Obesity and poverty...

TheWiseCat

I'm glad we all agree that the problem is people shouldn't drop out babies if they can't afford to feed them.

I'm glad we can solve all of our social issues so easily. Just don't "drop out babies" and buy healthy food. Gotcha. Because there aren't a whole host of other factors that come into play with either of these issues.

If people are going to claim that they neglect their children's food intake because of economics, then yes that will resolve the issue. In reality, it's just straight up neglect. For that, I would also like to suggest that if you can't afford the time and patience to properly raise a child and give them the attention and parenting they both need and deserve, don't drop out babies.

ChgingMe

I'm glad we all agree that the problem is people shouldn't drop out babies if they can't afford to feed them.

Wow.. That's a thought.. But it ain't gonna happen as long as children are so lucrative for some. :frown:

When I was at the Social Security office getting my card, the dude at the booth beside me was asking how much the payouts would increase if he had 1 more kid, 2 more kids, 3 more kids... and he was taking notes on all the different things that would boost the payout and the SS employee was more than happy to oblige.

My mom in law retired from the state welfare office. The stories she told were incredible, and quite sad.. The waste and abuse of the system is legendary. The ones who need it a lot of the time don't qualify. and the ones who do, abuse it. You aren't allowed to question even though Ms Jones is telling you her children's father ran out on them, but you know for a fact he is in the waiting room waiting for them. Or the woman who gets emergency assistance and you see her an hour later getting her nails done. You still can't question them. Many choose that lifestyle because it pays well. Why try to do better if you don't need to.. Unfortunately the kids are the ones who suffer.

MyM0wM0w

I am a blessed poor married mother of 6. I am blessed because I have a huge garden and yard. At the end of the summer I can and freeze everything. I spent the money to buy fruit trees and berry bushes. I grow all organic. Doing this has saved me $1000's for the couple of hundred I spent on the trees. I have 2 apple trees, 3 cherries, this year I am adding pears and plums. I also have elderberries, red white pink and black currents, strawberries, red and yellow raspberries gooseberries and 3 huge rhubarbs. In the garden I grow every year corn, tomatoes, beans, potatoes, onions, squash, zucchini, pumpkins and okra. I then start all the herbs I can grow here in Minnesota which are basil, oregano, fennel, cilantro, thyme, mints garlic and lavender. So I don't have to spend on fresh fruits and veggies for 90% of the year. We buy 1 cow 2 hogs and about 50 chickens a year from a local farmer. I do all of this and some years we have been down to 12,500 a year and not 1 of my kids have ever missed a meal and we have a family of 8.
The problem is that we have gotten away from the basics. Nobody has a clue where their food is coming from and they aren't educated enough to know to care. If you are given food stamps you can go to the store and buy what you want. That includes pop candy, boxed meals. They walk past the produce isle and go straight for the chips and cookies. The best thing they could do is limit what people can buy. It's time to say no you can't buy anything prepared. Just because you have to take it home and toss it in the microwave or the oven means no you can't buy it. Wonder why you run out of money on your EBT card at the end of the month? It's because you went to the gas station and bought a 4 dollar burrito every day, or a $10 take and bake pizza a couple of times a week. That money goes way faster than it should. My sister in-law gets food stamps about $ 1000.00 and runs through them in a weeks because of what she buys.
People in HUD housing have to pay $150 to start a garden that is only 10x10. Funny part is you could grow $1000 worth of food in that every year.Which would save the government money in food stamps and medcaid in the health benifits. Because they would be outside working and eating better food.
The problem is lack of education about nutrition, availablity of chemical laden processed prepackage crap, instead of real food!

I love this. Absolutely true. You are living how I grew up and my dream for retirement (well, not the 6 kids part...).

sweetpea03b

Is everyone saying that the people here who are obese are lazy?

I didn't see anything that was remotely close to that.

No, not everyone is saying that.

