Poor People Can't Afford Healthy Food?

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Oh please let's not get even more off topic by bringing exercise into the equation. That's a whole nother bugaboo.

This thread is about purchasing power & healthy food/cooking.
 
Oh please let's not get even more off topic by bringing exercise into the equation. That's a whole nother bugaboo.

This thread is about purchasing power & healthy food/cooking.

CharlieD first brought up exercise when he said, "For people with less money can't afford a lot thigs. Not just food. How about health club, that is part of healthy life style."

Another poster replied that walking or jogging around the neighborhood is free.

My comment was that it can also be deadly.

The wonderful thing about topics like this, BreezyCooking, is that they do get us thinking. Sometimes that will take us down side roads. Personally, unless it it is totally irrelevant or hijacks a thread big time, I don't think anyone should be scolded for it.

As for the specific topic of what "poor people" choose to eat, I'm afraid that we haven't defined our terms and that we might be generalizing quite a bit.
 
when my wife and i were younger and on a very tight income ...
you could say poor .. we had no real idea about nutrition ...
we were both educated .. but no one ever said eating hamburger helper
or sloppy joes three nights a week were bad for you ..
and that the cheapest ground beef is usually the worst for you in
terms of fat .. it just wasnt taught in any classes i ever took ...
i figured as long as i threw a can of carrots or green beans on the side we were good ... i have never taken any cooking or health type classes since then .. but i have read magazines and read on the net .. that these foods are not your best choices ...
so i think personally it does come down to education .. we eat much better now ..
but we could still do alot more ..
 
when i was a girl, and i am 70 years old, my dad was ahead of his time about food. he pretty much taught what a balanced diet was. he always had a garden and we ate lots of fish . that was before you could find fresh fish in super markets. all was frozen. his teaching was renforced by two years of home eco. in high school. my mom was a good plain cook and did it his way. so it was just second nature to do it when i married and had children. it should be taught in school, in my opinion. most of the young people that i know have no clue what good food means. they eat a lot of fast food.
 


As Disraeli said " I disagree with what you say but defend unto death your right to say it."

The reality is that if one consumes more calories than one expends by daily acitivity and exercise, then one will put on weight, steadily, surely and inexorably. It is a matter of fact, not opinion or spin, that, unless one is taking a medication which is recognised as leading to a weight gain (identified in the medication notes which come with the pills, etc.) or a medical condition which will lead to a weight gain, a gain in weight is the consequence of consuming more calories than one expends in the normal exercise of daily life.

Now, tell me about the post-menopausal spread - is this because we are no longer running after our sprogs or related to the endocrine system and life wants us to be comfortable "Grannies".:LOL::LOL::LOL: Perhaps we should walk more!

Archiduc
 
:) Well I say unhealthy food is still better than no food and if you want to talk unhealthy, Mexican food can be unhealthy as well.
 
Well I gotta say I'm scratching my head about the odd turn this thread took. How on earth did we get on to bashing Mama's recipes or southern cooking? Weird.

We seem to all have different ideas about what this thread is to be about. And its interesting to see some of the irritations come out at the misuse of food stamps. Forgive me if I misunderstood, but that is what it sounded like.

From my standpoint, I still don't see anything but education as the key to making change. (There speaks a teacher at heart)

And for whoever it was that said being overweight is the simple equation of more calories taken in than burned, well that is very true. We are all aware of what "empty calories" are though because we are here and we have access to all that info. Many many folks don't. They buy what they can afford to fill their bellies with little thought as to the caloric content of those items.
 
We must eat healthy

Cost? Who can't afford to be healthy? We all must try and eat healthy.

You really can't value your health with dollars. We should have quality not so much quantity. Fruits, veggies, whole grains...you know the foods
that are considered healthy.

Health is the first consideration. Without health ....you won't care what you eat. Let's eat healthy. Ill health is expensive.
 
Cost? Who can't afford to be healthy? We all must try and eat healthy.

You really can't value your health with dollars. We should have quality not so much quantity. Fruits, veggies, whole grains...you know the foods
that are considered healthy.

Health is the first consideration. Without health ....you won't care what you eat. Let's eat healthy. Ill health is expensive.

:) Easier said than done.
 
Cost? Who can't afford to be healthy? We all must try and eat healthy.

You really can't value your health with dollars. We should have quality not so much quantity. Fruits, veggies, whole grains...you know the foods
that are considered healthy.

Health is the first consideration. Without health ....you won't care what you eat. Let's eat healthy. Ill health is expensive.
If you do not have money to spend on food then your don't have money to spend on food.
 
CharlieD first brought up exercise when he said, "For people with less money can't afford a lot thigs. Not just food. How about health club, that is part of healthy life style."

Another poster replied that walking or jogging around the neighborhood is free.

My comment was that it can also be deadly.

The wonderful thing about topics like this, BreezyCooking, is that they do get us thinking. Sometimes that will take us down side roads. Personally, unless it it is totally irrelevant or hijacks a thread big time, I don't think anyone should be scolded for it.

As for the specific topic of what "poor people" choose to eat, I'm afraid that we haven't defined our terms and that we might be generalizing quite a bit.

I agree!!!!
 
