Obesity in NYC: population density and cost of living (New York: low income, health insurance)
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A gym membership costs money. If you are poor, living in public housing, and on government assistance, I'm sure you're not thinking about budgeting for NYSC. Of course, jogging outside won't cost a thing but then again if you are poor, living in public housing, and on government assistance, you're probably not thinking about going for a morning jog either.
Living in Bed Stuy I can always distinguish the "new black folk" from the "hood black folk". Dress and speech are of course on the top of that list but so is BMI. The vast majority of the gentrifying blacks are not overweight.
I don't eat at Mc Donalds anymore. I don't know what's wrong with their products but they make me feel "bloated" and then I'm hungry again after an hour or so.
Probably, poor nutrition value.
YES! I noticed that back in college. If I ate a meal at McDonald's I would always feel really full at first then be hungry an hour later. Contrast that with eating a something like a kale salad packed with protein and other healthy add-ins (carrots, nuts, etc) and a light dressing- you're full until dinner. But those fancy chopped salads don't come cheap...
A lot of traditional cooking in Latin America also uses a lot of lard - a very inexpensive form of calories.
Traditional African American cooking is also extremely fattening (I've been to Soul Food restaurants where "mac and cheese" is a vegetable option).
I think there are other reasons too for poor people to be overweight. People struggling to get by tend to plan less for the future and focus more on getting through the current crisis--and eating healthy is essentially planning for your future.
The other interesting thing is that apparently if your ancestors come from a situation where food is plentiful, you can probably eat more calories without getting overweight than someone whose ancestors come from an environment of food scarcity. It seems that the caloric needs of the body adjusts somewhat to what is available.
If you asked me, I would agree that the market and cinema is "close," but in actual fact, my main market is almost a mile away, and the main cinemas I go to are no nearer than a half-mile. Contrast that with cities where the walk to the market is no farther than the parking lot. I know someone who moved here from L.A. and found she lost weight just walking to/from the subway stops going to work.
A gym membership costs money. If you are poor, living in public housing, and on government assistance, I'm sure you're not thinking about budgeting for NYSC. Of course, jogging outside won't cost a thing but then again if you are poor, living in public housing, and on government assistance, you're probably not thinking about going for a morning jog either.
Living in Bed Stuy I can always distinguish the "new black folk" from the "hood black folk". Dress and speech are of course on the top of that list but so is BMI. The vast majority of the gentrifying blacks are not overweight.
There's a lot of new gyms around that are only $15 a month. And they are nice!
I do disagree with people saying lack of income makes one eat unhealthy. I am a vegetarian and don't make much money. Being a vegetarian isn't cheap but I go out of my way to shop at trader joes, and shop the sales at whole foods. I choose to spend money on food and vitamins versus expensive material things and going out. It comes down to, people choose to spend their money on what they value, I value what I eat and put in my body more then other things
Eh - I mentioned it because the knee-jerk reaction of some is - man, those people are just so *** lazy...
I had read that lard is literally a life-saver for the very poor in many places in the Americas. Of course if your calories aren't restricted, eating a lot of lard will make you quite fat. I'm sure soul food developed the way it did for similar reasons.
Or the poor just aren't interested in eating well, they want something that makes them feel good quickly.
A millionaire may enjoy breakfasting off orange juice and Ryvita biscuits; an
unemployed man doesn't. Here the tendency of which I spoke at the end of
the last chapter comes into play. When you are unemployed, which is to say
when you are underfed, harassed, bored, and miserable, you don't want to
eat dull wholesome food. You want something a little bit 'tasty'.
There's a lot of new gyms around that are only $15 a month. And they are nice!
I do disagree with people saying lack of income makes one eat unhealthy. I am a vegetarian and don't make much money. Being a vegetarian isn't cheap but I go out of my way to shop at trader joes, and shop the sales at whole foods. I choose to spend money on food and vitamins versus expensive material things and going out. It comes down to, people choose to spend their money on what they value, I value what I eat and put in my body more then other things
I know some pretty fat people who have gym memberships. And the thing is, for those who work full time, how much can you really afford to spend working out at the gym? Also, if you burn more calories, you may eat more, so you'll end up as fat as ever.
The most important thing is to not eat a non fattening diet.
Marginalized people may get pleasure from eating food high in fat and sugar, and the rush from this can be addictive. You have certain subcultures (the poorest ones) where people don't do things like going out to clubs, most movies, the theatre, or other fun stuff. All they do is stay in their neigborhoods, if they even work.
There is no excuse for being fat. Your lack of education and will are not sufficient. I will never feel sorry for any of them.
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