Why do the poor become fat?

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I think it may be evident in the prices: http://groceries.asda.com/asda-estore/c ... artValue=1 - how could that small pack, for just £0.48 amount to 1200 calories?!

I thought nuts were supposed to be healthy! Cheap food like mcdonald's is mostly composed of fat and sodium.

I don't know if it's just a prejudice or if there's any evidence.

One reason could be that healthy food like fruits and vegetables are quite high in price. So wrong and unhealthy eating habits will be established.

Another reason could be that people may have no work or just a low paid job. They feel sad and down. Useless and socially not accepted. Food is often an escape. It makes us happy.

Food comforts you when you feel lonely or unloved. Poor families are under permanent pressure to get enough money. Discontent, bitterness and maybe violence might increase. An unhealthy and negative mood might lead to verbal abuse.

People are designed to eat a variety of foods, primarily plant-based. If you eat a well balanced meal, your tummy will be nice and full, and you will not have overeaten.

If you eat a diet that consists primarily of cheap, high calorie, carb-laden foods, you will still fill your tummy, but now it is unbalanced.

Unhealthy foods are cheap: Ramen noodles, pasta, white bread, taco bell, McDonald's, etc.

Healthy foods are expensive: a salad at panera, fruits and vegetables, lean meats and meat substitutes, whole grain bread, a salad at a restaurant

I sometimes wonder if people have a Famine instinct that nudges them toward eating foods that will pack on weight.

In this case a different kind of famine, a lack of employment. Maybe mentally and physically the body thinks it is preparing for starvation.

atdevel, do you really think those 1200 calories are healthy just because they're nuts?

Nuts do contain nutrients, but they are also loaded with fat. They're better for you than McDonald's, but they won't make you thin.

Bad genes might also play a role in this, as they usually don't get accepted in jobs out of ugliness or have a very horrible metabolism which makes them fat.

ouch thats alot

but i think the poor get fat because its cheaper to do so when they have a vary limited budget

nutrients in general are expensive (fruit,veg,protein) but processed calories are not. peanuts are just high in fat, i don't take issue with that as they are not engineered to be addictive like most foods are.

i think poor people will be more likely to eat processed crap as it is cheaper and can satiate an appetite for addictive foods high in fat and salt and sugar(plus msg etc etc)

i think there is also the fact that poor people tend to have longer working hours so have less time to cook but also can't afford healthy ready meals as they are usually way way to expensive, especially if you have a family

to me it is pretty obvious what the problem is and it is perverse that it is not higher on the agenda of things that need sorted. not that the government want the working class to rise up and take power

epigenetics can definitely play a role in health and i'd tend to agree that attractive and also tall people tend to have far more power in general.

metabolism is not a fixed thing though, it's not even that hard to change but it does require some understanding or tuition which takes time and money

For me the oppisite is true. I can eat 1 packet of ramen and be full all day but if i eat only vegtables, i am constantly hungry and can never seem to fill up.

I think the issue is a lot to do with overeating and portion sizes. People getting a large fries instead of a small. People Getting a large latte instead ofd a small flat white ect. I was watching a show a few weeks ago about dining out in the western world and all the cheeper places usually offer larger portions, and at least a salad/ vegie bar. This sounds good in principle but all the options are usually cooked in ways to maximise taste (eg Roasted potatoes, cauliflower bake), and then in america, the previlance of buffet style diners leaves people the option of just eating and eating.

We are not taught what a portion size is any more so education is needed. How many people only eat half a cup of cooked rice with their 1.5cups of curry for example when eating indian for example? Who only eats one slice of pizza? Who only has 1 scoop of icecream?

From my experience with living around a lot of homeless people here I have observed

Homeless people generally make the bulk of their diet from unhealthy fast food or other junk food because it's cheap, pleasurable, and filling. They mostly do not work out or try to keep in shape. Many of them tend to drink alcohol on a regular basis so that can lead to weight gain, and/or they smoke cannabis both of which gives people the munchies and can lead to eating more. They tend to have more health problems than the average person, which can cause weight gain, and some also take pills for their health problems that cause weight gain as well.

i think it was phillip roth who said "the problem with being poor, is that it takes up all your time." IOW when you are struggling to make ends me you will [between multiple mcjobs here and there, catch as catch can] not have much freetime in order to exercise and to cook healthy meals.

Healthy =/= low calorie

Poor people are disproportionately fat because fattening foods are disproportionately cheap-
due in no small part to government subsidization of certain industries- wheat, corn, sugar, dairy, and meat- as opposed to others.