Is the Economy Making You Fat?

Laid off workers have more time on their hands. So you would think they might be able to save themselves calories and money by making more of their food from scratch…

I noticed that you didn’t actually quote these from anywhere. And it’s quite simple to present a completely different but viable reason: Fruits and Vegetables are expensive

Quick run on the numbers (all found in my mid-west grocery store)

Box of Honeybuns (6): $1.69, 2160 calories
Big Mac Meal (Large): ~$5.00, 1300+ calories
Red Bell Pepper (2): $1.98, 100 calories
Spinach (16oz.): $3.98, 141 calories
Pineapple (whole): $2.99, 250 calories
Avocadoes (2): $1.98, 600 calories

If you’re OK with Honeybuns, you can feed yourself (calorically) for less than $2 / day. Add some ketchup / mayo to your Big Mac meal and you can get almost all of your calories for the day on about $5.00.

The truth is, calorically dense foods are really cheap in the US: breads, sweets, nuts, rice, pasta and Honey buns. On a “$ / calorie” basis, fruits and vegetables are mostly quite expensive. Unless everyone is moving to beans & bananas.

A good salad is actually quite expensive. Notice how the McSalads cost more than many burger meals? And without the dressing many of those salads clock in under 500 cals.

So are people getting depressed? Maybe. Maybe people are working really hard on finding a new job and simply don’t have time to cook. But skipping on fruits and vegetables is generally an easy to trim the budget without losing weight. Whether we consciously acknowledge this or “just do it” is a matter for study. But the economics are pretty clear that money is a factor in our ability to purchase fruits / veggies.

I was going to say almost the same thing. It is a wonder a study like this had not been done previously. With the growing number of people going to food pantries and soup kitchens, where the staples are calorie-rich, carbohydrate-rich foods. Cereal, rice, pasta, frozen pizza boats and breaded fish are common. Canned veggies are distributed carefully and fresh produce usually, when it comes in, confiscated by the volunteers. I know, I was once in a position to need such assistance and also volunteered at one for over a year. It sickened me that most of the volunteers were there only to get the extras meant for people who could not afford to provided it from a grocery store.

Eggs, fruit, nuts are essentially low cost convenience foods. They grow on trees or fall from the birds. Note – low cost, not low price.

Processed foods are high ‘added value’ and highly priced for what they are. And they are largely junk designed to appeal to the consumer rather than appease the appetite. Take the cost of advertising out of the price and the rest is cheap junk that feeds the wealthy franchise owners more than it does the customer.

So find the short route from fruit tree, vegetable garden or farm to kitchen, pay a fair price for good food – or better still, get together with your friends and grow your own.

I was thinking the same thing. I want to cook and feed my family healthier options. But I know from experience that when the budget runs thin, it is the meat with high fat content, the generic white bread, the process cheese food, and the generic peanut butter that we buy. Off the list come fruit (grapes and cherries are extrodinary expensive) and vegetables (aspargus and brussel sprouts will break the bank), forget lean ground meat or fresh fish. Now if I want to take it to the next level I really have to ask myself the importance of my health versus my wallet. To eat organic and hormone free is beyond most middle income families, much less people with out jobs.

Fatties are not getting fat because of the economy. Fatties are suffering under the entitlement philosophy of feminism: http://manhood101.com

http://67.42.80.195

No, the economy is making me slim, but I’m still gaining weight, its just muscle.

Yes. It can’t possibly be the Polish sausage.

Don’t forget about stress raising the level of cortisol in the body’s system. This will definitely cause one to gain weight.

Here’s the thing…if you just do a straight-up side-by-side comparison then yes, fruits and vegetables are more expensive than processed foods. But its not a fair comparison. High-calorie processed foods are less filling and less satisfying, which is why you can sit there and eat an entire bag of chips at once. So you end up buying more of the processed foods anyways. You can actually eat fewer fruits and vegetables and feel full and still spend relatively the same amount of money.

And be strategic with your spending. e.g., Frozen veggies are often cheaper than fresh, and better for you. There can be some really awesome sales during which you can buy fresh fruits and veggies and freeze them for later use. And you don’t always have to have the expensive produce either. (Yeah asparagus and cherries are very expensive, most of the year. So buy apples and potatoes.)

You should check out the movie “Food, Inc” on Netflix. There is a line in it that says “There is something wrong when you can buy a double cheeseburger at Mcdonald’s for .99, but you can’t get a head of broccoli for that” No wonder this country is getting fatter.

And if you are living in a motel because you lost your home?

I am tired of reports talking about how fat America is. Simply put, the healtiest foods are the most expensive. You want America to get thinner, make a salad less than a Big mac. Make fresh vegetables cheaper than hamburger. I really tried to diet but myself, but my grocery bill nearly doubled. Sigh. What are we poor folk to do?

Just when oh when do people start to act like adults and stop blaming the price of foods for their lack of self discipline and respect? The problem is not the price of fruits and vegetables; the problem is people over-eating. All overweight people need to do is to spend the SAME AMOUNT of money for foods, but instead of buying high carb foods, buy fruits and vegetables, they WOULD LOSE WEIGHT. For the same amount of money, if you eat big macs and frieds and you are fat, just use the same amount of money to buy real foods with fewer calories and you lose weight. It’s that simple. Self discipline and self respect. That’s all it takes.

I support a family of 5 on an extremely meager income, and we eat primarily whole foods. I shop the perimeter of the store and try to avoid the inner aisles (where most of the processed foods are). Couponing websites are everywhere, and many do a great job of comparing weekly store sales on the produce, meats, etc., so they do the work for you and save you time on comparison shopping. Not to mention you’ll find some great coupon deals on dairy items, frozen vegetables, non-food items, and the like. At the store, I buy grains, pastas, etc. from the bulk bins whenever possible. I try to choose fruits and vegetables that are in season and/or on sale (this also encourages my kids to try a variety of foods). I make many casseroles and such from scratch, and try to use ingredients that will spread between them – freezing extra meals so I’m not tempted to buy fast food on rushed days. I literally called my grandparents and took notes from them (their generation didn’t have such easy access to all of these convenience foods)! We use the ENTIRE chicken, for example, boiling down the bones for stock for future soups and casseroles. We grow a massive garden every year and have plenty of fresh veggies from our own backyard. I have my grandma’s pressure cooker and a huge water bath canner, and I can fruits and veggies for the winter months. My husband and I both work, so we often find ourselves putting in some late hours, but it’s worth it. We rarely spend more than $300 a month on groceries – even in the winter. Not bad for a family of 5. It takes a lot of creativity and committment, and some priority-shifting. Our television-watching time is nearly non-existent, for example, but that’s an okay thing! I’d much rather spend time in the kitchen or garden talking and laughing with my loved ones. Getting the entire family involved helps so much. My 6-year-old knows all the steps of canning and helps with the jobs she’s able to. Even my 3-year-old is able to gather food scraps and take them to the compost bin.

I apologize for the novel this turned out to be, but I get perhaps equally as frustrated as those who claim eating/living healthy is too expensive. With some research, an open mind, and sometimes a bit of hard work, it’s actually a pretty affordable lifestyle, in my opinion.

That’s the point. You either pay high prices or you really have to put time and energy into having a healthy kitchen. I work 12hrs a day. If I can’t get it easily… it ain’t got. I’m not lazy… just tired. Basically, what you just told me made getting healthy food look like a second job.