Sugar, Obesity and Diabetes: The Great American Health Epidemic
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at 3x the cost.
Cheap, Fast or Healthy. Pick two. Most americans barely have time for cheap and fast.
Its our society, IMO, and so many variables have attributed towards this trend over the years.
So if you are poor, have knowledge, you magically become rich. Sounds really easy and you should write a book.
I stand by my statement that the vast majority of people on this website were not raised poor, so their opinion is heavily swayed to their unrelated experiences.
I also wonder how many fat people are responding to this thread so we can see their perspective.
Healthy food is just as cheap as unhealthy food. Rice, pasta, frozen vegetables, white meats, roasts....all very inexpensive. I worked with the ADA a long time ago doing cost analysis for low income families. Cost is just an excuse for people that don't know how to shop and cook efficiently.
You really need some context around this comment.
Other factors:
Food preservation
Transportation to store or stores
Appliances used to cook
Spices and oils that can't be eaten by themselves
Utilities available
Food storage
Food on the go for those with jobs
There are lots of factors why poor families have to make the choices they do.
That depends on the type of rice and pasta and how it's fortified.
I cook my own meals & eat healthy, for the most part. It's cheap & easy to bake, stir fry, steam, whatever some fresh, or even frozen, vegetables as a side dish. Chicken is not exactly expensive & can be cooked a million ways. Maybe I'm biased as cooking is also a hobby of mine that I enjoy.
People need to stop living to work & work to live.
See above. The amount of assistance the government gives our poor in terms of food is staggering. In my very brief tenure working for the state I noticed one trend...irresponsible people who were digging their own graves. That's something the bleeding hearts of the world fail to realize. You cannot truly be poor and be fat, period.
^This. My office is now empty as everyone has left to go out for lunch. I'm the only one that cooked an inexpensive meal at home and brought it in using tupperware I've had since college and a fork from TWA when I was 5. Feeding yourself is basic and people make it way to damn complicated.
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Build a better economy, and stop making me want things!
Thee End!
Too bad excuses aren't a substitute for healthy food.
Blown89, your views are diluted at best and it is clear that you don't understand the struggle of the poor.
A refrigerator is not the only source of food preservation and it is also a quite expensive appliance. Yes, many have a refrigerator, but food preservation is greater than the limited space of a refrigerator. Fresh fruit and vegetables do not stay fresh for long and require frequent trips to the grocery store. Other items are prime targets for bug infiltration which is quite common is crowded urban environments.
Transportation to and from the grocery store frequently is not the same as transportation to and from the grocery store once a month. Transportation also plays a role in food preservation.
I can go on and on, but I don't think you have a good understanding of what living poor is actually like. It can get quite complicated.
A refrigerator is not the only source of food preservation and it is also a quite expensive appliance. Yes, many have a refrigerator, but food preservation is greater than the limited space of a refrigerator. Fresh fruit and vegetables do not stay fresh for long and require frequent trips to the grocery store. Other items are prime targets for bug infiltration which is quite common is crowded urban environments.
Transportation to and from the grocery store frequently is not the same as transportation to and from the grocery store once a month. Transportation also plays a role in food preservation.
I can go on and on, but I don't think you have a good understanding of what living poor is actually like. It can get quite complicated.
If you are poor, and have a roof over your head, you are probably renting. Every apartment I have seen provides the 'fridge, stove, etc. All you have to do is pay the electricity/gas bill and you have a way to both cook and store your food. If it breaks the rental agency will have it repaired. Fresh fruit and vegetables usually last through a week just fine, so there really is no need to go to the grocery store more than on a weekly basis.
I am blessed my wife is an amazing cook (actually went to culinary school before she joined the Navy), and she loves to do it. She cooks amazing meals for cheap.
I can also make adequate tasting meals for cheap with my almost non existent cooking skills lol. Anyone who says they can't cook so they have to eat out is just lazy.
Everyone at my workplace brings a lunch. Our lunch is only 30 minutes, so it makes it tough to eat out but it's doable. I eat out for lunch occasionally, but try not to too much.
do you live in a crappy apartment complex?
Are you poor?
Have you been poor?
I am not saying it can't be done, I am just saying that it is harder than you all are making it out to be. When you have disposable income it is easy to eat healthy.
Eating healthy costs more and takes more time when it is all said and done. Does it cost a lot more? No, but costing more is all relative to your income. To somebody that is poor and that has very little free time the decisions become more difficult.
I get the impression that most of you think being poor means both parents are around, both have jobs, and they are stealing from government programs. There are a lot of facets to being poor and most of you are insensitive to that.
Well I do have an understanding, and right now you sound like every other poor person I grew up around who makes excuses and sits around waiting for things to just get better on their own. I know a ton of people who talk about it exactly the way you are, yet, they seem to have money for iPhones, a tv, and drinking booze every weekend. I'm constantly seeing posts from them on FB requesting rides from friends to go to so and so's party or some event down town. Yet they won't even try to better their life because "the man holds them down." It's never their own fault.
If they would have spend less money on beer and smart phones, they could've bought a reliable used car and some decent clothes for job interviews years ago. Either that, or they could've gone to college or a trade school and used that money they're wasting to pay off student debt and they'd have a real job now. Instead, they are all still living with parents in their late 20's and early 30's or shacked up with 3 other friends sleeping on a couch.
It's possible for ANYONE to make it. Some might have it harder than others. Cry me a ****ing river. The fact is that most people in these situations won't make the necessary sacrifices today in order to prosper tomorrow.
I'm one of the few I know that grew up less fortunate and learned to make those sacrifices and put in the effort. In hind-sight, it really wasn't even THAT hard. It just takes some perspective.
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That makes no sense. Sometime my wife and I slip up and decide to eat fast food multiple times a week. On a good week, we plan out healthy meals and cook every night. We spend WAY less money on the latter.
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