Low Calorie, High Cost
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Tara Gidus, MS, RD, CSSD, LD/N
I was reading a new study out in the December issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association that I found really interesting. The researchers looked food costs and found that lower calorie foods like fruits and vegetables are getting more expensive! As if eating right wasn't hard enough!
General inflation rates for food is about 5%, but the inflation rate for fruits and vegetables has gone up 20% in recent years. Foods that are rich in refined grains, sugar, and fat hardly went up at all in price. Unfortunately this is making it more difficult to follow the advice of health professionals. This kind of news is what is leading Americans to be undernourished from a perspective of nutrients but overfed from calories from sugar and fat. The result is a population suffering from overweight and obesity and not having the energy to get ourselves out of this dilemma!
The obesity epidemic in this country has been happening for many reasons. It always comes down to eating too many calories and not moving enough. But now we have an economic cause that plays into the equation. If someone does not have the financial resources to buy healthy, low calorie foods it is going to be near to impossible to eat right and maintain a healthy weight.
The solution? We need to make farming more economical and support our farmers. Please talk to your congressmen about the Farm Bill!
What do you think? Have you been buying fewer fruits and vegetables because of the cost?
Labels: food costs, fruit, low calorie food, Tara Gidus, vegetables
2 Comments:
At Wed Dec 05, 06:51:00 PM 2007,
Plain City Lady said…
It's not only expensive to eat healthier, but our school cafeterias are charging more for the healthier food than the junk food. My daughter came home complaining one day that a small handful of carrots cost 75 cents, where a bag of junk snacks was much cheaper. Kids have to take phys ed and health in school, but then they head to the cafeteria and are given unhealthy choices for lunch. I just read that a Florida legislator was trying to pass a bill to make school lunches healthier. It's about time. And of course, we have a responsibility to do our part to improve the way our children (and adults) eat.
At Tue Dec 18, 11:46:00 AM 2007,
Anonymous said…
Thank you for your article about fats and obesity. I live in Waco, TX and the obesity rate is out of control--babies, children are apm their way to High Blood PRessure and Sugar Diabetes at a young age. Adults so heavy they cannot walk--literally. Rolls of fat hang over their lower body- it is sad to see young women weighing in a\t 300-400 lbs. I myself gained 20 lbs in the first year in WACO- THE WEATHER here is like a sauna in the summer and running is impossible- even walking is impossible I came from the beach city of Encinitas, Cal and was able to walk by the ocean anytime i wanted to and kept a slim, trim girlish figure. I am now watching every gram of fat- and cut out sodas and bread etc. I eat fresh salad and turkey cutlets with 0 fat. It is a slow process but am losing - have lost 6 lbs since Dec 1, 2007. At this rate I will be back to my "California weight" by Jan 27. My Grandmother was born in Texas and she was huge and had diabetes. All her girls had diabetes. Heavy gravy ,biscuits, chicken fried steak, etc and no exercise destroyed their health.
Luckily, I have escaped that disease. Thanks again
Mary Beth Joseph
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