Yes - in many cases... the reason they are obese is because they're lazy. I know that's part of the reason that I'm overweight because its easier to make hamburger helper than to take the time to prepare a decent meal. And... lets just say they can't afford fruits and veggies... I'd be willing to bet that these families are not taking their kids out for a walk in the evenings instead of plopping their butts in front of the television. (Wanna know how I know that? Because my parents are both overweight.... and we lived in a trailer for most of my childhood and we ate crap and we sat in front of the tv every night)

k8blujay2

I am a blessed poor married mother of 6. I am blessed because I have a huge garden and yard. At the end of the summer I can and freeze everything. I spent the money to buy fruit trees and berry bushes. I grow all organic. Doing this has saved me $1000's for the couple of hundred I spent on the trees. I have 2 apple trees, 3 cherries, this year I am adding pears and plums. I also have elderberries, red white pink and black currents, strawberries, red and yellow raspberries gooseberries and 3 huge rhubarbs. In the garden I grow every year corn, tomatoes, beans, potatoes, onions, squash, zucchini, pumpkins and okra. I then start all the herbs I can grow here in Minnesota which are basil, oregano, fennel, cilantro, thyme, mints garlic and lavender. So I don't have to spend on fresh fruits and veggies for 90% of the year. We buy 1 cow 2 hogs and about 50 chickens a year from a local farmer. I do all of this and some years we have been down to 12,500 a year and not 1 of my kids have ever missed a meal and we have a family of 8.

I am jealous of all your fruit trees!! Just saying.

prattiger65

Anyone who thinks the connection between obesity and poverty can be explained away with a couple of obtuse statements shouldn't be harping on about anyone else's lack of intelligence or education. Life in poverty is a miserable life. When you are miserable, you often make poor choices to try to feel better in the moment. When you live in poverty, life becomes a series of those moments. Few people take into account the fact that there is a strong link between poverty and depression, especially in affluent countries where poverty isn't the norm. Blanket statements about the cost of healthy food and lack of education only touch on part of the reality.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you have never lived below the poverty level. I lived below the poverty level until well into my 30's. up until my early 20's i was very, very poor. What you posted is a blanket statement that doesn't fit the entirety of the group, and having been in the group myself, i would say it doesn't even fit a majority. I would go so far as to say the percentage is small. You need to talk personally with more poor people or people who actually rose above the poverty, Your post is just not accurate.

ChgingMe

OK I have to disagree with this 100%. Do you know how much a bag of Doritos costs? $3-5. A happy meal is like $2.50-$3.00.

A bag of frozen veggies is like $1.50 if you get the generic. Bulk beans and brown rice is also very cheap. Food stamps will cover milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt and the like... so you make lots of casseroles and maybe you don't get meat in every meal... maybe you use beans instead which are also a good source of Protein.

It's totally possible to eat better on a budget. Bananas are like 40cents/lb people... its possible if they TRY A LITTLE HARDER. Not to mention, I grew up in a poor community... and the parents always found $$ for beer didn't they? Yep.

Plus a big turkey makes a lot of sandwiches and is pretty cheap too.

Edited to add: I used to help take around meals to the poor and almost every one of them had more electronics, nicer TVs and better cars than me.

My mother in law did home visits when she worked for social services. They would have big screen
TV's (no flat screens yet) and a mattress on the floor that the kids slept on.

Rotten_Apple

We live in a middle class neighbourhood on the edge of an impoverished area and I was shocked to find out that most of the kids my son goes to school work don't get any meals other than the ones provided by the breakfast program.

I hear this quite often in the media about how children are not fed at home and school food programs are their only source of nutrition. I don't get that at all. You mean to tell me you don't have ANY money to feed your kids? The ONLY meals they get are at school? What are the parents eating? They must be starving to death if they can't afford food but I don't seem to hear many news stories about that. My conclusion: the food money is spent on other things. Otherwise, the parents would be dropping like flies.

3dogsrunning

I'm glad we all agree that the problem is people shouldn't drop out babies if they can't afford to feed them.

