In light of the economic downturn, consumers have been scaling back—on food that’s actually good for them. Sales of potato chips and other quick-payoff snacks are way up, and even though people are cooking at home rather than dining out to save money, what they’re preparing in the kitchen is more likely than ever to involve a microwave oven.
Why does a poor economic outlook make for a poor diet? For one thing, people say that healthy foods are just too darn expensive. From the WSJ:
“Eating healthy has been one of the big casualties of this economic downturn,” says Harry Balzer, chief industry analyst at NPD Group and author of the research firm’s annual “Eating Patterns in America” report. “Last year, consumers cut back on eating ‘better-for-you’ and organic foods.”
In an online survey this summer of 1,200 people about food affordability, conducted by food-industry research firm Technomic, 70% of respondents said healthier foods are increasingly difficult to afford.
“Value is what counts to consumers right now,” says Bob Goldin, executive vice president at Technomic. “And, unfortunately, in the minds of many consumers, a lot of these lower-priced options are just not as healthy, but they’re still buying them.”
Apparently, among the products that consumers deem to be good values—based on the fact that they have sold well despite (because of?) the recession—include McDonald’s and other fast food and donuts.
In the studies cited in the WSJ story, potato-chip sales are up 22%, tortilla-chip sales are up 18%, and about 30% of meals prepared at home involve a microwave—up from 20% in recent years.
Price is not the only reason people’s diets have gone to pot. (Honestly, there are a million different ways you can eat pretty healthily without spending a fortune. See: How to Eat Well on $50 a Week and How to Cook Like a Gourmet—When You’re Broke.)
It’s difficult to eat healthily because it takes time. Planning out a week’s worth of meals, making shopping lists, comparing prices to make sure you get the most for your money … it all requires time, and you haven’t even gotten to the point of actual cooking yet. Ripping open a bag of chips or ordering at the drive-thru, on the other hand, takes two seconds.
So fast food and snacks seem cheaper, and they’re certainly faster to get your lips around than food that’s good for you. Junk food also makes you feel good—at least in the short run. A USA Today story shows what many people already know: that people (women especially) turn to fattening foods to relieve chronic stress. From the story:
The women were categorized as having chronic stress if they had ongoing stressful situations such as being unable to pay their rent or mortgage; feeling stuck in a job they don’t like; having a spouse or partner who expects too much of them or doesn’t understand them; having a child who isn’t doing well in school; or acting as a family caregiver for someone in poor health.
Has the last year been stressful for you? Most folks would answer HELL YES. And what have we gotten as a result of all this stress? Something called “recession obesity.” Two suggestions for stress relievers that are much healthier than potato chips: sex and humor.