Fat and broke, and getting fatter: the Healthy Americans new study showing that no state dropped in obesity rate last year and 38 states are over 25% obese.
But undiscussed is income: it’s a major driver of the obesity epidemic, because calorie-rich food is cheap and getting cheaper. Over 35 percent of adults who earn under $15,000 a year are obese, but only 24.5 percent in the over-$50,000 per year.
Yes, this is also education, and ethnicity: poor urban neighborhoods too often are unsafe places to play, and have too few fruits and vegetables for sale.
Several people have made this connection already: Suze Orman has dedicated this CNBC season to “health and wealth”, and has linked out-of-control finances and out-of-control weight, and though I’m not a FICO score expert, I do know that people who have less money to spend (i.e., nearly everyone) are more mindful about what their dollars can buy.
And it’s no secret that calories are cheap: when you can buy 800 calories for $1 (2 liter soda) and the graph below shows cheap fast food, it’s no wonder. As fast food has gotten cheaper, healthier foods have gotten more expensive.
But there is a cure: it’s learning to cook (even wealthy and famous people are doing it: Kristen Stewart makes her own 6 hour marinara); and it’s eating SOUL (sustainable, organic, unprocessed, local…grown yourself) food.




















1 Comment
Comment by Donald James — July 7, 2010 @ 1:36 pm
It is even more than the 2 liter soda – seems like since the economy got worse every fast food establishment is offering a $1 menu with very unhealthy options – bacon cheeseburgers, double cheeseburgers, deep fried chicken sandwich, etc. Not a good path.
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