Do you think this economy has an adverse effect on people's diet (vegetables, overweight)

[NJ Brazen_3133]

Do you think this economy has an adverse effect on people's diet? And I do not mean via malnutrition. As far as I know the economy has yet to cause starvation in classes and groups that normally would not be starving in a better economy.

Basically, has this economy changed people's attitudes towards healthy eating? In a normal economy or strong economy with chances for advancement and opportunities abound, people would want to look there best to impress. So they try to eat healthy. In this economy, do you feel many people are dropping this attitudes towards eating because they feel they may as well enjoy themselves while they can? Have you or are you seeing many people who have just let themselves go more often then usual?

[coffeendonuts]

Americans cannot afford to purchase organic, hormone/pesticide/chemical free meats, chicken, fruits and vegetables, i.e, healthy foods?

Along with that the portion sizes are ridiculous.

I live in a wealthy area, and I grew up in a similar area, predominantly wealthy, WASP-y area. There is a huge emphasis placed on fitness and healthy eating. There is no price or limit on healthy foods, supplements and gym/studio memberships. There are people with memberships to Equinox+independent pilates, barre or yoga studios.
Almost everyone I know shops at Whole Foods or similar stores and wouldn't dare step foot in a Wal-Mart to purchase groceries.


But I mean, 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese. And they don't have as much muscle as they like to think (it's ironic how so many people are against BMI)

I knew a girl who worked at Wal-Mart and she said it pissed her off to no end to see these overweight women with their overweight children purchasing bags of chips and cereals with their food stamps.

[Cattknap]

If you cut out or cut back on the fast food, going out regularly to restaurants, cut back/out on packaged, processed foods as much as possible, cut back or cut out sugary foods (desserts and sodas), eliminate or cut back on junk food (chips, pretzels, packaged snacks), and cut back on the meat (which is getting more expensive by the day - I listen to the farm reports)....and substitute fresh grown fruits and vegetables (or even frozen vegetables which I've read retain more vitamins than most fresh but then they are also "processed"), beans and legumes (homemade if possible) instead of animal products with every meal, grow as much produce as you can and cook from scratch as much as possible, it is possible to weather bad economic times and still eat healthily.

You have to be willing to analyze your diet and budget - really look at where you are spending the most money and make adjustments and sometimes sacrifices.

[Luckyd609]

Crappy food is cheap. Fast food joints can offer a filling meal for very little money. Prepackaged food in supermarkets are generally cheaper than fresh foods. If people made an honest effort to cook they could stretch their money and eat healthy, whole foods. But sadly in this day and age people will claim they only have time for the drive through or the microwave.

[Kings Gambit]

Originally Posted by NJ Brazen_3133

Do you think this economy has an adverse effect on people's diet?

Considering the number of posts I see here in CD about people blaming their obesity on "losing their job" (among a few other things) it could have an impact in terms of people GAINING weight.

Thing is, eating HEALTHY does not mean breaking the bank. The problem is almost always with people being lazy and just going through the drive through, buying up a bunch of ramen noodles, or worst yet - eating sh*tty foods that make them fat then blaming it on depression or "Oh, I eat this because it made me feel good" which is always a stupid thing to do.

Its incredibly inexpensive to buy bags of spinach, broccoli, or kale at Ralphs/Trader Joes, along with even the frozen brown or jasmine rice and bags of frozen chicken.

I reject people who say they cant afford to eat healthy because "its too expensive". It isn't, you are just being incredibly lazy. Healthy does not always mean buy grass fed beef or organic veggies at Whole Foods. It can be as simple as just eating lots of veggies and broiled/grilled chicken breast along with side options like plain oatmeal, cottage cheese, water, yogurt, bananas, etc.

My nutrition intake is the MOST healthy when I put myself on a very strict financial budget. It forces me to make SMARTER decisions on food.

[Garfunkle524]

This thread (so far) is the perfect illustration as to why so many health/fitness nuts are so incredibly annoying. The OP asked a simple question: do you think the economy has an effect on peoples’ diets?

All responses but one are the slightly different version of “Americans are fat and lazy and if they were just more like me me me me me and my outstanding health habits this country wouldn’t all be fat slobs.” The OP did NOT ask “what are Americans’ excuses for being ignorant fat slobs?” The OP also did not ask “what do you do to exemplify your amazing healthiness and what are peoples’ inadequate reasons for not being more like you?”

I think yes, the economy does have an effect on peoples’ diets. While I’m sure the trend of growing waistlines would be ever present in a strong economy, I think a weak economy tends to make the issue more severe.People are stressed and working long hours. These things tend to lead to overindulgence in vices, and the most common vice seems to be unhealthy food. Don’t have a job? That 10oz bag of potato chips for 2 dollars looks a lot more attractive than 2 tomatoes. Have a job? It’s probably pretty stressful so those chips look mighty tasty.

It’s also worth noting that the healthy eating revolution is picking up steam in many parts of the country. Hard to say whether the “recovery” has much to do with it, but a little extra disposable income can’t hurt.

[ocnjgirl]

I think the economy affects healthy eating habits negatively, mainly because healthy food costs more than junk. I shop for only myself, and my bill is well over $100 a week because I buy a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. If you have to spend that same amount on a family, there's no way they could buy the things I do, they'd be reduced to a lot of starchy foods, less lean protein and less fresh produce. When my niece's husband was out of work for over a year recently, they ate a LOT of things for dinner like mac and cheese, because they could barely pay bills and didn't have enough left for healthy food.

To the person who brought up Trader Joe's, those type stores tend to be in wealthier areas and not found at all in lower income areas. Many times, those in lower income areas, especially those without cars, are reduced to stores like Aldi or Big Lots and other discount stores that are very light on healthy foods. In fact in some areas, like Atlantic City, there is NO supermarket, so people without cars are reduced to local convenience stores.

[KaraG]

The Walmarts in my area have the best selection of produce in town, and at great prices. They even carry locally grown produce. I never used to be a Walmart fan, but now it's our first choice when grocery shopping. We load up on mostly fresh veggies, fresh fruit, bags of frozen grilled chicken and ground/whole turkey breasts. I rarely go to the other groceries anymore, the prices are so much higher and the produce isn't as fresh.

Most fast food places now have some grilled chicken and salad offerings, but those can be more expensive - but good time savers when you have to work extra hours and don't have time to be in the kitchen.

So in this economy, it's a matter of time and $$$. Some people survive by working more hours, which cuts down on your time to shop and prepare healthier foods.

[Cattknap]

Again, if you eat a lot of meat/animal products, you are paying more than if you would substitute at least some of those meals with fresh vegetables/fruits, beans, legumes, tofu (which can be delicious), Greek yogurt, avocado, hummus, etc. People can work can still have time to make a lot of their own food - it is just a matter of priorities and how important your health and finances are to you. When we started eating organic produce and cut out the meat and animal products, we found that we actually spent less than when we bought cheese, beef, chicken, pork, eggs, etc.

The cost of groceries has increased at a greater, faster rate than almost anything we buy.

[Johnbiggs]

I think the biggest impact might be the added stress on people's lives, and how if people are tired/stressed/depressed, the might comfort eat or turn to junk food.