Wow.. That's a thought.. But it ain't gonna happen as long as children are so lucrative for some. :frown:

When I was at the Social Security office getting my card, the dude at the booth beside me was asking how much the payouts would increase if he had 1 more kid, 2 more kids, 3 more kids... and he was taking notes on all the different things that would boost the payout and the SS employee was more than happy to oblige.

My mom in law retired from the state welfare office. The stories she told were incredible, and quite sad.. The waste and abuse of the system is legendary. The ones who need it a lot of the time don't qualify. and the ones who do, abuse it. You aren't allowed to question even though Ms Jones is telling you her children's father ran out on them, but you know for a fact he is in the waiting room waiting for them. Or the woman who gets emergency assistance and you see her an hour later getting her nails done. You still can't question them. Many choose that lifestyle because it pays well. Why try to do better if you don't need to.. Unfortunately the kids are the ones who suffer.

Because some abuse the system does not mean that everyone does. But hey, it's always easy to sit back and judge, rant bout where our tax money goes.

ChgingMe

I'm glad we all agree that the problem is people shouldn't drop out babies if they can't afford to feed them.

I'm glad we can solve all of our social issues so easily. Just don't "drop out babies" and buy healthy food. Gotcha. Because there aren't a whole host of other factors that come into play with either of these issues.

There are a ton more, but the bottom line is this. If you can't afford to feed yourself. Why on Earth would you have more children? I really can't wrap my head around that.

TheWiseCat

Is everyone saying that the people here who are obese are lazy?

I am saying 99%+ are. Even if you have a disorder, find a way to work around it and make it happen. Take your meds or whatever. This is why I leave the 1% out because some obviously have extremely debilitating circumstances or disorders that don't yet have cures or are in situations beyond their control. Everyone else? Lazy. I am obese. Why? Lazy. Are there finer details? Of course. Are there circumstances that explain it if you got to know me? Definitely. Does that mean I am therefore not lazy? NO. There is a solution that exists and I haven't applied it by choice, ergo lazy.

TheWiseCat

I'm glad we all agree that the problem is people shouldn't drop out babies if they can't afford to feed them.

Wow.. That's a thought.. But it ain't gonna happen as long as children are so lucrative for some. :frown:

When I was at the Social Security office getting my card, the dude at the booth beside me was asking how much the payouts would increase if he had 1 more kid, 2 more kids, 3 more kids... and he was taking notes on all the different things that would boost the payout and the SS employee was more than happy to oblige.

My mom in law retired from the state welfare office. The stories she told were incredible, and quite sad.. The waste and abuse of the system is legendary. The ones who need it a lot of the time don't qualify. and the ones who do, abuse it. You aren't allowed to question even though Ms Jones is telling you her children's father ran out on them, but you know for a fact he is in the waiting room waiting for them. Or the woman who gets emergency assistance and you see her an hour later getting her nails done. You still can't question them. Many choose that lifestyle because it pays well. Why try to do better if you don't need to.. Unfortunately the kids are the ones who suffer.

Because some abuse the system does not mean that everyone does. But hey, it's always easy to sit back and judge, rant bout where our tax money goes.

If the abuse was 5% I would agree. In reality, it's more than 50%. If a system is rotted to the core, it needs to be removed and replaced with something better.

ChgingMe

Anyone who thinks the connection between obesity and poverty can be explained away with a couple of obtuse statements shouldn't be harping on about anyone else's lack of intelligence or education. Life in poverty is a miserable life. When you are miserable, you often make poor choices to try to feel better in the moment. When you live in poverty, life becomes a series of those moments. Few people take into account the fact that there is a strong link between poverty and depression, especially in affluent countries where poverty isn't the norm. Blanket statements about the cost of healthy food and lack of education only touch on part of the reality.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you have never lived below the poverty level. I lived below the poverty level until well into my 30's. up until my early 20's i was very, very poor. What you posted is a blanket statement that doesn't fit the entirety of the group, and having been in the group myself, i would say it doesn't even fit a majority. I would go so far as to say the percentage is small. You need to talk personally with more poor people or people who actually rose above the poverty, Your post is just not accurate.

