Today's Life

Do You Think That Our Ever Increasing Obesity Rate Is Due To The Price Of Healthy Living?

These days, maintaining a healthy diet is expensive, and many lower income families cannot afford this. It is much easier, more convenient and affordable, to swing by McDonald’s, or pick up a few hot dogs or frozen dinners.
Fast food (frozen foods, and ready-made foods) are more accessible to us.
So do you think our ever increasing obesity rate is due, in part, to the price of healthy living?
Why? Why not?
What is your opinion on the matter?

Questions and   Answer  _Q&A _  Questions and   Answer

A:

 ?I agree that it also has to do with convenience but I’ll also add that it has to do with oversized portions. Most people don’t stick to portion sizes. When they see a Big Mac, they think that the whole meal is meant for one portion and so they eat the whole sandwich. Not to mention value meals, which do save you money if you intend to get the fries and the drink anyway but it has simply become the standard for a lot of people. I think one portion size is like 1/4 of the sandwich.
I think the money part of it is actually quite the opposite. You can save money by cooking, you do have to work in the kitchen a bit. Prior to me cooking everyone’s meals, the monthly food bill was $1800 for 4 people. Most of this was fast food and the other part was convenience foods. This was because everyone worked hectic jobs and we were so exhausted after work that we didn’t want to cook. Since I lost my job in the recession, I’ve been doing housewife chores and since cooking, I’ve found the food bill has dropped to $600 and that’s only because the other members of the family still want their junk food. I bet if we cut that out, it’ll be closer to $400 or maybe even less. Granted, we’re not eating super heavy meat-centered meals any more but it’s actually a pleasant change from choosing between burgers and fried chicken

A:

Ally,
Our society (in America) does not practice ‘healthy living’. We practice consumerism and ‘convenience living’.
You have been led to believe that to be healthy, one must shell out money for: gym membership, special caloric intake meals, etc.
It is indeed inexpensive to go to McDonald’s, buy hot dogs and other pre-prepared foods, however, I can make a meal for less than the cost of fast food if I make the effort to purchase everything at its most basic component (i.e., rice, pasta, tomatoes, corn) and combine it all myself (even less if I purchase in bulk).
As far as the working out goes, when was the last time you saw a jogger being charged for jogging? Push-ups and sit-up don’t cost anything other than time and energy last time I checked, too.
If you have the will to live healthier and are willing to make the sacrifices associated with the above (such as taking the time to make a meal or working out) then you’ll lose weight and feel healthier.
Commercialism has gone to great lengths to make it seem as though it is in our best interest to go for the pre-portioned and prepackaged food. Reason? Money… yours.

A:

It’s not being able to afford things, it’s looking for the easier and more convenient things.
If you live alone you might be able to make that argument but even a couple cooking for two, it’s a lot cheaper to eat healthy at home than to eat junk food out.

A:
It doesn’t come from the price of healthy living, it comes from the ability to spend 98% of our day sitting down and being able to get a big, fat-filled meal at McDonald’s in under ten minutes. It also comes from the video games and TV, maybe less than the pigging out part, but still a problem.

A:
Yes, from an economics standpoint. However, from a medical view, it is primarily a result of over-consumption of simple sugars resulting in decreased insulin sensitivity

A:

It has more to do with convenience than anything else.