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By the way, here's a little tip: you don't have to run around eating "organic and grass fed food" or calculating your macronutrient ratio to eat healthy. You also don't need to panic about your insulin spike after drinking some Gatorade. That's why you get people like Tabula Rasa who act like pasta is unhealthy even though entire cultures have diets that are constructed around it and everyone's doing fine. It'll be like "yeah, but I read that it'll imbalance your glycemic index!!" Yeah ...no.
It is more poor people have less access to grocery stores that sell enough healthy food. Poor neighborhoods are generally fast food and corner stores, with a run of the mill market.
It's a combination of factors. First of all, fast food is an easy fix and it hits all the pleasure receptors. If you're broke, working crazy hours, worried about whether you can make the rent, have kids you're trying to wrangle... what are you going to do? Take the time to plan out a cheap, healthy and nutritious meal that will probably be pretty boring or are you going to spend a little bit more to have an instantly prepared meal that gives your senses a thrill. Eating salty/fatty/sweet foods actually does lower your cortisol levels - you are less stressed when you are eating them.
Add in the fact that poor people are often poor because they are not the best planners - many of them have not been raised in an environment where "planning" was ever even feasible. When tomorrow might hold an earth-shattering disaster, why would you spend your time planning meals?
I learned to cook in a house with bountiful food and a mother who was a decent cook - and moreover a healthy cook. I can make a decent meal with pretty much anything because I've learned over the years how to make really tasty and easy healthy meals. But I can afford the best ingredients, I know a ton of shortcuts and if an experiment fails, it doesn't really cause me a financial disaster. My friends who grew up in very poor homes often did not have a parent who could cook or had time to cook. They didn't have a lot of food around. And what they did have was as often as not pretty unpleasant (one of my exes has a story about beef stroganoff made with "discount meat" that will curl your hair).
Then you add in the fact that a lot of traditionally poor people food is actually not THAT healthy. Look at soul food and Southern cuisine, for god's sake.
So beyond food deserts and expensive ingredients, there are a TON of other factors. The reasons poor people are often obese are directly linked to life skills, time, education and a pretty understandable desire for a cheap stress-reducer.
The reasons poor people are often obese are directly linked to life skills, time, education and a pretty understandable desire for a cheap stress-reducer.
Exactly. The reason poor people are obese is the reason people who aren't poor are obese. Some people want to make it out like we're oppressing poor people. Of course, you'd have to ignore that a lot of rich people are fat, too. "Oh, yeah, but that's because they're swine." OK, then why are a lot of middle-class people fat? "Hang on, I gotta make something up."
Exactly. The reason poor people are obese is the reason people who aren't poor are obese. Some people want to make it out like we're oppressing poor people. Of course, you'd have to ignore that a lot of rich people are fat, too. "Oh, yeah, but that's because they're swine." OK, then why are a lot of middle-class people fat? "Hang on, I gotta make something up."
Nobody ever said it was about "oppression." But nor are there easy solutions like "There's plenty of cheap food available! Poor people just need to plan better."
Access is a huge issue. But it goes beyond access. Life experience is a huge issue. We no longer have home ec classes is another problem.
Yeah, it's always like "when poor people are fat, it's because society doesn't give them enough money to buy things like vegan substitutes or artisan breads or heirloom vegetables." Their obesity is a marker for our lack of caring. I'm not joking, people make that argument.
I am now less stressed ,,,, And guess what? In the last 9 months I have lost 30 pounds. Without actually trying.
Probably from lower cortisol levels (the "stress hormone"). We need to remember that it has been found that stress can cause an increase in cortisol, which causes an increase in abdominal fat. I've never seen so many pot bellies and love handles on people as I have in recent years. Even on teenagers.
Nobody ever said it was about "oppression." But nor are there easy solutions like "There's plenty of cheap food available! Poor people just need to plan better."
Access is a huge issue. But it goes beyond access. Life experience is a huge issue. We no longer have home ec classes is another problem.
Interesting point.
I guess we all make the mistake of assuming that people know how to make choices or to cook (or even to budget). And I think it's true that people live what they learn--if they're not seeing people at home make good choices or move around the kitchen, they won't, either.
Protein is where it gets expensive. $3/lb of chicken for normal, or like $7/lb for organic. When you're getting 20lbs of meat a week, that adds up fast.
Currently here, generic, store brand chicken at Wal-Mart is $1.99/lb-each package is between 4-5 lbs. It is $2.78/lb at Winco (usually the low cost store but produce tends to go bad quickly) and packages are roughly 3 lbs. Costco has the best price for Foster Farms non-organic chicken at $3.98/lb. (My Costco only sells Foster Farms chicken).
I'm sure this has been discussed in the thread, but many poor people, especially in NYC by me and in other low-income towns, have food deserts. For many, going down the road to a bodega or convenience store, is much easier, then hopping on a bus for 20 minutes just to get fresh vegetables. I was surprised to learn the number of food deserts: USDA ERS - Go to the Atlas
I think it was mentioned but not really talked about. I also wouldn't be surprised if some believe food deserts are a myth. Or that those people should just and move to somewhere with better access to food.
I learned about them from the documentary "A Place at the Table."
Ironically, September is hunger awareness month so this is a timely discussion.
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Interesting point.