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There has long been a correlation between poverty and obesity. The people who are shopping at Whole Foods aren't going to be the poor ones. At Albertson's, Kroger, Safeway, etc., you'll see more poor people, mostly buying cheap and sale foods.
This is pretty much it. In addition to the cheaper food thing, go to a poor neighborhood and see how many cyclists, runners, walkers, etc. that you see and then compare it to a higher class one. I don't think if you took those higher income people and made them shop at Albertson's that suddenly they would become overweight. I do budget shopping at Walmart and still eat healthy. I don't need to buy organic llama meat for $20 a pound.
In addition to the cheaper food thing, go to a poor neighborhood and see how many cyclists, runners, walkers, etc. that you see and then compare it to a higher class one.
I dont think that is a fair comparison because in the poorer neighborhoods Im sure people want to run, bike, jog etc. but usually they would do so at their own risk. They may get shot, stabbed, mugged, mauled by pitbulls, etc.
I dont think that is a fair comparison because in the poorer neighborhoods Im sure people want to run, bike, jog etc. but usually they would do so at their own risk. They may get shot, stabbed, mugged, mauled by pitbulls, etc.
If they are so inclined, they can always go somewhere safer, as streets, malls, and what not are free to walk or jog on. People just need to take the inititave, irregardless to where they live, or their socioeconomic situation. This includes the shopping situations as well. Its easy to make excuses not to do something, and blame everything else, instead of ourselves.
I think TXrunner is right on the money with his statements. It just takes initiative, and doing the right thing.
So why is the south heavier than the north? Is the south poorer than the north?
I moved from Colorado to texas and back to Colorado. There is a big difference (no pun intended) between the peopl in both states. In Texas most people were plump to obese. In Colorado they were few and far between. I was in Dallas, not some little small town tucked in texas and people were FAT.
Here in the Corpus Christi, we are ranked the #1 most obese city on the country. I think it was posted earlier here in this thread... its a generational thing, and alot of the poorer folks do buy more of the junk food, as its just easier to deal with (for them, anyhow). So, it is a mindset that is hard to change. And yes, the south is typically poorer than the northern states (more industry up north). More poverty and welfare cases here, as a general rule of thumb.
Education plays a bigger role than economics. People who go out of their way to go to Whole Foods are usually doing so because they care about what they eat (or are being trendy). They could usually go somewhere else and get healthy food cheaper.
And the Whole Foods people probably make more of an effort to cook from scratch, as well. There are people who stock up on 10 for $10 frozen dinners because they can't be bothered to learn how to prepare fresh food. It's not necessarily because they're poor or overworked.
I really think a lack of nutritional education one reason for the poor eating habits of the obese, but I think the two biggest factors are
A. Huge agricultural subsidies which have lead to a huge gap between the cost of a good-nutrition calorie vs a bad-nutrition calorie.
B. The massive decline in the number two-parent single-income families.
It's very easy for me to look down at people I know who are fat and haggard-looking at my age, but if I am going to be honest with myself I bet I'd have different priorities if I had kids to feed, a mortgage to keep a roof over the heads of 5 people, had to work overtime to make enough $$ AND still had to get my kids off to their extra curricular activities, homework, etc... yes *I* have an hour a day to spend making myself a nice dinner but no everyone does.
I really think a lack of nutritional education one reason for the poor eating habits of the obese, but I think the two biggest factors are
A. Huge agricultural subsidies which have lead to a huge gap between the cost of a good-nutrition calorie vs a bad-nutrition calorie.
B. The massive decline in the number two-parent single-income families.
It's very easy for me to look down at people I know who are fat and haggard-looking at my age, but if I am going to be honest with myself I bet I'd have different priorities if I had kids to feed, a mortgage to keep a roof over the heads of 5 people, had to work overtime to make enough $$ AND still had to get my kids off to their extra curricular activities, homework, etc... yes *I* have an hour a day to spend making myself a nice dinner but no everyone does.
I agree, and I'll add a couple more factors that I believe are important:
C. The perceived normality of one's environment. If your parents are overweight, and your neighbors are overweight, and your friends are overweight, you see that as normal. You probably all eat similarly, and you are not criticized for looking like everyone else. Likewise, if you live among people who are more active or athletic, you will feel the pressure to be like them.
D. What foods you were brought up eating. (I guess this is related to C.) I have family who turns up their nose at any vegetable besides iceberg lettuce or corn. Fresh fish? Gross! They'll eat frozen fish sticks with tartar sauce, though--never salmon or ahi. Some people are raised with particular tastes, not encouraged to try new things like calamari or hummus. They're just repulsed by it. Some other members of my family talk in half-joking-half-derision about our menu of "rabbit food," "hippie food," "California food," and "weed salad." My mom went to visit them lately, and they eat a few times a week at Wendy's and McDonald's. They just won't try the food I prepare. They're convinced it's gross and they'll hate it. Dinner tonight for us is brown rice, stir-fried vegetables and tofu. I think they'd rather starve.
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