Obesity and poverty...

Crazyartgrrl

While i agree with you to an extent i'll also argue that yes you can feed a family of 4 for less than $200 a week. My Weekly grocery budget is 1/2 of that! I buy in bulk and also shop seasonal fruits and veggies. I also shop at farmers markets and a little amish shop that is in my neighborhood. Its not just what they are eating, but the quantity.

Out in the country, they don't have farmer's markets and bulk stores. :frown: Where I grew up in Alabama, you had to drive about 30 mins. to get to the one tiny grocery store in the nearest town, and I didn't even know what a farmer's market was until I moved to a big city.

That's irony isn't it?

TheWiseCat

This entire thread is a microcosm of whats wrong with the U.S. You have a bunch of people who have never had to want for anything in their lives trying to debate why poor people are fat. Listen to the people who have posted in this thread who ACTUALLY GREW UP POOR, we aren't making excuses because we know what its like. It is a choice. This is just another example of people who don't know what they are talking about enabling people who make poor decisions. I know, I lived it. Someone posted earlier that this thread made them feel sorry for humanity. Yeah, me too. People have to be responsible for their own actions. Stop making excuses for them.

I love how you KNOW who and who hasn't had to want for anything in their lives based on their decision to advertise it in their post. You're making assumptions that are incorrect. Even if they haven't ever had to, it doesn't mean they don't have friends or family or some type of experience with people in that situation that has given them knowledge on it. Which really doesn't matter because people are free to discuss whatever it is they so choose. I have opinions on space travel, but I've never been an astronaut. Am I therefore not allowed to voice said opinion?

fluffychicken7

I know I will probably get bashed for this but here goes..........MY father grew up dirt poor as one of 8 children. He was not and is not obese and neither were his parents and siblings. They did have a garden that helped supplement their diet etc and they ate beans for the majority of their meals. So, that being said, people can find a way to eat without being obese if they try.

I KNOW IT"S NOT THAT SIMPLE. But...............

Sometimes its fear that keeps people from trying. Someone dear in my life is morbid obese and her family are comfortable. She was thin as a kid but something must have changed growing up and its not that she doesn't come from a loving family. My cousin and I both tried to help her, but her response was 'but I like to eat this or I don't want to' so me being much more draconian than my cousin, gave up and I said, come back when you want to because I don't speak whine. Her mom paid for an expensive martial arts center because she said she likes it, but then she doesn't go. Its quite tragic really. Rich or poor is not an excuse, excuses are excuses.

laele75

It is part of the problem. I am poor and easily paid for and ate food that was cheap and only marginally healthy. I didn't even eat out that much. Maybe twice a month. But Rice-a-Roni is $10 for ten boxes. It was easy just to thaw out a chicken breast and frozen veggies and cook all that as a skillet casserole. Then was made aware of how much sodium was in the stuff and realized what I was doing to my body. Cheap food has a ton of sodium. Which is probably why heart disease is so prevalent.

I can't have a garden, I live in the inner city. I am lucky enough to have a Mom n Pop open air food market down the street I can shop from whenever I want. But the more specialized your diet, the more you have to pay. The more time you have to spend figuring out what to eat or buy.

Someone called it. If you haven't been there, you don't understand and shouldn't judge. If you want to change things, start writing your congress critters and demanding stricter standards. Instead of insulting poverty stricken people trying to get by.

CarriLu123

SS is based on household income and number of immediate family members.

TheWiseCat

While i agree with you to an extent i'll also argue that yes you can feed a family of 4 for less than $200 a week. My Weekly grocery budget is 1/2 of that! I buy in bulk and also shop seasonal fruits and veggies. I also shop at farmers markets and a little amish shop that is in my neighborhood. Its not just what they are eating, but the quantity.

Out in the country, they don't have farmer's markets and bulk stores. :frown: Where I grew up in Alabama, you had to drive about 30 mins. to get to the one tiny grocery store in the nearest town, and I didn't even know what a farmer's market was until I moved to a big city.

That's irony isn't it?

When I lived in a small town, I didn't go to the farmer's market because I went to the farmer. Unpasteurized milk, day old eggs and fresh meat. Loved it!

RllyGudTweetr

If you spent $3 on a cheeseburger, fries and a coke at McDonald's you have gotten yourself a kid's meal which would have more calories, less nutrition than one of there $6 salads. I think what it boils down to is laziness. Yes it is easier to swing through a drive through, but if you buy a pound of hamburger meat ($3.50), some buns (usually can find on sale for $1 for 8), a sack of potatoes ($3) you can cook all of it yourself and have left over food for what it would cost to feed a family of four at McDonald's.

If you're the sole breadwinner in a single-parent house dealing with poverty, and work 17 hours a day in order to provide for your family, is it still "laziness" to buy less healthy foods that don't take 15 minutes and more to prepare, rather than the potatoes and hamburgers (sorely lacking in any vegetables or fruits, incidentally) suggested here?

littlelady2b

I'm sure when your father was young life and society was very different than it is today comparing the two really is putting blinders on to what it is really like for obese people to loose weight. I don't mean any disrespect towards you because you are of course entitlled to your opinion but ignorance is bliss and making a statement like that just shows how it is easy for those like yourself to judge others when every situation is different. I personally don't know if I can loose weight in my situation but I am taking steps to try but many people who are just trying to survive like me aren't worried about their weight as much as they are worried about providing a roof over their family's heads and food to eat period. There are many factors that contribute to obesity and its not just the food people eat.

