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Couldn't it also be that the low IQ kids had low IQ parents with low-wage jobs who couldn't afford anything but the crap food?
Correlation != cause. Fake food definitely causes obesity, though.
Let me give an example:
Government subsidized farms that grow massive amounts of corn for hfcs products are not allowed to grow any other food that they can sell in a free market economy. The government is literally pushing junk food on the American public and taking the market for fresh, healthy food out of the equation.
Couldn't it also be that the low IQ kids had low IQ parents with low-wage jobs who couldn't afford anything but the crap food?
Correlation != cause. Fake food definitely causes obesity, though.
I see your point, but healthy food does not really cost more. It is more about time, effort an inconvenience.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/1...-healthy-food/
Healthy eating really does cost more.
That’s what University of Washington researchers found when they compared the prices of 370 foods sold at supermarkets in the Seattle area. Calorie for calorie, junk foods not only cost less than fruits and vegetables, but junk food prices also are less likely to rise as a result of inflation. The findings, reported in the current issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, may help explain why the highest rates of obesity are seen among people in lower-income groups.
The scientists took an unusual approach, essentially comparing the price of a calorie in a junk food to one consumed in a healthier meal. Although fruits and vegetables are rich in nutrients, they also contain relatively few calories. Foods with high energy density, meaning they pack the most calories per gram, included candy, pastries, baked goods and snacks.
The survey found that higher-calorie, energy-dense foods are the better bargain for cash-strapped shoppers. Energy-dense munchies cost on average $1.76 per 1,000 calories, compared with $18.16 per 1,000 calories for low-energy but nutritious foods.
The survey also showed that low-calorie foods were more likely to increase in price, surging 19.5 percent over the two-year study period. High-calorie foods remained a relative bargain, dropping in price by 1.8 percent.
Although people don’t knowingly shop for calories per se, the data show that it’s easier for low-income people to sustain themselves on junk food rather than fruits and vegetables, says the study’s lead author Adam Drewnowski, director of the center for public health nutrition at the University of Washington. Based on his findings, a 2,000-calorie diet would cost just $3.52 a day if it consisted of junk food, compared with $36.32 a day for a diet of low-energy dense foods. However, most people eat a mix of foods. The average American spends about $7 a day on food, although low-income people spend about $4, says Dr. Drewnowski.
But it’s easier to overeat junk food, Dr. Drewnowski adds, both because it tastes good and because eaters often must consume a greater volume in order to feel satisfied. Still, even those who consume twice as much in junk food calories are still spending far less than healthy eaters.
“If you have $3 to feed yourself, your choices gravitate toward foods which give you the most calories per dollar,’’ said Dr. Drewnowski. “Not only are the empty calories cheaper, but the healthy foods are becoming more and more expensive. Vegetables and fruits are rapidly becoming luxury goods.”
What fresh healthy food has been taken out of the equation?
Fruit and vegetables are cheap. Grains and legumes are cheap. Eggs and dairy are relatively cheap. It takes more time and effort to shop more frequently in smaller quan ies than to buy more food with longer shelf life and higher calories and it is less convenient to plan and prepare healthy meals than to eat junk/fast foo, but it isn't really extraordinarily more expensive. I'm not buying it.
The food that large farms are not allowed to grow . . .
I consider BigFood to include fast food and chain restaurants that serve too big portions.
BigFood sells high-calorie density food, facilitating consuming too many calories.
It's quite hard to consume too many calories when eating fresh, whole foods.
Potato chips are crap.
Take a pure-starch/fast carb piece of potato, fry/soak it in high-temp oil, and salt thoroughly (and they probably put HFCS int there somewhere). Delicious? yes. Garbage? yes.
I'm not disagreeing with any of your points, but that research pretty conclusively shows that it really is extraordinarily more expensive to buy the same amount of calories worth of healthy food as compared to junk (in Seattle). You're basically saying that the University of Washington is lying for no reason.
