and watch TV and play games all day, you're much more likely to put on weight than those who play sports, walk, run, do physical labor, etc. Obviously everything in moderation, and if you eat 10 cheeseburgers a day even if you exercise a lot it's going to be hard to work that off, but for most people exercise is a lot more important than diet.
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']Silly, most "fatty" foods are prepaired foods and typically thry cost more than their unprepaired equivalents. Store ready chicken, cakes, TV dinners all cost more per pound than their unprepaired equivalents.

So perhaps the link is more between another condition of the poor such as being overworked or undereducated rather than simply being impoverished which is the real link.[/QUOTE]

Bingo bebe. Go take a gander sometime at the processes meats in your market. The prepackaged deli meats, sausages, bacon, things like that. the store I frequent has what I'll arbitrarily define as three grades of this stuff. There is the "average" brand (your Oscar Meyer), the "upscale" (like Healthy Choice, where you're not only paying more for a product, but the package size is significantly smaller than the Oscar Meyer). On the opposite end lies the "what the fuck brand is that!?!" brand. The 99 cent meats. Y'know, the ones POOR PEOPLE buy? There's nothing to be ashamed of, it's just the lowest grade meat, or the really fatty but usable entrails, etc. Compare those three, and which package you would buy if you were poor. Do you want the smallest portion, but the healthiest item, in the Healthy Choice? Or, are you afraid of what parts of the pork might have become the 99 cent bologna? Will you splurge on Oscar Meyer when it's not a necessity? What if you have children?

Whomever thinks that fatty foods are expensive has clearly never been to a fine dining establishment, and been able to recognize the contrast to more conventional restaraunts. And really, think about it - just for a fucking second, before you make such an asinine post. Do you think that meat companies have such an easy time selling their fatty products that they can charge more for the tenderloin? That "Laura's Lean Beef" went out of business because they couldn't keep up, rather than becoming a midwestern phenomenon in terms of appealing to a niche market who can afford her companie's product? Last but not least, souse dude. fucking SOUSE. Look it up. Have some fucking knowledge today. It might do you a world of good and prevent your perpetual shooting your fucking mouth off.

Also, I don't know what store you go to that has cheap produce, but if it's not carrots, celery, or a green bell pepper, it ain't cheap. I can buy 3 fucking packages (which means three fucking pounds) of el cheapo 99 cent meat product for the price of *2* red bell peppers. How far will each go in feeding my family? Well, I think you know.

Here are two worthwhile resources to get you started:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/06...1019-8369760?_encoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/00...102-2381019-8369760?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

"Poor people are lazy." I like that. I'll keep that in mind. I really like the data you used to back that up. It will really make one change their perspective, y'know? :roll:
 
Even when you're starting from 'raw materials' (so to speak), its definitely more expensive to eat healthy. You can get fresh fruits and vegetables for pretty cheap - when they're in season. For most of the country, that means that 6 months out of the year that you're going to have to pay through the nose for fresh produce.

Even extremely basic things such as bread are limited when you're poor: you can get cheap store-brand 'filler' bread (good for filling you up, but not much else) for $0.79/loaf or even less, but if you want bread with actual nutritional value, you're looking at double that or more. That can be a big difference when you've got multiple kids chomping down peanutbutter sandwiches for lunch every day. And then you get into the peanutbutter itself - the cheap peanutbutter is filled with corn syrup and preservatives. By the time you even get into the reasonably-healty PB choices like Jif, you're talking a lot more money than the store-brand crap. And if you're sick of peanutbutter and want some actual meat in your sandwich, if you're poor, you're looking at chip-chopped ham (the stuff that's just fat that's been pressed into a loaf and sliced.)

We've actually reached the point where beef is as expensive, if not more so, than chicken. You can get highly-fatty ground beef for less even than chicken legs (which are themselves the fattiest part of the chicken), once you take into account the bones. God help you if you want a nice, lean chicken breast - you're looking at $3/pound and up. Fresh fish costs a LOT more than the less-healthy canned kind in most areas of the country.
 
I can go into a store and buy macaroni and cheese 5 for $1. I can buy store brand bread 2 for a buck. I don't buy much of the really cheap stuff because A. I think it tastes horrible and B. most of it has meat in it. But I could spend much less if I just bought the cheapest things in the store which don't line up with healthy items at all. I can buy cheap frozen meals for under a buck.

If I'm at work I can go to mcdonalds and spend a buck for a value item and drink one of the 33 cent store brands coke knockoffs. Or I could go to the cart selling fresh food and spend at least 5 bucks.

You may very well be able to spend less eating healthy, but that's only if you weren't very concerned about your spending before. If you're trying to keep cost down then eating healthy costs money.
 
[quote name='Drocket']And then you get into the peanutbutter itself - the cheap peanutbutter is filled with corn syrup and preservatives. By the time you even get into the reasonably-healty PB choices like Jif, you're talking a lot more money than the store-brand crap.[/QUOTE]If someone can't afford to feed their kids good peanut butter, then they shouldn't have had them. And they should probably kill themselves, because they aren't doing anyone else any good either.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']
"Poor people are lazy." I like that. I'll keep that in mind. I really like the data you used to back that up. It will really make one change their perspective, y'know? :roll:[/quote]

Someone's got some serious issues.:roll:

uncooked chicken and low fat ground beef from the butcher section don't cost that much fucking money mike, people aren't getting fat off the damn deli meat it's all the ready made/frozen high fat shit people buy that's the problem.