On another forum I belong to, there is a bit of disagreement....
So what do you think?
Poorer people (in the US) are overweight because the cheaper foods they can afford are all unhealthy?
I strongly disagree, but am surprised that there are a fair number who agree....
(gosh I hope this isn't too polarizing of a subject.)

Just to get back to the beginning of this thread and add my 2 cents....

Really "poor" people ain't never overweight.
Foods aren't unhealthy, it's how you eat 'em is.
America is a power house of provisions.
All the "good for you" staple items in America are as cheap and as plentiful as can be.
The failure is in education and not in agri-business.
 
Really "poor" people ain't never overweight.

It depends upon how you define "really poor."

As for the idea that healthful foods are cheap and plentiful, that may not always be the case in certain poverty-stricken neighborhoods, where fast-food joints predominate and supermarkets are often nowhere to be found.
 
Just to get back to the beginning of this thread and add my 2 cents....

Really "poor" people ain't never overweight.
Foods aren't unhealthy, it's how you eat 'em is.
America is a power house of provisions.
All the "good for you" staple items in America are as cheap and as plentiful as can be.
The failure is in education and not in agri-business.


I would sure like to know where you live, so I could move there.

The bottom line is the reasons "poor people are overweight" are:

Lack of money
Lack of education
Lack of shopping options
Lack of refrigeration, stove, oven and storage space
Lack of transportation


It is just a Fact that prepackaged high carb food is cheaper, easier to prepare, can be purchased anywhere, requires little refrigeration, limited cooking resources and stores easier. So it can be purchased with or without transportation.

So does this clear the question up for everyone?
 
If you go to the dollar store, you can get packaged food pretty cheap. Top Ramen, Macaroni & cheese, all very cheap. I don't necessarily agree because frozen vegetables can be pretty cheap and they are much better than frozen pizzas and macaroni and cheese. While I agree food that is bad for you can be pretty cheap, I do agree that if you make healthy foods you can save them for lunch and dinner the next night. Time is another factor and a whole different discussion...
 
If you go to the dollar store, you can get packaged food pretty cheap. Top Ramen, Macaroni & cheese, all very cheap. I don't necessarily agree because frozen vegetables can be pretty cheap and they are much better than frozen pizzas and macaroni and cheese. While I agree food that is bad for you can be pretty cheap, I do agree that if you make healthy foods you can save them for lunch and dinner the next night. Time is another factor and a whole different discussion...

smackingmyselfintheforehead: How did I forget that one?
 
I would sure like to know where you live, so I could move there.

The bottom line is the reasons "poor people are overweight" are:

Lack of money
Lack of education
Lack of shopping options
Lack of refrigeration, stove, oven and storage space
Lack of transportation


It is just a Fact that prepackaged high carb food is cheaper, easier to prepare, can be purchased anywhere, requires little refrigeration, limited cooking resources and stores easier. So it can be purchased with or without transportation.

So does this clear the question up for everyone?

Well I guess I should ask the same question; where do you live?

Here is a quote from The Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture:

"How Much Do Americans Pay For Fruits And Vegetables?- One argument for not consuming fruits and vegetables is that they are too expensive, especially when fresh. Yet among 154 forms of fruits and vegetables priced using ACNeilsen Homescan data, more than half were estimated to cost 25 cents or less per serving. Consumers can meet the recommendation of three servings of fruits and four servings of vegetables daily for 64 cents. The related product data is a collection of spreadsheets that contain all the data used in the report and are presented to show exactly how ERS arrived at the costs per serving figures."

I still cannot post links so you will have to look up the USDA ERS yourself.
Food in America is mightily abundant and by global standards very, very reasonable priced as well. Two facts that as an American you should be very proud of.

While I do not disagree that employment opportunities, shopping, housing and transportation play a role in American poverty, I still believe the major issue with American obesity in low income earners is education. Notice how I distinguish between the two. I believe that there is a link between poverty and obesity, however I do not believe that if you solve the poverty issue you will solve the obesity issue at the same time. They are not the same issues.

It's too simple to blame such a complicated problem on one or two items, like high carb prepackaged food or fast food restaurants.
It's not the food, it's how you eat it. And knowing how to eat is a matter of education.

As well I do not understand your statement "So it can be purchased with or without transportation." Given then, that one can purchase mac and cheese without transportation; one should then be able to purchase a potato or a tomato without transportation. I do not see the difference or the point you are trying to make.

As well, I would tell you that nothing in the world is easier to prepare then a fresh fruit.
Cheap ramen noodles require more time, effort, energy and concentration then eating a whole apple or fresh tomato.

In summation, my response to your question “So does this clear the question up for everyone?” is no.
Keep in mind this is my opinion, I will let you seek out the facts for yourself.:)
 
You know what? I don't think anyone is going to convince anyone else of their point of view here. I was thinking we would all add some information and maybe we'd all learn some things (and I have actually, so thanks) but it seems like on this particular issue you either agree or you don't and never the twain shall meet. I'm going to close this thread. I know from experience when the tone starts to degenerate to personal stuff as it has lately its not going anywhere good.

I hope we all keep looking and learning and don't let ourselves get in a rut.
 
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