Income, Education, and Food Choice

lemurcat12

I found this article interesting, although one thing it's missing is the background support for the claims that diets differ by education level and income.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/01/rich-kids-healthier-foods/431646/

The first part of the article discusses a theory that lower-income parents are less likely to buy vegetables because of concern about waste (as most children take time to develop a taste for them).

The second part discusses a Danish study of food choice by less-educated and more-educated consumers that attempted to test the assumption that better-educated people buy healthier foods because they are more aware of the health differences (or what a healthy diet is). What it found is that that wasn't really the difference. Instead:

Those with the most education and those with the least education had extremely similar understandings of how healthy (or unhealthy) sugar, fiber, and saturated fat were.

(Indeed, it appears that the view of fiber and sat fat were the same and less educated people were more likely to see sugar as unhealthy.)

But the big difference between these two groups was that more-educated people liked the taste of more-nutritious foods—foods lower in sugar, lower in saturated fat, and higher in fiber—than less-educated people.

juggernaut1974

Interesting article...

I wonder, if they would get similar results using an American sample vs. Danes.

lemurcat12

Yeah, I wondered about that too.

juggernaut1974

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Yeah, I wondered about that too.

It's quite possible that it's my American ignorance showing...but I have an image that the average "less educated" Dane is probably still leaps and bounds ahead of the average "less educated" American.

shaumom

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Yeah, I wondered about that too.

It's quite possible that it's my American ignorance showing...but I have an image that the average "less educated" Dane is probably still leaps and bounds ahead of the average "less educated" American.

They likely are. Last I looked, in terms of 'class,' the lowest class in Denmark (of a size we would CALL a class as opposed to a few individuals) is what we would think of as middle class. They have subsidized healthcare, too. They don't really have a lot of poverty like we do here, so they don't have a lot of inadequately funded schools that can't get the manpower or resources to offer a good education, not to mention sometimes having great troubles with gang related activity, poor healthcare for the kids AND their parents, and so on.

lemurcat12

Oddly enough I just started How to Be Danish (http://bookshop.theguardian.com/catalog/product/view/id/178359), in part because I've been watching Danish TV shows, and happened upon it, and the first chapter is about education (and related class stuff), so I definitely suspect that is so.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the findings were similar in the US, however, since what they tested wasn't actually whether people had a nuanced understanding of nutrition.

kommodevaran

Very readable article, thank you! This kind of research is more interesting than the neverending focus on "food deserts" and "healthy food is expensive". It's reasonable to think that children who have grown up with a variety of taste and texture, are used to that, and continue to eat like that as adults. Taste matters. If it doesn't taste good, I won't eat it, even if I'm poor, or at least I won't buy it! I think taste is or can depend on feeling of wellbeing. Trying new things is for times of affluence. You can't risk not getting what you like when you are stressed out, short of money and time. The primary nutritional goal is getting enough calories. The finer details like proper amount of calories and vitamins and minerals, will have to make way when the brain is under pressure and feeling deprived (not necessarily being poor) is a tremendous stress on the brain.

Eating healthy food is also linked to home cooking. Cooking from scratch takes a different approach and a different mindset, it takes some investment up front, you have to plan and think ahead. It's a matter of cause and effect: Stress lowers the ability to think ahead and have good judgement. Eating well - and getting enough quality sleep - can improve mental function.

Something did strike me as odd - "Percentage who said that rejected food would still get eaten by another family member" is lower in the low income group. Shouldn' it be the other way around, if money is the greatest concern?

I live in the neighbourhood of Denmark, and I think we have much of the same dynamics here in Norway. Education about what's healthy to eat has reached almost everybody. The question is why some people either choose to ignore or can't manage to follow the advice, which of the alternatives apply to which group, and of course, what should be done about it.

lemurcat12

kommodevaran wrote: »

Something did strike me as odd - "Percentage who said that rejected food would still get eaten by another family member" is lower in the low income group. Shouldn' it be the other way around, if money is the greatest concern?

I wonder if that's related to the taste issue (as indicated by the Danish study). That is, in the better-off groups the adults or older children would eat rejected vegetables if the younger kids did not eat them, whereas in the lower-income groups the adults themselves (and older children) would be less likely to enjoy such foods. Basically, hard to make teaching your children to eat a good diet a priority when you don't want to eat that way yourself.

Lizzy622

Interesting but where people live also plays a big role (rural, urban or suburban). My parents always had a garden and there were always tons of vegetables on our plates. My parents income however was way below the poverty line. If we lived in the city it would have been more difficult to grow enough vegetables to freeze and can for use through the winter. Also our leftover vegetables (if there were any) did not go to waste, the chickens ate it.

lemurcat12

I'm wondering how much that's changed, though. (Although certainly home-grown food would be an exception.)

