If You Want To Lose Weight, Then Stop Being Poor
May 11, 2011 by Cade
5 Comments
Does the size of your wallet correlate to the size of your waist line?
Do you have to be rich in order to be ridiculously good looking?
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that a study conducted by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health revealed that obesity rates for poor adults were 9 percent higher than for the financially successful. The overweight-obesity rate for non-poor Philadelphia children is around 40 percent, while for poor kids, it’s almost a whopping 52 percent.
According to Gary Taubes, author of Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It
As shown in Philadelphia and other metropolitan areas, less money in your purse doesn’t mean you will weigh less when you stand on the scale.
Why are the rich healthier?
There are a lot of hypotheses on this topic and why the lower your bank account funds, the higher your body fat:
- Rich people can afford gym memberships, fitness programs, and other equipment that poor people can’t.
- If you are more rich, than you have more freedom or time to focus on your health.
- There is a lack of confidence when you are financially struggling and health becomes less of a concern.
- Heavier women tend to marry men with less money. (this one is a bit comical, no matter how true or false it may be)
The question is how can people that have less money and eat less get heavier?
The truth is not in the amount of food people are eating, but the amount of the wrong types of foods they are eating.
Adam Drewnowski, a University of Washington epidemiologist, tells the Philadephia Inquirer that: “‘One of our biggest misconceptions is that it’s poor people’s fault. The poor, without access to healthy foods, are making the best possible choices under difficult circumstances.’”
Almost everyone would prefer not to be overweight or obese. So the question is are people making poor choices because they have no other option or they aren’t being educated on what are the right types of foods to eat.
So what are the right foods to eat?
Unfortunately some of the most unhealthy foods tend to be the easiest or cheapest to access. White flour, sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, and starches are the culprits. They exist in so many foods and many are very affordable like bread, pasta, chips, candy, sugar drinks, potatoes, etc. A healthier diet, or a diet focused on limiting fat, is more focused on lean protein like fish and chicken, complex carbs like vegetables, and healthy fats like nuts.
Meat, nuts, and other fresh natural foods tend to be more expensive. In a society where people struggle with time management and skyrocketing bills such as gas prices, it makes it more challenging than ever to eat healthy and get proper exercise.
Even without the exercise and just proper nutrition we would be in a better situation. Unfortunately our western diets become borderline addictive, specifically with sugars that have negative effects on our hormones similar to hard core drugs like crack and heroin. These foods not only are unhealthy, but don’t appease the appetite causing people to eat more and more calories.
According to Dr. Robert Lustig, of University of California, men are eating 187 more calories and women are eating 335 more calories today than 20-25 years ago.
Guess where most of these extra calories are coming from? Bad carbs like flour and sugar.
We have seen this happen with many other cultures when Western diets high in simple carbs are introduced to them. A prime example was the change of the Pima tribe that went from being slender and lean up until the 1850′s when they were introduced to government rations and trading posts that sold flour and sugar.
This unhealthy style of eating not only leads to obesity, but the other diseases that come with it: diabeties, heart disease, and potentially cancer. Think now of the greater challenges that the poor will have to deal with financially for medical bills when they are introduced to these diseases at much earlier ages.
How Do We Solve This?
Well that answer will take more than a blog post. But I am curious…what do you think will make a difference here? Is this an economical issue, an education issue, or something else? Write away…
About Cade
Cade is the founder of Know My Body. Sorry...no doctor degree, fancy gym, multi-million dollar fitness program, or label as a self-proclaimed health guru of biblical proportions. He is a common guy just like you. Maybe that helps him get you a bit better.
He has worked the past several years trying to get a grasp of "health knowledgeries" from the perspective of a person working a 9 to 5 job and dealing with the normal and not-so-normal challenges that life gives. Visit our About Page to chew on some more knowledge about Cade and how we want to help you at Know My Body.
Excellent articles on your blog, I look forward to reading them all.
On this particular issue, I think it’s analogous to the powerful get corrupt, and the corrupt seek power. Fat people get poorer, and poor people get fatter. It’s a vicious cycle that can be hard to break. When you are fat, your health care expenses get higher, making you poorer, and when your poor, you tend to be less educated about nutrition and have fewer food choices. The same poor people who are smart enough to practice good nutrition are usually smart enough not to stay poor.
To break the cycle, we have to improve public education about nutrition and make certain healthy food choices are affordable in school lunches and in less affluent neighborhoods.
Ultimately, people are responsible for their own decisions. Not everyone can afford organic vegetables or wild caught salmon, but there are options like frozen vegetables and lean meats like chicken breasts that are very affordable and nearly as nutritious.
James these are awesome points and I agree with you on all of them. Often I think people build these poor habits because they are bombarded by foods that are high in sugar, bad carbs, etc. You mentioned education….what do you think about “MyPlate” that Michelle Obama and the U.S. Department of Agriculture came out with recently? Do you think it is any better than the Food Pyramid? I am curious to hear how else you think education can be impacted.
I think MyPlate was a step in the right direction, but that they missed an opportunity. It’s a better graphic than the pyramid, because it’s easier to understand portion control, for example that “half your plate should be fruits and vegetables”.
But they could have put “Whole Grains” instead of grains on the graphic, and “low fat dairy” instead of just Dairy. On their site, they go on to recommend whole grains and low fat dairly, but it’s not on the graphic.
Also, they go on to recommend water instead of sugary drinks, but don’t put a glass of water on the graphic. I know they were going for something simple.
I find it refreshing that they put “Protein” instead of “Meat”. I’m no vegan, but it’s a more accurate term for what we need. Overall it’s better than the “four food groups” I grew up with, with no guidance on portions.
As far as Michelle Obama, I think almost every first lady latches on to an issue that’s not controversial, and makes it their own; I can’t imagine anyone who is sane that is against childhood obesity. So I’m not really impressed by her involvement, but it can’t hurt.
But I really think the best way to fight childhood obesity is to fight obesity in parents and in young adults who will become parents. We set the examples. We buy the food. It amazes me the change in attitude my own kids have about food now that I am in shape.
Still, a full court press on obesity is the only option at this point. We’ve got to fight it everywhere we can.
Could you email me with any hints about how you made this blog site look this awesome , I would be appreciative!
When you say “awesome” which aspects of the site are you referring to? There is a lot of awesome here.