Why the Poor are FAT

[GracieRuth]

My synagogue coops with local churches to offer a food bank. Here is the contents of a one month supply for one person:

PROTIEN (meat, dairy, legumes)
1 can tunafish
1 can garbanzo beans (precooked, includes preservatives and coloring)
1/2 bag dried beans

PROCESSED CARBOHYDRATES:
1 box Zataran's (spicy rice)
single serving raisin bran (bran good, but also contains added sugar and corn syrup)
1/2 pkg spaghetti
Sourdough bread

 

[Vicarious]

The reason the poor have higher rates of obesity is because the processed, crappy foods are the most affordable. If you are working with $250 worth of food assistance to feed a family of 4 for a month, you are going to try to make that stretch as far as possible. I don't think we should assume to tell people what they can or cannot buy, but rather educate them how to find fairly inexpensive, healthier items to go along with the cheaper, processed stuff (such as using ground turkey for Hamburger Helper, rather than beef or skipping at least one bag of chips and picking up a bag of apples instead) and how to cook healthier meals with what they can afford. It's not ideal, but we have to consider what they have to work with.

 

[Radiantshadow]

^ +1

Valid point and concern, Gracie.

I worked at a homeless shelter/incarceration rehabilitation center for a time and we could only hand out what was donated to us; this often translated into whatever nearby stores had excess of. I noticed the same trend from your OP then, but people give what they know they can. Carbs are easy to come by, whereas fruits, meat, and vegetables are more expensive. Lean times and all that jazz make donating these things not so easy.

 

[Vicarious]

Carbs are easy to come by, whereas fruits, meat, and vegetables are more expensive. Lean times and all that jazz make donating these things not so easy.

That and they're also perishable. Most food banks, etc. ask for non-perishable items.

 

[Flavus Aquila]

If they are fat, then they are not poor - but their standard of living is just lower than most others.

High protein diets are a standard for a higher standard of living.


I wish churches would try to raise that little bit extra, so that they could employ poor people to do part-time work - mostly physical work. That way people gain self-esteem, and get some exercise as well. It would be far more likely to serve as a gateway to earning a living, than simple hand-outs.

As for the elderly and poor - they should be looked after and given the opportunity to rest and enjoy pleasant past-times. It does us good to honour the elderly.

 

[Faye]

Why is there a box of donuts?

 

[mochi]

The reason the poor have higher rates of obesity is because the processed, crappy foods are the most affordable. If you are working with $250 worth of food assistance to feed a family of 4 for a month, you are going to try to make that stretch as far as possible. I don't think we should assume to tell people what they can or cannot buy, but rather educate them how to find fairly inexpensive, healthier items to go along with the cheaper, processed stuff (such as using ground turkey for Hamburger Helper, rather than beef or skipping at least one bag of chips and picking up a bag of apples instead) and how to cook healthier meals with what they can afford. It's not ideal, but we have to consider what they have to work with.

+1

 

[wmbab1]

No.

Don't just point to the dietary composition and think that alone explains it. If calories in > calories out you get fat; it's that simple, and it happens no matter what you eat.

Can a "better" diet make it easier to be in balance, sure. Can a better diet make for less non-obesity related health issues? Definitively. But there's no magic bullets.

On a low budget, you have to be rational about what you chose, especially when you're on a budget to feed others. IE; avoid unnecessary luxury food, and look at how many mouths you can feed with the budget offered. (I count meat as a luxury btw... it isn't cost-efficient if you look at it rationally, and over-consumption of cheap meat comes with health issues of it's own.)

I can't be arsed to do the numbers, but look at how many calories a day that one month supply represents. If it is reasonable, it's a cost-efficient way to ensure that a single human being has enough food to get through a month. If it's too high, it's possible to cut down on the amount and feed more with less. If it's unreasonably low, you definitively can't say it's a reason for them getting fat.

The poor are fatter than the rest because statistically they have less education, and know-how about what they should be eating. It doesn't help to provide them with a perfect diet and expect them to magically be in good health in all ways if they lack the knowledge required to stay healthy.

