Thursday, May 20, 2010

Social Inequities in Diet and Obesity

I've been reading a lot about the social inequities in diet and obesity. According to the USDA low-income families eat low-cost energy dense diets that result in a higher incidence of obesity. An article I read written by Adam Drewnowski published in Nutrition Reviews in 2009 stated:

"...more healthful foods are also more expensive and beyond the reach of many. Some low-income families limit their food budget to $100 for four people per week, or less than $4 per person per day. The only foods that can be obtained for this amount of money are high in refined grains, added sugars, and added fats, and the healthful, recommended foods are separated by an immense gap in energy costs."

I highly doubt that it is impossible for people to eat healthy food for about $4 a day, that is if people are willing to put in a little extra effort to cook. I predict that Mark and I should be able to eat local unprocessed food for a year for about $4 a person per day. Maximally we should be able to eat for less than we would receive in food stamps, which according to the USDA a family of 2 19-50 years old would receive $80.6 per week, which is almost $6 a person per day. I will keep track of the amount we spend, so that I can tally it in the end. I will also keep track of our weight, since spending less on food tends to correlate with an increase in weight.

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