No, it's true. I'm saying it's not that much more expensive and probably cheaper in the long run considering the negative aspect on general health that could be avoided.
I would also ask the question . . . Are Americans, on average, consuming more calories than they actually need?
Which is?
Any food that is not corn being grown specifically for hfcs products. Are you enjoying being intentionally obtuse, or do you have a point?
lays only contain potatoes, salt and oil. I like them. Please don't boycott them.
No. just name a specific food that large farms aren't allowed to grow. Is it too difficult a question to answer?
I blame poor people.
Grain.
I see plenty of whole grain items on the shelves at the supermarket. Whole grain breads are relatively cheap. , they even sell whole grain pasta.
I'm not sure how grains are being taken out of the equation.
I never said they weren't available, or unaffordable. In fact, that is pretty much my whole point. The next time you go to the grocery store, try to take notice of the prominence in placement and massive quan ies of junk food as opposed to healthy food.
I'm talking about the equality, in availability and price, of healthy foods in the market. If less are whole grain products are being produced, then there will be less available at higher prices. Farms are being subsidized to grow specific foods to make specific products. The marketplace has to rely on smaller farms that aren't subsidized (or on American soil) to make smaller quan ies of foods produced for healthier products.
What are you still having trouble with?
But it is "that much more" expensive, over ten times more expensive with their selected food items. It's absolutely cheaper in the long run considering the negative aspect on general health that could be avoided, but we're talking about the price of food, not the price of food plus the price of medical treatment from eating it for twenty years.
Your foresight is not evident to poor people who are feeding their children.
Yes.I would also ask the question . . . Are Americans, on average, consuming more calories than they actually need?
Are Americans, on average, are consuming less nutrients than they actually need?
Yes.
Interesting...it's like...it's like they're eating calorie-laden food with no nutrients.
!!!!!!! WAIT I THINK SOMETHING JUST CLICKED
Yes. If "selected" means shopping at Whole Foods and buying boutique health foods, then yes, it's a lot more expensive, but that's not what I am talking about. I'm talking about making healthier choices at an average grocery store, the planning and preparation of meals using fresh, healthy ingredients.
It's not a revolutionary idea. It's as simple as Cheerios>Froot Loops or Fruit>Fruit Roll Ups or Yogurt>GoGurt . . . make your own cookies, don't buy soda pop . . . it's not hard.
Undernourished, overfed.
(effed)
Not available, just being taken out of the equation?
k.
Aside from endcap displays, I notice placement of healthy items right next to the "junk food".The next time you go to the grocery store, try to take notice of the prominence in placement and massive quan ies of junk food as opposed to healthy food.
Again, I see plenty of whole grain products on the shelves at HEB.I'm talking about the equality, in availability and price, of healthy foods in the market. If less are whole grain products are being produced, then there will be less available at higher prices. Farms are being subsidized to grow specific foods to make specific products. The marketplace has to rely on smaller farms that aren't subsidized (or on American soil) to make smaller quan ies of foods produced for healthier products.
Yes, they are more expensive than items that contain processed bleached flour et al, but they are there. There also seems to be more and more whole grain items available than there were even 5 years ago.
So apparently your conclusion is that the government is taking whole grain food out of the equation.What are you still having trouble with?
I was asking questions to give you the opportunity to provide evidence of such. You haven't, so I'll go ahead and call bull .
No more troubles.
Well, that's why he posted the study...
And more families have both parents working now, so saying all it takes is time and effort is kinda like saying all it takes to make a million dollars is to not spend anything until you have a million dollars.
Most households today have both parents working, so there's less time/energy/effort to put into cooking food, hence the predilection for processed foods.
I don't think anyone is saying that eating healthy is impossible, or even difficult; they're saying that it's easier to eat junk food.
I'm pretty sure the study consisted of buying healthy and unhealthy foods at the same places. It wouldn't make sense for them to compare prices of unhealthy foods at one kind of supermarket with prices of healthy foods at another.
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