Money was often tight when I was growing up (I'm 46) and I spent a good bit of my childhood in an area where vegetables were expensive, and yet we ate them (canned, usually), because my parents expected us to and they wouldn't have dreamed of having a lunch or dinner without vegetables, as it wasn't done. It would have been considered bad parenting and not a proper way to eat. I get the impression that those types of cultural restrictions are one thing that has died out in some respects (although my friends with kids have the same attitudes, but also tend to like vegetables themselves and be relatively well-educated).

kommodevaran

lemurcat12 wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

Something did strike me as odd - "Percentage who said that rejected food would still get eaten by another family member" is lower in the low income group. Shouldn' it be the other way around, if money is the greatest concern?

I wonder if that's related to the taste issue (as indicated by the Danish study). That is, in the better-off groups the adults or older children would eat rejected vegetables if the younger kids did not eat them, whereas in the lower-income groups the adults themselves (and older children) would be less likely to enjoy such foods. Basically, hard to make teaching your children to eat a good diet a priority when you don't want to eat that way yourself.

Oh - yes, of course, I totally get it now, it makes sense, doesn't it? The adults and older siblings are role models. It's hard to convince the youngest that the food is "yummy" when you won't eat it yourself.

Rhumax67

I recently saw a TV show about someone who had written a cook book with low cost recipes. Something like eating for $5 a day. I don't remember the title or author's name. What I found funny is the author had at least $300 worth of spices on her kitchen wall and I thought, she doesn't have a clue. What she & others like her don't understand is it takes time, a lot of pots & other equipment, expensive (relatively) spices & other ingredients to cook well & cheap. I think if you're really broke you'll look for total calories & you won't care where they come from. I might not have a sharp knife to cut up a whole chicken or a freezer to store my healthy homemade chicken broth. My generic black pepper cost $3.29-not something I'll buy if I'm on food stamps. Here in the US, we don't need any studies on why the poor make lousy food choices, we make them because we have to. Sorry, I hope this isn't a downer! But thanks, this is an interesting article.

mygalsal76

lemurcat12, that article is interesting. For some reason, it never occurred to me that lower income families may not buy fresh produce because of the waste factor, but in retrospect that should seem obvious. My upper middle class brother and his wife will pile food on their three young kids plates only for them to end throwing out 75% of it. That always makes me cringe. I should send them this article.

samchez0

I think a big problem people in a lower socio-economic area face as well Are food deserts. They are less likely to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables and it's likely that when they do have access it's at a higher price for a lower quality of produce. They may not also have the time or resources or knowledge on how to prepare those healthier options in a way that leads to less waste.

Sabine_Stroehm

Really interesting. Thanks for posting this.

Rachel0778

Rhumax67 wrote: »

I recently saw a TV show about someone who had written a cook book with low cost recipes. Something like eating for $5 a day. I don't remember the title or author's name. What I found funny is the author had at least $300 worth of spices on her kitchen wall and I thought, she doesn't have a clue. What she & others like her don't understand is it takes time, a lot of pots & other equipment, expensive (relatively) spices & other ingredients to cook well & cheap. I think if you're really broke you'll look for total calories & you won't care where they come from. I might not have a sharp knife to cut up a whole chicken or a freezer to store my healthy homemade chicken broth. My generic black pepper cost $3.29-not something I'll buy if I'm on food stamps. Here in the US, we don't need any studies on why the poor make lousy food choices, we make them because we have to. Sorry, I hope this isn't a downer! But thanks, this is an interesting article.

+1. Another factor is time. If a single parent is working 2 jobs and has a long bus commute, the chances of them having the energy to make chicken broth from scratch when they get home is low. The time and energy needed to cut and prepare dishes made with fresh produce compared to throwing pre-packaged food in the oven/microwave also makes it unlikely for the over-worked and exhausted parent to choose the healthier option. These factors play a huge role in why lower economic status individuals struggle with obesity at a much higher rate than individuals at a higher economic status.

robertw486

Interesting article, but I'm not sure how much weight I would really give it without more data attached.

The time factor as mentioned above by @Rachel0778 is something I've found impacts how we buy and eat regardless of income. Time and lifestyle would have to have some weight IMO. When both myself and my wife worked fairly long hours our food choices were often whatever was quick, or going out to eat a lot more often. At the time, our income was more than enough to buy whatever fresh we wanted, but we just didn't have (really MAKE) the time to deal with it.

I would assume the same time constraints would affect choices at other income levels as well. People retired or families with one parent at home can make more time to shop and cook often, families where both parents work or with single parents time is stretched more.

Zumaria1

Interesting. I think it also has to do with country/city. Many people with more of a country background, even if poor, will eat more fruits and veggies because they have access to them, or grew up eating them, while in the city, many will just go to their local stores where the produce is either too expensive or very poor quality, and poorer people will pass it up.
We grew up poorer, but because my mother was from the country, she was used to eating a lot of veggies and fruits and made sure we did as well. Visiting our grandparents in the country, we would always come back with fresh greens and other veggies straight from their garden.
I noticed the same thing living in St. Lucia. People were poor, but ate really well, going to the market and getting fresh veggies and fresh fish just from the Caribbean Sea. Meat was more expensive.
Many people in more rural settings will grow their own fruits and veggies and/or hunt for their meat, and even if poor, seem to eat better than poorer people in the city, from my observations, and from living in rural settings and urban settings.