I agree. I was poor growing up and I was very happy.. My mom made sure of it. I'm sure my mother has issues with dealing with providing but overall she too was happy. My childhood was great and I never knew how much we struggled until I was older and she told me.

askeates

I'm glad we all agree that the problem is people shouldn't drop out babies if they can't afford to feed them.

You know what is really scary to me?? I know several families in the area I live that continue to have children so they can get additional state benefits! The children are neglected horribly! Our tax dollars pay for them to continue doing this, and nobody will stand up and stop them!!!! This is one of the many things I feel need to be changed.... IMHO.

TheWiseCat

I'm glad we all agree that the problem is people shouldn't drop out babies if they can't afford to feed them.

I'm glad we can solve all of our social issues so easily. Just don't "drop out babies" and buy healthy food. Gotcha. Because there aren't a whole host of other factors that come into play with either of these issues.

There are a ton more, but the bottom line is this. If you can't afford to feed yourself. Why on Earth would you have more children? I really can't wrap my head around that.

Because so many people lack shame, pride, dignity, worth ethic, responsibility and respect.

holliebevineau

when people are living below the poverty line "good eating habits" is not high on their list or priorites. eating is. finishing all the food on your plate so that its not wasted. And yes, it is cheaper to buy mac and cheese and hot dogs for $1 each. and yes being educated on healty eating on a small budget would help. with poverty there are so many other issues that outweigh eating healthy. there is no one answer to this problem.

LibertyBelle89

I will probably be bashed for this... HOWEVER, I'm putting it out there anyway.

I agree with you 110% and have thought for a very long time, that we need to find a way to help the people we have living here in our own country, and slow down on helping the other countries. Part of the reason we are falling apart as a country is because we have stopped looking inside and taking care of our own. We MUST fix the things that are broken here before we can go to other countries and fix what is broken.

When we were a stronger country, helping others was vitally important, but in doing so we have lost sight of our own countries needs! I find it extremely sad.

Ok, I'm going to get off of my soap box, because I could go on forever with this :sad:

no bashing...agreed!

ChgingMe

I'm glad we all agree that the problem is people shouldn't drop out babies if they can't afford to feed them.

Wow.. That's a thought.. But it ain't gonna happen as long as children are so lucrative for some. :frown:

When I was at the Social Security office getting my card, the dude at the booth beside me was asking how much the payouts would increase if he had 1 more kid, 2 more kids, 3 more kids... and he was taking notes on all the different things that would boost the payout and the SS employee was more than happy to oblige.

My mom in law retired from the state welfare office. The stories she told were incredible, and quite sad.. The waste and abuse of the system is legendary. The ones who need it a lot of the time don't qualify. and the ones who do, abuse it. You aren't allowed to question even though Ms Jones is telling you her children's father ran out on them, but you know for a fact he is in the waiting room waiting for them. Or the woman who gets emergency assistance and you see her an hour later getting her nails done. You still can't question them. Many choose that lifestyle because it pays well. Why try to do better if you don't need to.. Unfortunately the kids are the ones who suffer.

Because some abuse the system does not mean that everyone does. But hey, it's always easy to sit back and judge, rant bout where our tax money goes.

Where in that statement did I say everyone does. And I never ever once mentioned my tax money.. I have found that the people who take the most offense to statements like this are the very ones who are abusing the system or know someone who is. I'm not judging. I am stating fact. The system is being abused to the tune of millions of dollars. If you aren't mad about that, you must be part of the problem.

TheWiseCat

3dogsrunning

I'm glad we all agree that the problem is people shouldn't drop out babies if they can't afford to feed them.

I'm glad we can solve all of our social issues so easily. Just don't "drop out babies" and buy healthy food. Gotcha. Because there aren't a whole host of other factors that come into play with either of these issues.

There are a ton more, but the bottom line is this. If you can't afford to feed yourself. Why on Earth would you have more children? I really can't wrap my head around that.

Honestly in my experience it isn't the majority.
For the record I don't agree with having more children when you are already struggling but my point was its not as simple as don't have kids.