Will Americans lose weight if food prices continue to rise?!
Question: Perhaps, since sometimes the over processed foods with the cheap fillers (enriched corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, artificial colors and flavors).
I think it's a generalization to say that people with lower incomes eat the less healthy than those who have higher incomes and/or weigh more. By government standards, my husband, our six month old daughter and I live in poverty. However, our fridge and pantry shelves are filled with whole, real foods. I'm six feet tall and weigh 159. I'm far from overweight. If anything, I could stand to gain a few pounds. There are a few junky chips and snacks that my husband bought, but doesn't consume often, but other than that, we generally avoid (I completely avoid; He'll eat on occasion) enriched flour, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, partially hydrogenated oils, artificial colors, artificial flavors, etc. if I don't recognize it, or I'm sure it isn't natural, I don't buy it.
Also, some "diet" foods are specialty foods and probably aren't overly healthy to begin with, like frozen dinners. My husband used to buy those but quit because they were loaded with sodium and lacking in the veggies. At the Wal-Mart we shop (a necessary evil) frozen chicken patties are at least a dollar more than the Morningstar Farms chick'n patties and other veggie "meats". However, if we have to pay a little more for a product, such as Smart Balance spread instead of margarine (all margarines, despite the claims, are made with partially hydrogenated oils; I've also heard that margarine is just a few molecules away from plastic; It may not be true, but why ingest something that is fake?), it's worth it.
Sometimes the real food doesn't cost much more than the fake stuff. We buy Kroger brand organic ketchup (since we switched, I can't stand Heinz and other conventional brands) and the price is comparable to conventional Heinz.
We also shop at Trader Joe's which sells nothing but whole real food at prices that are very cheap.
Many products are slickly lableed and advertised as "healthy". Quaker granola bars claim to be healthy because they contain whole grains. However, they also contain corn syrup, high fructose corn syup, partially hydrogenated oils, artificial colors. Kellogg's cereal claims to be healthy, but contains corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup partially hydrogenated oils, etc. (I once read the lengthy ingredients of a box of Smart Start. It had nine listings of a few types of sugars, including corn syrup and HFCS. It also listed partially hydrogenated oils at least once. How is that supposed to be heart healthy?) A box will claim to have whole grains, but the whole grains listing comes after the enriched flour, and the artificial ingredients. I don't think people bother to read labels or know how, which is sad.
It comes down to deciding what is important. I would rather pay a bit more, if necessary, (and take a bit more time in the grocery store, if necessary to read the labels) for the enjoyment of real food, than to pay much more for any illness I could have prevented by eating the real food.
Answers: Perhaps, since sometimes the over processed foods with the cheap fillers (enriched corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, artificial colors and flavors).
I think it's a generalization to say that people with lower incomes eat the less healthy than those who have higher incomes and/or weigh more. By government standards, my husband, our six month old daughter and I live in poverty. However, our fridge and pantry shelves are filled with whole, real foods. I'm six feet tall and weigh 159. I'm far from overweight. If anything, I could stand to gain a few pounds. There are a few junky chips and snacks that my husband bought, but doesn't consume often, but other than that, we generally avoid (I completely avoid; He'll eat on occasion) enriched flour, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, partially hydrogenated oils, artificial colors, artificial flavors, etc. if I don't recognize it, or I'm sure it isn't natural, I don't buy it.
Also, some "diet" foods are specialty foods and probably aren't overly healthy to begin with, like frozen dinners. My husband used to buy those but quit because they were loaded with sodium and lacking in the veggies. At the Wal-Mart we shop (a necessary evil) frozen chicken patties are at least a dollar more than the Morningstar Farms chick'n patties and other veggie "meats". However, if we have to pay a little more for a product, such as Smart Balance spread instead of margarine (all margarines, despite the claims, are made with partially hydrogenated oils; I've also heard that margarine is just a few molecules away from plastic; It may not be true, but why ingest something that is fake?), it's worth it.
Sometimes the real food doesn't cost much more than the fake stuff. We buy Kroger brand organic ketchup (since we switched, I can't stand Heinz and other conventional brands) and the price is comparable to conventional Heinz.
We also shop at Trader Joe's which sells nothing but whole real food at prices that are very cheap.
Many products are slickly lableed and advertised as "healthy". Quaker granola bars claim to be healthy because they contain whole grains. However, they also contain corn syrup, high fructose corn syup, partially hydrogenated oils, artificial colors. Kellogg's cereal claims to be healthy, but contains corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup partially hydrogenated oils, etc. (I once read the lengthy ingredients of a box of Smart Start. It had nine listings of a few types of sugars, including corn syrup and HFCS. It also listed partially hydrogenated oils at least once. How is that supposed to be heart healthy?) A box will claim to have whole grains, but the whole grains listing comes after the enriched flour, and the artificial ingredients. I don't think people bother to read labels or know how, which is sad.
It comes down to deciding what is important. I would rather pay a bit more, if necessary, (and take a bit more time in the grocery store, if necessary to read the labels) for the enjoyment of real food, than to pay much more for any illness I could have prevented by eating the real food.
no because unfortunately the cheapest foods are the worst for you. thinks like prepackaged foods are SO high in sodium, fat and calories.
On the contrary, I think more people will end up eating unhealthy diets because unhealthy food is generally cheaper than the healthy stuff. That's why low income people are generally fatter than high income people.
Hmmm...thats a good point.
Hopfully
As someone on a diet, I can give you a first hand view. If food prices keep rising, it will make the average American GAIN more weight because the diet food is too expensive. The least expensive things are fast food places, pizza places, and at the grocery store things such as hot dogs, or potato chips. The food prices rising will cause it to become harder for the average American over time if they are not dedicated to maintaining or losing weight because the cheapness of the bad food will eventually draw them in.
Cheaper the food= The worse it is for you.
People wont stop buying there big macs just because its worth 50 more cents.
Only the poor.