Cheap junk food and obesity

JeffreyC83

To me, in my opinion, it seems as though the reason the majority of our nation is obese, is becuase the cost of junk food is so cheap and healthy food is so expensive! If we are trying to create a healthy America, cut the costs of healthy foods!!!! Lowerclass (and even some middleclass) Americans cant even afford healthy foods from the market, therefor they are buying whats cheap....JUNK FOOD!!!! We should not have to pinch our wallets for a healthy lifestyle! Some may agree and some may not agree. Id like to hear some of your opinions.

triathlete06

Which is more expensive....

spending $20/week extra on groceries OR cancer?

I've heard that cancer treatments and/or obesity related meds are REALLY EXPENSIVE. Even the co-pays cost quite a bit.
So it's your call.

Also - there ARE ways to eat healthy and not spend a fortune on it.

Russellb97

To me, in my opinion, it seems as though the reason the majority of our nation is obese, is becuase the cost of junk food is so cheap and healthy food is so expensive! If we are trying to create a healthy America, cut the costs of healthy foods!!!! Lowerclass (and even some middleclass) Americans cant even afford healthy foods from the market, therefor they are buying whats cheap....JUNK FOOD!!!! We should not have to pinch our wallets for a healthy lifestyle! Some may agree and some may not agree. Id like to hear some of your opinions.

It is true that junk costs less, but at the same time you get more sustained energy with natural foods. So you pay more up front but you end up eating less. I believe it's kind of a wash.

They always use the term price per calorie, but a calories from junk food does nothing for satiety while a calories from protein and veggies do.

BiscuitsNDavy

A pound of broccoli is 99cents. A celery stalk is $1.49. A bag of Doritos is $3.99.

notsureifsrs.jpg

lcharity79

I would agree that some organic whole foods can be a bit overpriced, but if a person exercised good judgment and tried to eat seasonal items, they could still eat quite healthfully on a moderate budget. It's really mind over matter. I love Aldi's grocery store, because I can go there and get produce (fresh and frozen) very inexpensively! But yes, I spent many years using that old excuse that I had to eat junk food because it was less expensive...we have to make our mind up that we are the worth the time, energy and money it takes to treat ourselves well...and then we will find a way to make it work!

melsinct

I really don't buy the fact that people are fat because junk food is cheap. I can buy some pretty cheap produce when it is on sale (and I am in New England) and same goes for lean meats and pantry staples. The nutritious and balanced home cooked meal I made last night worked out to $1.20/serving. Sure, you can buy a hamburger for 99 cents but which will keep you full longer?

Honestly, I am sick of the "healthy eating is expensive" excuse. It isn't. A huge factor is that people are either too lazy, too pressed for time, or just unwilling to cook for themselves. Some people just flat out won't eat food if it isn't microwavable or picked up through a drive through because they can't be bothered to cook.

Edited to add: I should clarify, "healthy foods" to me are real foods, not boxed stuff, e.g. vegetables, fruits, meats, etc.

ElizabethRoad

If we are trying to create a healthy America, cut the costs of healthy foods!!!!

Oh OK, let's just cut the costs of healthy food. Should be easy, since there is no disagreement on what constitutes healthy food, and there is one single agency that sets the prices for all foods.

janeite1990

I really don't buy the fact that people are fat because junk food is cheap. I can buy some pretty cheap produce when it is on sale (and I am in New England) and same goes for lean meats and pantry staples. The nutritious and balanced home cooked meal I made last night worked out to $1.20/serving. Sure, you can buy a hamburger for 99 cents but which will keep you full longer?

Honestly, I am sick of the "healthy eating is expensive" excuse. It isn't. A huge factor is that people are either too lazy, too pressed for time, or just unwilling to cook for themselves. Some people just flat out won't eat food if it isn't microwavable or picked up through a drive through because they can't be bothered to cook.

