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Funny, I think fast food burgers and fries are getting smaller while the price is getting higher.
Even with the media and celebrities pushing fitness and healthy eating, notice that the majority of people aren't. Goes to show how much power they really have, which is NONE.
It is interesting to look at the French and Italians, who on the whole are thin, and compare them with Americans and Australians, who have this massive obesity problem. Italian diet has a lot of carbs, French diet has a lot of saturated fats. One difference I have observed is that the French and Italians do not eat as much between meals, their portions are smaller especially compared to American portions and in France in particular there is a real stigma attached to being overweight.
I recently explained the origin of the bird name grosbeak to my husband. How strange that the French word for big or fat morphed into gross, as in “Ew, that’s GROSS!”
I recently explained the origin of the bird name grosbeak to my husband. How strange that the French word for big or fat morphed into gross, as in “Ew, that’s GROSS!”
In English, we like to pronounce the letter "S" ... most of the time
Funny, I think fast food burgers and fries are getting smaller while the price is getting higher.
Even with the media and celebrities pushing fitness and healthy eating, notice that the majority of people aren't. Goes to show how much power they really have, which is NONE.
Celebrities can sell clothes and shoes, but food? Let's not go crazy, here. We still want our loaded baked potato when we go to Texas Roadhouse.
To a degree, there is a factor of MOST foods on grocery store shelves containing some form of additional sweetener, or an extender, bleach/dye or processing that has impacted its nutritional value. This is often seen in the popular "brand name" products most heavily advertised. These products as well as their cheaper, store-brand alternatives contain much of the same ingredients, and are equally nutritionally devoid.
The homemade goods that these sweets, snacks, and dishes attempt to emulate are a far cry from what a product looks like that can be stored for months at room temperature and not experience any deterioration in "quality". But we're not in a doomsday scenario where these are the only remaining foods.
We're in a doomsday scenario where the healthy, whole foods are priced astronomically higher than processed foods. Processed food "should" theoretically cost more, since it had to be formed and manipulated into what it is. But that would only be true if there real ingredients going into them that we'd eat in their raw form. But no such things are going into these products. They're cheaper because they are flavor-focused replicas of healthy things, specifically made to "shut kids up" and put them in a sugar coma.
6 oz of organic blackberries should not cost $5.39. An organic zucchini should not cost $2.99 apiece, or $5.99 because it's been machine sliced and sealed in a plastic box for a "ready-to-cook" side dish. Unbelievable.
Food prices are just STUPID high. "Demand" only means there are people out there stupid enough to pay that price - because enough people live on 1/10th acre or less and will get fined by an HOA if they till up their yard to grow their own food.
They are smart enough to choose paying more to prepare better meals. If more people bought those expensive products, more growers would increase the supply (generally), and prices would actually go down due to competition, unless it was an unusual product. The relatively low prices of heavily-processed foods could be possible by using inferior basic ingredients and doctoring them up, so that a large market is reached, or so that shelf life is prolonged.
The price of "healthy good" food has gone up. While the price of "convenience food" has also gone up, just not as much.
Even though amount of food has gone down. You still get more for your money when you buy "convenience food" vs "healthy food". So consumers with a lower income are going to get more for their money. Unfortunately that means "convenience food". Many consumers would love to buy fresh from farmers markets. But the cost makes it an unaffordable option. So they need to shop at regular grocery stores. Often those selections are poor, so they end up buying "convenience food".
Another way to look at it is education. Specifically health and home economics. When I was in high school everyone was required to take a 1 1/2yrs of both health and home economics. In health class we learned the standard drugs are bad, sex ed, etc. While in home economics we learned basic sewing, following a recipes, etc. Both boys and girls were required to take both of these classes. With all the focus on STEM, these classes are getting sidelined in an unhealthy way. I'm sure most schools still have health classes. But I believe they can be improved by retooling them.
In simplest terms it would take three people to retrain teachers to teach this new class.
1. doctor(s) - health
2. mom(s) - budget / health
3. celebrity chef(s) - healthy foods families will eat
This new class will be called "Living Healthy Class". The main goal of this class is to teach the students
how to live a healthy life on their family budget.
For example classes can learn about:
Healthy alternatives to fast food they can make at home.
Healthy home made potato chips vs store bought bagged chips
Healthy drinks vs sodas, lattes, etc.
They could have a competition for the most popular healthy recipe contest. Winner/winning school
could have celebrity chef(s) come to schools to deliver prize(s), cook, etc.
With the popularity of all these cooking shows, you'd think this would have been the norm by now.
Get rid of all the reality tv crap (trashians, bachelor/ette, wives, etc), help the kids get healthy.
Personally I think people should grow their own food, and buy from farmers markets, but that's not realistic for the majority of people.
Has our food gotten worse, or are people moving around less?
Hey, I'm obese and grow some of my own food or buy it a lot of it from the food-coop. Meats are local as are many seasonal vegetables.
My Mom, uncle and grandfather were all obese. Even in the 1950s - at least mom and grandfather. My uncle and his slender wife had 9 children and they are the perfect little Mendel peapatch: some very heavy, a couple pretty slender, and the rest moderate weight. So genetics has something to do with it.
The food has changed. I have found myself hungry after cooking conventional beef and wondered if it was growth hormones passed along. So I don't buy beef and pork at the grocery, just the food co-op where they are pasture raised. I've read articles that our soil is being depleted so the food just doesn't have the nutrition it had years ago.
I'm not a purist and do eat occasional fast food and enjoy restaurants. So not a good lab rat in that regard.
It's true we don't walk as much as we used to but I doubt automatic doors, electric toothbrushes and combined shampoos has a measurable effect.
Celebrities can sell clothes and shoes, but food? Let's not go crazy, here. We still want our loaded baked potato when we go to Texas Roadhouse.
I have never ordered a loaded baked potato, nor have I ever made one. I never thought the calories were worth it. I think if more people thought that way, that the enormous calorie count of a certain food is not worth eating, I think it might cut down on obesity. I think if people actually paid attention to how many calories are in certain foods they might stop and make a better choice.
They could have a competition for the most popular healthy recipe contest. Winner/winning school
could have celebrity chef(s) come to schools to deliver prize(s), cook, etc.
With the popularity of all these cooking shows, you'd think this would have been the norm by now.
Why do you think it isn't? My granddaughter just won the healthy cooking contest at her elementary school and got to compete against the winners at all the other district schools. Very proud of her.
At some point, whether you eat junk food or cook nutritious meals, you realize you are gaining weight by just how your clothes fit even if you don't weigh yourself. At that point, if one cuts back on food, whatever kind, the weight gain usually stops and you can lose the weight you gained. It comes down to self control. It never killed anyone that I'm aware of to eat less when you're gaining weight. It's difficult, but that's the choice you have.
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We still want our loaded baked potato when we go to Texas Roadhouse.
