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I think a lot depends on lifestyle, family culture, activity level, and so on.
I've been having to eat more bread and pasta lately because I'm broke. But I'm also going on more long walks, so I need the extra carbs.
Also, sometimes successful business men/women are heavier because they tend to focus their energy on work as opposed to going to the gym. Or if someone travels for business, they are eating out at restaurants more often.
Every situation is different. I don't think it's fair to lump people into categories and call them lazy or uneducated or whatnot.
It's a complicated subject which really all comes down to diet and genetics. I'd say poverty is not supposed to cause obesity, but a lack of money in effect may result in poor nourishment and lack of time (working odd jobs) instead of an abundance of money to pay for a 24 hour fitness membership, etc.
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Originally Posted by RangerDuke08
It's a complicated subject which really all comes down to diet and genetics. I'd say poverty is not supposed to cause obesity, but a lack of money in effect may result in poor nourishment and lack of time (working odd jobs) instead of an abundance of money to pay for a 24 hour fitness membership, etc.
It is complicated. In Somalia the hungry don't have anything, much less, the starchy, fatty crap foods people resort to here when they can't afford proper nutrition. When you're not getting proper nutrition your body's metabolism shuts down and those carbohydrates make you crave more carbs while your body stores everything it gets as fat reserves to try to compensate for lack of nutrition. It's a vicious cycle. It's not as cut and dried as some would like you to believe.
Now if you're at the lowest level of poverty and can't even afford the starchy, fatty foods that just keep you alive, of course you're going to lose weight--at least temporarily, like until you start eating again and then you may gain even more back as your body will be afraid it's going to be starved again and will hang onto everything it can. I had to take nutrition in medical school. I didn't just read this stuff off the internet.
The second level (the poor after the very very poor) of poverty is tied with a high risk of overweight - not only in the US, but also in Europe or in the middle east, where I´ve lived about 1 year. I know there really poor people who don´t eat much, but are overweight. In america the nutrition is even more fatty, so many of the poor people are not only overweight, but severely obese.
So poverty does not cause obesity, I guess that would explain why there are not alot of fat people in Somalia.
Well that is different. The poor in Somalia do not have access and/or cannot afford the amount of calories that they should be consuming.
The poor in (some parts) of the States have access to fast food, convenience stores and budget brand packaged foods. They have access to cheap and abundant calories.
"This study investigates the relationship between economic conditions and health. Total mortality and eight of the ten sources of fatalities examined are shown to exhibit a procyclical fluctuation, with suicides representing an important exception. The variations are largest for those causes and age groups where behavioral responses are most plausible, and there is some evidence that the unfavorable health effects of temporary upturns are partially or fully offset if the economic growth is long-lasting. An accompanying analysis of microdata indicates that smoking and obesity increase when the economy strengthens, whereas physical activity is reduced and diet becomes less healthy."
--->insertbooyahhere<----
Well, the following studies refute that.
The main factor contributing to malnutrition in the United States is the consumption of unhealthy, less expensive foods that are low in nutrition and packed with calories and fat. This leads to obesity. Many factors affect obesity and ironically, poverty happens to be one of them. Although this does not appear to be logical at first, poverty and obesity are, in fact, linked. If more attention is focused on this link, not only can the health of the country be improved, but the environmental health of the world can also benefit.
Poverty and Obesity in the United States (http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:wVj_OHaPt4gJ:www.worldfoodprize.org/assets/YouthInstitute/05proceedings/RooseveltHighSchool.pdf+does+poverty+contribute+to +obesity&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us - broken link)
Contributing to the epidemic of obesity in America are broad societal issues
affecting all income levels. Research is beginning to suggest, however, that
poverty, hunger, and food insecurity themselves contribute to obesity in
complex ways. Recent work from Cornell University and the University of
California suggests that obesity among poor women often results not from
too much food, but from inadequate resources.
Far too many Americans face food insecurity. Poverty, obesity sometimes go together. (http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:y_MGnifJe7oJ:www.hungercoalition.or g/download/newsmedia/archived/PhiladelphiaInquirer_01-30-03.pdf+does+poverty+contribute+to+obesity&hl=en&ct =clnk&cd=6&gl=us - broken link)
Households without money to buy enough food often have to rely on cheaper, high calorie foods to cope with limited money for food and stave off hunger. Families try to maximize caloric intake for each dollar spent, which can lead to over consumption of calories and a less healthful diet.
There are 21 articles of study at the above link that can be downloaded PDF or are published on a website that support the fact that poverty and obesity go hand in hand.
I wonder how much low income has to do with people who eat poorly. If given the choice, would people who are already obese really eat a plate of steamed spinach or asparagus with a 4 oz. piece of poached salmon, if they can have a big bowl of mac n cheese instead? I hear people say that fruits and veggies are more expensive than the 'cheap stuff' like mac n cheese, biscuits, bread, etc. - how? All processed foods at my grocery store cost more than the fresh fruits and vegetables. As a matter of fact, the grocer can't charge too much for perishables because the shelf life is very short - he can keep cases of mac n cheese on the shelves for months at a time - not true with lettuce.
Example 1: a box of mac n cheese, which technically makes 3 servings but at our house it's more like two - costs at least $1. The fancy kind with the cheese sauce all ready to mix into the cooked pasta costs around $3.
The end product is full of carbs (incl. sugar), tons of sodium, fat, and essentially has no nutritional value. If one were to purchase whole grain pasta (about $1 for an entire pound), make cheese sauce from fresh ingredients (milk, flour, butter, real cheese) for the same investment as the boxed mac, you would have about 6-8 servings, and you would not be filling up on sodium and preservatives.
Example II: For the price of 1 box of mac n cheese, you can get about two lbs of fresh broccoli. Or 2 entire heads of fresh lettuce for a salad. Or a lb. of grapes. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.
I really think that ultimately, obese people will eat what is palatable to them. If they were really concerned with treating their bodies like a temple, then they wouldn't be obese to begin with. Poverty is just a cop-out. A meal from KFC costs more than the ingredients for a healthful meal prepared at home (like the steamed spinach w/poached salmon) but someone who is used to eating savory, rich, and unhealthful foods like KFC are going to turn their nose up at a meal as I have described.
I don't know where you are shopping but I can get a box of mac and cheese for under a dollar. I just bought 1.5 lbs of broccoli for $2.80 and a head of lettuce for $1.89. Grapes are $1.99 a lb. How does that compare?
What is going to last longer in the belly? A $3.00 bag of lettuce that everyone has to share or a $3.00 box of hamburger helper? Last time I checked Salmon was pretty expensive. You can feed an entire family at McDonald's for what two people would spend buying salmon at the grocery store and a bag of spinach, which is also expensive (shrivels down to practically nothing).
What it comes down to is what foods last longer in the stomach. Poor people can't afford to be hungry again in two hours because they ate foods that are digested rather quickly. That's just more money that they have to spend.
For what it cost for a serving of salmon, I can buy 3 items off the dollar menu at McDonald's and it is going to last longer in my stomach.
For the record, I eat fish (salmon, tilipia, tuna) five times a week, brown rice and organic produce and I haven't eaten fast food for many years but I know poor people who do and don't judge them for it because that is all they can afford to eat on a limited budget.
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