The only real way to help the poor is a combination of good public education and social mobility. It doesn't help those who are poor right now, but it changes things in the long haul. The poor right now are fat because they can afford to eat more food than they need. There might be more or less legitimate reasons why they end up eating more than they need, but you can't violate the laws of thermodynamics that it all boils down to: if calories in > calories out you get fat

 

[Sloe Djinn]

My synagogue coops with local churches to offer a food bank. Here is the contents of a one month supply for one person:

PROTIEN (meat, dairy, legumes)
1 can tunafish
1 can garbanzo beans (precooked, includes preservatives and coloring)
1/2 bag dried beans

PROCESSED CARBOHYDRATES:
1 box Zataran's (spicy rice)
single serving raisin bran (bran good, but also contains added sugar and corn syrup)
1/2 pkg spaghetti
Sourdough bread

 

[Lerxst]

Dried rice/grains and lentils/legumes. In other words, cheap, dried, bulk foods. High, complete mix of protein along with some carbs - no reason for dried dairy or meat. When you at least get that foundation in your diet, then you can think about adding some of the fruits and vegetables you'd be missing so that you can round off your meals. Even then, flats of canned veggies and dried fruits aren't that difficult to come by.

So, for anyone donating to a food bank, those are the best, easiest and cheapest foods you can donate (and yes, I "work" at a food bank since I'm currently unemployed and have nothing else to do with my time).

No.

Don't just point to the dietary composition and think that alone explains it. If calories in > calories out you get fat; it's that simple, and it happens no matter what you eat.

Can a "better" diet make it easier to be in balance, sure. Can a better diet make for less non-obesity related health issues? Definitively. But there's no magic bullets.

On a low budget, you have to be rational about what you chose, especially when you're on a budget to feed others. IE; avoid unnecessary luxury food, and look at how many mouths you can feed with the budget offered. (I count meat as a luxury btw... it isn't cost-efficient if you look at it rationally, and over-consumption of cheap meat comes with health issues of it's own.)

I can't be arsed to do the numbers, but look at how many calories a day that one month supply represents. If it is reasonable, it's a cost-efficient way to ensure that a single human being has enough food to get through a month. If it's too high, it's possible to cut down on the amount and feed more with less. If it's unreasonably low, you definitively can't say it's a reason for them getting fat.

The poor are fatter than the rest because statistically they have less education, and know-how about what they should be eating. It doesn't help to provide them with a perfect diet and expect them to magically be in good health in all ways if they lack the knowledge required to stay healthy.

The only real way to help the poor is a combination of good public education and social mobility. It doesn't help those who are poor right now, but it changes things in the long haul. The poor right now are fat because they can afford to eat more food than they need. There might be more or less legitimate reasons why they end up eating more than they need, but you can't violate the laws of thermodynamics that it all boils down to: if calories in > calories out you get fat

As for this, don't take it the wrong way, but come live in the USA for a few years and then talk about being poor. We don't have nearly the same level of social welfare as Norway does so being poor in this country has less to do with education and hard work and more to do with poor government and just "bad luck". Without even trying I can name about a dozen people with college degrees and solid work experience that are lucky to even be getting an unemployment check anymore. Fast food places say they're "over qualified" while their old jobs got packed up and shipped out to China and India.

So we (and I'm one of them) get to pinch our pennies and count our calories!

 

[Vicarious]

O_O It looks like I could eat all that in a week (maybe the beans and rice would last two?) and still have a calorie deficit. That's a month's supply?

That's what I thought. Yikes ...and where are the canned veggies/fruits?

 

[ZcM4xzkjgzCjytBc]

Why the Poor are FAT

because america is in a recession!

 

[udremeei]

The reason the poor have higher rates of obesity is because the processed, crappy foods are the most affordable.

I'm on food stamps. This is so, so freaking true.

I calculated it out one time. Each meal has to be $1.50 (or somewhere very close to that), or less. You try planning a meal around that, while trying to eat healthily. :/ It just doesn't happen.


...I mean, unless you like beans. Lots and lots of beans. ...

(If I'm so poor, then why am I on the internet? A friend lets me jump on theirs.)

 

[Sebastian]

Oats... if I could choose only one food that would be it. Close second would be brown rice.

 

[the]

Im fat and not poor.

