Can your wealth affect your weight? I have never really thought about this until now, but it kind of makes sense. Although, all the answers seem to point in different directions. I can think of reasons supporting both sides; If you're wealthy, you will be obese, yet if you are poor you will also be obese. Maybe that's why America is so fat... the availability of crappy foods is plentiful and available to anyone who pleases. If somebody is wealthy, they would have the resources and opportunities available to consume unhealthy foods thus increasing their weight. However, studies find that the opposite is mostly true - a majority of America's poor population is obese. This also makes sense. Since the poor are short on money, they need to ration their money. This can mean spending minimal money on food which most times means spending small amounts of money to eat unhealthily at fast food restaurants such McDonalds or Burger King. It also makes sense that the poorer population is more likely to be obese when you consider the fact that the less money they have, the fewer opportunities they have to access exercise facilities and take part in weight loss programs that their wealthy neighbors may have plenty of access to.
"'There is no single, simple answer to explain the obesity patterns' in America, says Walter Willett, who chairs the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. 'Part of this is due to lower incomes and education, which result in purchases of cheap foods that are high in refined starch and sugar. More deeply, this also reflects lower public investment in education, public transportation, and recreational facilities,' he says. The bottom line: cheap, unhealthy foods mixed with a sedentary lifestyle has made obesity the new normal in America."
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This is definitely true. I think it's unfair that the only cheap foods available to poor people are junk foods.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you wrote about America's obesity paradox. What you said about both rich and poor people being susceptible to obesity had me wondering about the media's role in all of this, since usually they seem to promote being ultra thin. Have you considered that as well as the increasing problem of eating disorders?
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