^^^^^^^^^
This. Healthy food is cheaper. It just takes more effort to cook it, AND the junky food appeals to people. Celery or cookie? Which sounds better to you? Most people answer cookie. People eat junk because they are lazy or undisciplined. I don't buy ignorance, either. We have all had 8th grade health and seen the food pyramid. We ignored it because we didn't want to substitute carrots for chips, not because we had never heard that carrots are healthier than chips.

My name is Laura and I'm a recovering Coke addict. Love it! Miss it! I dream about it at night. But you can't tell me that Coke is cheaper than refilling my water bottle in the fountain down the hall at work. Gotta go with the logic on this one.

Queen_M

A take out pizza costs £10--£15 and will last maybe a day or 2. I can make a batch of vegetable soup to last 3-4 days for less than £4. Healthy eating isn't more expensive. It's less convenient.

SergeantSunshine_reused

Doesn't have to be expensive

Cheap sources: Bags of rice, canister of oats, bags of dried beans, frozen chicken breast, frozen meats, canned tuna, etc

hiker282

Shouldn't part of Obamacare be making it so everybody has to buy healthy food, and the government should provide either a tax break/credit/subsidize healthy foods to decrease costs? I think it should. I mean, if we're talking about preventative measures, what more can you do to cut health care costs than to encourage a healthy eating lifestyle for every American?

PlunderBunneh

Fresh veggies are a crap ton cheaper. Seriously, I get three bags full of fresh veggies from the Sprouts Farmers Market for usually about 40 bucks. I'm lucky to get one bag of groceries from walmart for less than that. Go online, look for weekly ads, and plan your meals for what's on sale. It's amazing how much a person can save, if they just take the time and effort to prepare accordingly.

knurse1987

I have actually saved money by not eating junk food...Instead of spending 10-15 dollars on dinner out all the time or a drive thru I use that same amount in my weekly grocery shopping...and I just found that I have saved money by doing this...but I can understand where you are coming from with some foods being particularly pricey, but it is worth it to me...

jenlarz

I guess in my experience junk food is usually more expensive but often more convenient. People don't have or won't take the time to perpare the healthy stuff.

secretlobster

Cheap
Convenient
Healthy

(Choose two)

kateroot

Which is more expensive....

spending $20/week extra on groceries OR cancer?

I've heard that cancer treatments and/or obesity related meds are REALLY EXPENSIVE. Even the co-pays cost quite a bit.
So it's your call.

Also - there ARE ways to eat healthy and not spend a fortune on it.

This isn't going to be very politically correct of me, but... If you're on medicaid, cancer treatment is free.

PlunderBunneh

Healthy eating isn't more expensive. It's less convenient.

Yes! That! Exactly that, right there.

zacherybinx

Bananas are 39 cents/pound right now for me...I don't know what can be cheaper than that unless you grow your own veggies? And the morning Green Juice I do is under a dollar and it makes approx. 20 ounces. I think it comes down to laziness and often just sheer ignorance, which sadly that seems to be the standard these days here in the States.

danigirl1011

Absolutely 100% agree with you! i think it's made way too easy to buy and eat junk and don't care who agrees with me when i say it is an absolute addiction. I am spending waaaay more money eating healthy than i did before on taco bell and pepsi. I am enjoying healthy eating way more though so i continue to shovel my hard earned $ towards eating healthy

flsl

Interesting question.

I think junk food is better at marketing. There are not many ads for healthy eating, are there?

(thats why we 'think' junk food cheaper)

phillips9366

I think that this is a complete misconception that eating junk is cheap. Junk food is readily available, and "easy", but it really isn't cheap by any means. I really don't buy much junk food, so I don't know how it would really affect my budget, but when I look at it in the stores, I'm astounded by the prices. I can't imagine paying a few bucks for a half full bag of hollow calories, unrecognizable chemicals, and saturated fat. It seems quite expensive compared to eating real, nonprocessed food (meat, veggies, fruit, nuts, eggs, etc.).