 

[Vicarious]

I'm on food stamps. This is so, so freaking true.

I calculated it out one time. Each meal has to be $1.50 (or somewhere very close to that), or less. You try planning a meal around that, while trying to eat healthily. :/ It just doesn't happen.

...I mean, unless you like beans. Lots and lots of beans. ...

(If I'm so poor, then why am I on the internet? A friend lets me jump on theirs.)

My kids and I are too, so I know how hard it is to try to make that money stretch. No need to explain why you are on the internet...there are many ways to get access to the internet, some phone companies even have assistance programs for that, like mine and if they didn't, I could use my parents' wireless since they're only a couple houses away. Fact of the matter is, I'm a student so it's basically required. I'm not quite sure why anyone thinks they have a right to judge how people on assistance spend their money anyway. As long as they're not selling their food stamps for cash or using the money to buy drugs/alcohol and they're using it for what it was intended (family is fed, clothed, roof over their heads, etc.) then I don't think it's really anyone's business how they spend it. I saw an editorial the other day about someone complaining about people on assistance with plasma tv's and iphones...without even considering that perhaps these things were gifts or the fact that FIP (the only program which gives recipients actual cash) doesn't even pay enough per month to cover a small house payment. I would have recieved a whopping 400 a month for 4 people, luckily, I've never needed cash assistance. I hate how these people are so quick to judge the poor while they are likely living way beyond their means themselves. That's the "american dream" after all, gotta have the biggest and the best of everything...we were all raised with that sort of mind-set so who can blame them? Sorry to go off topic a bit...just something that really irks me.

 

[GracieRuth]

Hey jzono! What you are saying about calories is true, but only one piece of the pie. While we haven't pinned down which additives or processed foods are responsible, its pretty conclusive that there is something about the Western diet that adversely impacts our entire metabolism. Until we know specificially which foods are responsible, it is a very good idea for most people to avoid processed foods. I'm on a 1200 calorie a day diet and my weight has pretty much stabilized at 185. But I know from experience that 1200 calories of lean meats with fresh fruits and veggies will keep me from putting the weight back on (I've lost about 100 in all) whereas 1200 calories of sodas, bread, and pasta will put me right back where I started from. You will find that companies specializing in diet, ie. weight watchers, have adjusted their systems so that fruits and vegetables don't use up points, even though they still have calories.

 

[GracieRuth]

Dried rice/grains and lentils/legumes.

This is what caused my diabetes. My body simply doesn't "do" high carb diets. My doc put me on the paleo diet, and I'm not supposed to eat rice/grains or lentils/legumes. I still do a little, sometimes because I don't feel good and want a comfort food, but too often because that's what I can afford that week. Basically, while rice, beans, and flour can keep someone from starving, they simply aren't nutritious and cause long term damage.

 

[GracieRuth]

If they are fat, then they are not poor - but their standard of living is just lower than most others.

I suspect that your definition of "poor" is "a person that is hungry all the time. My definition of poor is a person who cannot afford adequate nutrition.

I wish churches would try to raise that little bit extra, so that they could employ poor people to do part-time work - mostly physical work. That way people gain self-esteem, and get some exercise as well. It would be far more likely to serve as a gateway to earning a living, than simple hand-outs. .

I totally agree with this! Maimonides said that the highest form of Tzedakah (helping the poor) is to help someone achieve self sufficiency.

 

[bamf]

I'm a poor student barely making enough to pay the bills, but I don't qualify for food assistance due to recent legislative changes in my state.

What does this mean for me? I eat a sandwich or two a day and maybe a bowl of cereal (50/50 on the times with milk), and steal fresh fruit whenever/wherever I can, and no I do not feel guilty about it. I try and get all my needed vitamins through supplements, but I've lost over 15lbs since the semester started. Some of that was definitely needed, but I get around 1000 calories a day, and I'm a 6'3" male. I gorge when I can to make up for the deficit.

If I had a little extra money to buy food I most definitely would be fat because that's the only type of food I'd be able to afford. If anything, we need to make healthy food choices more affordable in this nation, and like the OP said, we'd cut down on welfare health costs. Prevention>Reaction.