stunned at link between income and obesity

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=3854505

This was a very interesting program. I hadn't really thought about the
link between money and diet before, but it makes sense.

If you earn less than 42K/year, which 50% of the US does, you have
$4/day for food.

How can you possibly eat health for that little? You can't. A head of
lettuce is about $2. Fruit and veggies, even if available, are not
purchasable at that income.

So what are you left with? Fast food, where you can get enough calories
for the money. Eating fast food on limitted income is actually the most
rational thing to do.

Stacey Bender wrote in message
...
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=3854505

This was a very interesting program. I hadn't really thought about
the
link between money and diet before, but it makes sense.

If you earn less than 42K/year, which 50% of the US does, you have
$4/day for food.

Why would you need to limit your food budget to 3.5% of income?

How can you possibly eat health for that little? You can't. A head
of
lettuce is about $2. Fruit and veggies, even if available, are not
purchasable at that income.

Not where I shop. I can buy a weeks worth of fruits and vegetables for
less than $15. Lucky me.

So what are you left with? Fast food, where you can get enough
calories
for the money. Eating fast food on limited income is actually the
most
rational thing to do.

Perhaps for certain variations on the word rational.

Matthew

Matthew wrote:
Not where I shop. I can buy a weeks worth of fruits and vegetables for
less than $15. Lucky me.

If you don't eat any i could buy a years worth for $0/year :-) More
informative would be where do you live and what are your prices per pound?

Eating fast food on limited income is actually the

most

rational thing to do.


Perhaps for certain variations on the word rational.

Maximize calories/dollar seems rational when on a budget.

"Stacey Bender" wrote in message
...
Matthew wrote:
Not where I shop. I can buy a weeks worth of fruits and vegetables for
less than $15. Lucky me.

If you don't eat any i could buy a years worth for $0/year :-) More
informative would be where do you live and what are your prices per pound?

Eating fast food on limited income is actually the

most

rational thing to do.


Perhaps for certain variations on the word rational.

Maximize calories/dollar seems rational when on a budget.

Do you think that is the conscious thought process though? I haven't
listened to the segment in the link but maybe income is related to
education, and educated people make better choices? Just a thought.

Rich wrote:
Maximize calories/dollar seems rational when on a budget.

Do you think that is the conscious thought process though?

Most economic forces aren't. In this case the drive is not to be hungry.
Which foods do that the cheapest? Fat and sugar? Which foods are
convenient and tastey? Fast foods. It's so rational it's painful.

I haven't
listened to the segment in the link but maybe income is related to
education, and educated people make better choices? Just a thought.

Education in this case will pretty much tell you you can't afford to eat
better than you are for the same money.

"Stacey Bender" wrote in message
...
Rich wrote:
Maximize calories/dollar seems rational when on a budget.

Do you think that is the conscious thought process though?

Most economic forces aren't. In this case the drive is not to be hungry.
Which foods do that the cheapest? Fat and sugar? Which foods are
convenient and tastey? Fast foods. It's so rational it's painful.


You're describing an impulse purchase, rationality is lost on impulses

I haven't
listened to the segment in the link but maybe income is related to
education, and educated people make better choices? Just a thought.

Education in this case will pretty much tell you you can't afford to eat
better than you are for the same money.

I disagree, read the examples others have posted.

Stacey Bender wrote in message
...
Matthew wrote:
Not where I shop. I can buy a weeks worth of fruits and vegetables
for
less than $15. Lucky me.

If you don't eat any i could buy a years worth for $0/year :-) More
informative would be where do you live and what are your prices per
pound?

I eat about 15 servings (1/2 cup) of fruit, 30 servings (1 cup) of
leafy green vegetables, and 20 servings (1/2 cup) of other vegetables
each week. The only prices I remember from last week were the really
good ones: 10 oranges for $1 and cabbage at .25/lb.

Eating fast food on limited income is actually the
mostrational thing to do.

Perhaps for certain variations on the word rational.

Maximize calories/dollar seems rational when on a budget.

And eating only the calories necessary seems rational when on a
budget. And eating affordable food that actually tastes good seems
rational at any income level.

I let it slide the first time, but how do you figure fast food has the
highest calorie/dollar ratio. How much a do potatoes cost where you
are? Rice? Beans? Eggs? Whole milk?

Matthew

Matthew wrote:

I eat about 15 servings (1/2 cup) of fruit, 30 servings (1 cup) of
leafy green vegetables, and 20 servings (1/2 cup) of other vegetables
each week. The only prices I remember from last week were the really
good ones: 10 oranges for $1 and cabbage at .25/lb.

At our sto
- strawberries 2 for $3. They are in right now. Other times they can be
like $3 each. Soooo good.
- red delicious apples $1.49/lb
- avocado 99 cents each
- red pepper $3.49/lb (costco kicks ass on peppers)
- zucchini $1.49/lb
- egg plant $2.59 each
- broccoli $1.69 each
- tomatoes $3.29/lb
- top sirloin $7.49 lb
- chicken breast $2.99 lb


And eating only the calories necessary seems rational when on a
budget. And eating affordable food that actually tastes good seems
rational at any income level.

The supersize idea works because people want value which is
dollars/calorie without going hungry. FF is very rational.

I let it slide the first time, but how do you figure fast food has the
highest calorie/dollar ratio. How much a do potatoes cost where you
are? Rice? Beans? Eggs? Whole milk?

I read that the cost of 2000 calories in terms of fat and sugar is 40
cents. That's a good deal.

There is no cheaper and easier to prepare food than bread and/or pasta.
And soda is pretty cheap too, often cheaper than milk.

TC

Stacey Bender wrote:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=3854505

This was a very interesting program. I hadn't really thought about
the
link between money and diet before, but it makes sense.

If you earn less than 42K/year, which 50% of the US does, you have
$4/day for food.

How can you possibly eat health for that little? You can't. A head of

lettuce is about $2. Fruit and veggies, even if available, are not
purchasable at that income.

So what are you left with? Fast food, where you can get enough
calories
for the money. Eating fast food on limitted income is actually the
most
rational thing to do.

TC wrote:
There is no cheaper and easier to prepare food than bread and/or pasta.
And soda is pretty cheap too, often cheaper than milk.

No fruits or veggies in your list and those are what are associated with
health.