If you're buying packaged, high-end, health food, you're most likely spending alot for a little for sure. But, what makes you think you have to spend alot to eat healthy stuff. I can eat real healthy without touching junk food, and can do so very inexpensively.

Perhaps what you think of as "cheap" is really just "convenient'? Try using a crock pot, baking from scratch, making a salad, or buying a side of beef . A little $ goes a long way if you're eating real food instead of junk, and man it sure makes you feel better.

tequila09

lets be real it is because we are lazy. before i would rather go through the drive thru value menu and spend 3 dollars on dinner or lunch or whatever instead of going to the grocery store once a week and buy food for the week which would have come out to the same cost.

ErinBeth7

To me, in my opinion, it seems as though the reason the majority of our nation is obese, is becuase the cost of junk food is so cheap and healthy food is so expensive! If we are trying to create a healthy America, cut the costs of healthy foods!!!! Lowerclass (and even some middleclass) Americans cant even afford healthy foods from the market, therefor they are buying whats cheap....JUNK FOOD!!!! We should not have to pinch our wallets for a healthy lifestyle! Some may agree and some may not agree. Id like to hear some of your opinions.

While I do have to agree that healthy foods can be quite a bit more expensive, there are ways eat healthy and not spend the money. I myself have been eating healthy foods (I never buy junk foods...no sugary, fattening snacks) and only buy ingredients to cook my meals. I typically spend $100 on one trip to the grocery store. That lasts me a couple weeks, at the least. Although, this is just for me. I am single and live alone. I do realize that others might eat more, thus have to spend more.

kdruga

Even if you want to use that argument, moderation is the real issue here. Those who choose the 'cheaper' junk food do not have to over indulge just because it's more convenient. I do splurge from time to time and have some chips, but it's when a person makes that the main component of their diet that they become obese.

Also, yes, going to Whole Foods and buying all organic foods and produce can be expensive. But even Aldi has good produce at very reasonable prices. You can get healthy foods at reasonable prices anywhere. Saying that they're too expensive is just an excuse.

Leiki

A pound of broccoli is 99cents. A celery stalk is $1.49. A bag of Doritos is $3.99.

notsureifsrs.jpg

Yes, a lb of broccoli may be 99 cents, but who eats broccoli, plain? You need to cook it. That requires a kitchen. Some low income people don't have that. Maybe you nuke it with salt-- another 50 cents. Does that fill you up? It get boring if all you eat is broccoli all day. I'm lucky I have people to share food with, now. When I lived by myself, I found myself living off of 10 for 10 yogurts, a 99 cent loaf of low fiber "wheat" bread which hardly counted, deli meat and romaine. I wouldn't be able to finish it all, and most weeks, I threw away half the food due to mold.

Meloonie

To me, in my opinion, it seems as though the reason the majority of our nation is obese, is becuase the cost of junk food is so cheap and healthy food is so expensive! If we are trying to create a healthy America, cut the costs of healthy foods!!!! Lowerclass (and even some middleclass) Americans cant even afford healthy foods from the market, therefor they are buying whats cheap....JUNK FOOD!!!! We should not have to pinch our wallets for a healthy lifestyle! Some may agree and some may not agree. Id like to hear some of your opinions.

I agree with you. I live in the UK and here it is so much cheaper to live on junk food. It is cheap to make because it is full of rubbish and therefore they can sell huge amounts at a low cost for the consumer, usually on 'buy one get one free' type deals, and of course this is where the supermarkets make their money, so they push the junk food like drug dealers push drugs.

I could quite easily feed my family of three for less than £50 a week if I only bought junk (processed throw in oven type) food and a small amount of fruit like many people I know, but I choose to buy everything fresh and usually spend over £100 a week on my small family.