Elf_Princess1210

its a combination of ignorance of proper nutrition, poverty, and local economy. some people may even lack electricity and running water necessary to prepare healthy nourishing meals. I think it really depends on the situation.

Elf_Princess1210

If you spent $3 on a cheeseburger, fries and a coke at McDonald's you have gotten yourself a kid's meal which would have more calories, less nutrition than one of there $6 salads. I think what it boils down to is laziness. Yes it is easier to swing through a drive through, but if you buy a pound of hamburger meat ($3.50), some buns (usually can find on sale for $1 for 8), a sack of potatoes ($3) you can cook all of it yourself and have left over food for what it would cost to feed a family of four at McDonald's.

If you're the sole breadwinner in a single-parent house dealing with poverty, and work 17 hours a day in order to provide for your family, is it still "laziness" to buy less healthy foods that don't take 15 minutes and more to prepare, rather than the potatoes and hamburgers (sorely lacking in any vegetables or fruits, incidentally) suggested here?

Hell at one point when I lived with my ex on his father's land I didn't have running water or electricity in order to cook unless his father felt generous enough to turn the power on. Is it still "laziness" to go to McDonalds in order to eat cooked food in a comfortable place? FYI I still lost tons of weight while eating McDonalds every 2-3 day when I could scrounge up enough money to eat.

FindingSexy

Obesity and apathy is more like it. One can educate one's self on how to live healthy. I work at a grocery store. One can spend $5 dollars in produce or on a box of sugar cereal; $.89 on Little Debbie pies or on apples.

fluffychicken7

Obesity and apathy is more like it. One can educate one's self on how to live healthy.

for the win.

RllyGudTweetr

Obesity and apathy is more like it. One can educate one's self on how to live healthy. I work at a grocery store. One can spend $5 dollars in produce or on a box of sugar cereal; $.89 on Little Debbie pies or on apples.

I have had months in my life where my monthly food budget was $17.25, American. Please outline the healthy food choices you would make to get through that month on adequate nutrition and caloric intake. Thanks.

FindingSexy

This is not a personal attack on any one person. This is an observation I have made over the last 15 years.

Sorry, I didn't quote the above post.

jjefferies7

When will people understand that processed and "unclean" foods don't cause weight gain, an excess of calories does. In 98% of the posts in this thread and on the whole forum all I see are these claims about clean eating. Living on cheap fast foods DOESN'T cause obesity, however, eating 4000 calories when you need 2000 to maintain your weight WILL.

RllyGudTweetr

This is not a personal attack on any one person. This is an observation I have made over the last 15 years.

I wasn't reading it as an attack. I was reading it as an observation of the facts as you understand them. I am asking, based on your understanding, how you would advise a person in a situation such as I described to eat healthy for that time period, on that budget. "Healthy" means adequate macros, micronutrients, and calories to maintain a medium frame on an adult male, neither too thin nor too heavy; I'm not talking about needing nutrition sufficient to fuel an endurance athlete.

MagicalLeopleurodon

all this is bringing me back to my preteens. mom and dad had just divorced.

we ate a lot of beans and rice, lots of canned sausages, and lots ofpotatoes in those days.

was it tasty? no. we couldnt afford bacon to season the beans. (tried canned sausage once. it dissolved)
i never went hungry though.

TheWiseCat

Even the homicidal meth cook feeds his son well.

laele75

When will people understand that processed and "unclean" foods don't cause weight gain, an excess of calories does. In 98% of the posts in this thread and on the whole forum all I see are these claims about clean eating. Living on cheap fast foods DOESN'T cause obesity, however, eating 4000 calories when you need 2000 to maintain your weight WILL.

Poverty = depression. You're absolutely right. But often, food is the only comfort you can afford. Which is kind of sad itself, if you think about it.

rebbylicious

If you go to the grocery and buy enough fresh, whole food to feed a family of four for a week, you'll likely spend no less than $200. Good, fresh, real food is terribly expensive. Crap food is not! A cheeseburger, fries, and coke at McDonalds cost $3. A salad at McDonalds cost $6. Fresh produce and meat is expensive compared to ramen noodles and Vienna sausages. It's next to impossible for people living in poverty to eat healthy food!

A bag of lentils is under a dollar that with a couple carrots and celery and onion is a delicious meal for cheaper than a burger and fries and waaaayyy healthier...

Yeeeeah, but try getting kids to eat it. Mine are VERY picky.

Kids will eat when it is their only option. (I have 4 kids, I understand what it's like to have a kid refuse to eat something) but I also understand that kids become picky when their taste buds are not introduced to good foods at a young age and when they are sugared up. My oldest daughter was a picky eater, so I put chicken and peas in her yogurt... she didn't notice. Their appetites come back when they do not get juice. My youngest child drinks carrot juice because that was the only juice he has been given. (he started turning orange at one point from drinking too much bt that is another topic LOL) THere is a website called "saving dinner" and she has a WHOLE thing on getting kids not to be picky. Also their palate needs to be introduced to foods even if they don't like it, if they have it on their tongue and don't swallow it, their taste buds develop ad eventually they will enjoy the flavor.