You can eat a hell of a lot cheaper and healthier off brown rice, canned vegtables and chicken then you can with Tyson frozen breaded chicken breasts.
 
Not too surprising...fast food is cheaper, cheaper food at the grocery store has more unhealthy fat and sugar. the shit at Whole Foods is all mono-unsaturated fats, fiber filled, organic everything and need I go on...organic food stores, as much as I love them and am grateful to be able to shop at them every once in a while, are some very ironic places. [/tangent]

anyway, what I really wanted to say was thanks for the link to that interesting website, got it bookmarked now.
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']Someone's got some serious issues.:roll:

uncooked chicken and low fat ground beef from the butcher section don't cost that much fucking money mike, people aren't getting fat off the damn deli meat it's all the ready made/frozen high fat shit people buy that's the problem.

You can eat a hell of a lot cheaper and healthier off brown rice, canned vegtables and chicken then you can with Tyson frozen breaded chicken breasts.[/quote]

$3+/lb isn't a lot? I get ground turkey breast. Thats about .80c/lb.
 
[quote name='Kayden']$3+/lb isn't a lot? I get ground turkey breast. Thats about .80c/lb.[/quote]

$3 a pound isn't a lot when you eat smaller serving sizes of it and focus the bulk of your meal on cheap grains. When you start looking at the cost of fast food, frozen food and prepaired foods for what you're actually getting you'll find with more work on your end you can have a healthier diet at a reduced cost.

And yes there are alternatives like turkey breast instead of beef, beans instead of meat but it's easier to do a straight across comparission between McDonalds hamburgers and Safeway Readybake meatloaf to butcher ground beef.
 
I can't stomach half that premade shit. About the only stuff I get is the add water pastas and the occasional Healthy Choice frozen entres when they're 10 for $10. For everything else I use 'real' fruit, veg and meat. Well... I don't know how 'real' ground anything is, but its gotta be close.

The only processed thing I like more than the fresh version is canned peaches. Fresh ones are hard and mushy and grainy and yucky. Canned ones are sweet and slurpalicious. 'Course, thats due to the 135% sugar solution they're soaked in, but I eat 1 can every 3 months or so, so BFD.




[quote name='zionoverfire']$3 a pound isn't a lot when you eat smaller serving sizes of it and focus the bulk of your meal on cheap grains. When you start looking at the cost of fast food, frozen food and prepaired foods for what you're actually getting you'll find with more work on your end you can have a healthier diet at a reduced cost.

And yes there are alternatives like turkey breast instead of beef, beans instead of meat but it's easier to do a straight across comparission between McDonalds hamburgers and Safeway Readybake meatloaf to butcher ground beef.[/quote]
 
[quote name='Kayden']I can't stomach half that premade shit. About the only stuff I get is the add water pastas and the occasional Healthy Choice frozen entres when they're 10 for $10. For everything else I use 'real' fruit, veg and meat. Well... I don't know how 'real' ground anything is, but its gotta be close.

The only processed thing I like more than the fresh version is canned peaches. Fresh ones are hard and mushy and grainy and yucky. Canned ones are sweet and slurpalicious. 'Course, thats due to the 135% sugar solution they're soaked in, but I eat 1 can every 3 months or so, so BFD.[/quote]

Make sense, although a lot of people prefer premade foods since it's easier to work with and the actual difference in cost and quality of product isn't always readily apparent.

Also while canned fruit may have quite a bit more sugar it's certainly better than calling french fries your vegtable everyday.;)
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']Make sense, although a lot of people prefer premade foods since it's easier to work with and the actual difference in cost and quality of product isn't always readily apparent.

Also while canned fruit may have quite a bit more sugar it's certainly better than calling french fries your vegtable everyday.;)[/quote]

I make frenchfries in the oven. :cool:
 
[quote name='Skelah']its true that when you go to the grocery store healthy premade foods have a higher pricetag there are cheap healthy foods but its a small amount.

Honestly tho I feel that an average person could eat a big mac 3 times a day and still not be obease its the amount of the food thats more important than what kind of food.[/QUOTE]

What the fuck kind of bullshit reasoning is that? Someone can eat a big mac 3 times a day and not get fat? Are you fucking retarded?

Oh, I have zion on my ignore list and judging by the stuff people are quoting from him, I made the right choice.
 
I was just making a point if u know any obease person that ate 3 meals a day let me know you can only get that way by snacking all the damn time.
U can get a gut from eating crap 3 times a day but obease? I dunno if its possible.
 
[quote name='Skelah']I was just making a point if u know any obease person that ate 3 meals a day let me know you can only get that way by snacking all the damn time.
U can get a gut from eating crap 3 times a day but obease? I dunno if its possible.[/quote]

My immediate family. Me too (well, not quite obese), until I started eating twice a day and about 1600-1800 calories on average.

My thyroid is very healthy (had a blood test recently), though there are other biological issues that could effect it.
 
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