I think its easy to say people are just lazy and can't be bothered to eat healthily and cook from scratch. I think that yes to some degree that is true but I feel that this creates a viscious circle - it costs more and takes more effort therefore its easier to just buy whats convenient and costs less, along of course with the bad food scripts that most of us have been brought up with.

neverstray

Wow. There some big misinformation in this thread. You must not have studied what has happened in the food industry over the last 50 years, which sort of started with McDonalds. Interesting stuff. Cheap crappy food is cheaper. Way cheaper. You can't compare a celery stock to a bag of doritos. You have to look at the whole lifestyle of eating and preparing food and how that calcuates out. It's way cheaper to eat crap food than it is to eat healthy. The reason people say it all the time is because it's true. It's killing me right now.

What I am referring to ablve is that it was a very calculated and purposeful move for these large companies to put the farmers out of business by only selling to them and not to us, that way they control the market. Well, it didn't work so well for a variety of reasons, but the push was for the junk food companies to make the food cheaper than the farmers can make food and put farmers in a situation where they have no choice but to only sell food to them for them to process and sell to us. this is all pretty well documented in books and videos if you don't believe me.

So, yes, it costs more to buy fresh food than processed food. That's life. There are ways around it though. Like I can find whole chickens on sale for $3.

Fairysoul

Fresh veggies are a crap ton cheaper. Seriously, I get three bags full of fresh veggies from the Sprouts Farmers Market for usually about 40 bucks. I'm lucky to get one bag of groceries from walmart for less than that. Go online, look for weekly ads, and plan your meals for what's on sale. It's amazing how much a person can save, if they just take the time and effort to prepare accordingly.

Thats what I do!

delilah47

Totally agree with OP.

And.. if you are overweight, you can't use pasta and spuds as fillers to make up for the expense of fresh foods you buy.

ErinBeth7

Shouldn't part of Obamacare be making it so everybody has to buy healthy food, and the government should provide either a tax break/credit/subsidize healthy foods to decrease costs? I think it should. I mean, if we're talking about preventative measures, what more can you do to cut health care costs than to encourage a healthy eating lifestyle for every American?

I like this idea (but not Obamacare). Hiker282 for president!!!

Quasita

Really, per ounce cost of junk foods is usually a fair amount higher than per ounce regular food, and most produce. People use this excuse a lot, and maybe at one point in history, it was true, but manufacturers and marketing people have been paying attention. If you haven't noticed yet, look how much costs on junk food have risen over the last 10 years. A 20oz soda used to be 69 cents... Now it's nearly two dollars... Here in Nebraska anyway. The costs are going up and people keep buying because that's what they have become accustomed too.

I do believe that more food education is needed in many places. In the US specifically, I think that if you are getting food stamps, you should have to take a course in healthy eating, and if at the end of the year, they audit your purchases, and it consists of more than 30% of "junk" foods, then your benefit should be reduced until you prove you can make better choices. When I worked in grocery, we would see people claiming that 15 boxes of little debbies at a dollar a piece were cheaper than eating healthier foods. Well, the fact of the matter is, if those 15 boxes disappear in a week, and a bag of carrots for 2 bucks lasts just as long, which is TRULY cheaper?

People that subsist on junk (I used to be one of them, not gonna lie) justify the purchases by the price but if they are like I was, they might buy 3/$1, but they are all gone by the end of the day.

After I changed how I shopped, my grocery bill dropped about 40 bucks. I now view the ads online, make a list, and utilize electronic coupons, as well as avoid "danger zones" in the store. Life is a heck of a lot easier when you take accountability.

I also think, OP, that when you talk about costs, we're talking cost to the consumer, not necessarily cost to the farmer. Fact of the matter is, the farmer is gonna get paid no matter what. If Farmer A grows corn, the junk food industry could try to far undercut their cost of growing it to buy the corn for Cheetos, sure. However, if more people were educated on the importance of fresh food, they'd direct buy from said farmer, and he wouldn't have to resort to taking a cut. The problem is that the big junk food companies buy SO MUCH of it that what's left for fresh distribution has to be cost rated higher to compensate, which in turn comes down on consumers... but it's not usually a high mark up unless you buy organic by the time it gets to the store.