Why are so many "poor" Americans SO FAT?

I have always wondered why we say that people on public assistance are poor. If they were really poor how do so many of them stay so fat? It is obvious that their are statistically more fat people on assistance than their are fat people who are not.

Food is not cheap. I work and I would go broke if I had to eat enough each month to maintain a 300lb girth. So how do these "poor" people afford to stay so fat?

Also how do they have cable tv, dvd players, microwaves, etc if they are really poor?

I have an idea that could save lives and millions of tax payer dollars. I think we should cut a persons welfare benefits if they are overweight. This way they will be forced to eat less and will loose weight. This will help them to be healthier as well as save money.

It really wouldnt be any different than how the government taxes cigarettes or alcohol as a means to reduce consumption and thus influence positive behavior. Actually, it would be better than that, because maybe it would motivate those folks to find a job if they want to stay fat and happy.

It's expensive to eat well. Fruits and vegetables are expensive.
Lower income people get more calories per dollar by living off of junk foods.

Also cheaper meats tend to have loads of fat on it. Most poor people will not waste and eat the fat.

Some statistics.

Poorer people don't get the oppurtunity to eat healthy.

With a steady diet of wendys, and mcdonald big macs, the things to choose are quite unhealthy.

Ever walk down the Ghetto, I have it's a very bizarre unreal feeling, seeing crying children, and then a hummer in the driveway of a house that's literally just falling apart with bugs all over the place.

Or hearin bass over and over again from every car, nearly every car.

I think for the most part it's priorities.

well it can be a viscious cycle, depression > poverty > overeating> depression > poverty.

People who have been in poverty for generations might tend to be fat because of this too, in america we have the luxury of cheap food, Its possible to live in deplorable conditions and still eat every day.

reply to post by Tartarspoon


Well maybe they should rethnk what they purchase. Maybe buying less food that is healthier food is better than buying a bunch of junk food. You might have less to eat but some of them need to eat less. It just seems wrong that a person on assistance could afford so much junk food that a woman is going to have a giant butt and big, fat, cellulite ridden, giggly thighs.

Also, I eat a fair amount of junk food and it is not cheap. It also doesnt make me fat. To get obese you have to be pumping some serious amount of food into your mouth. Plus, if you are fat do you really need to be eating the fat off of the meat?

Maybe, just maybe, if they spend less time fixing food and eating it they would have more time to look for a job.

reply to post by patientobserver


Well how can we call that poverty if you have enough money to keep getting fatter and fatter? That is rich for most of the rest of the world. Also, if you live in poverty do you really need cable tv or a dvd player or a microwave, or to be eating out at a restaraunt? Maybe if they ate less, but better, they would feel healthier and be less depressed. So I think it is a good idea to cut their benefits to help them loose weight. Once they loose weight they will feel better about themselves and be more physically active. That must help with depression and lead to a better quality of life for them.

It seems kind of stupid to keep paying to feed them to the level of obesity if then later we have to pay for a triple bypass because we fattened them up too well.

As someone who works in a welfare office, I will debunk some myths.

A lot of the people coming in are not all fat. They are pretty indicative of the population.

Many are recently in a bind.

Despite what people think, you don't get that much money for welfare. It is only to supplement a family budget, not a soul source. A family of three will get 200 bucks a month. Hardly enough to eat filet mignon on.

Many are recently disabled and can't bring in an income.

Your income is really next to nothing to qualify. It really is for the desperate.

If you are a single parent you have to file for child support.

They have to jump through hoops to get it. They have to participate in job training, drug screening, and actively look for jobs.

They have to provide insane documentation.

It is NOT an easy process. And you only do it if you really need it.

There are restrictions on the food stamps. No prepared foods, hot foods, alcohol, cigarettes. Just strictly food from the shelves. Formula. not even diapers.

Most people I meet are surviving for survival and just trying to feed their kids. I meet a lot of desperate people. Many coming in the cars they live in.

I find your comments ignorant and disturbing.

Or just trollish.



[edit on 30-7-2009 by nixie_nox]

reply to post by Republican08


I hear you Republican. The poor kids are going hungry while their mothers keep getting fatter. The only skinny adults in the ghetto are crack heads and meth addicts.

I have a few ideas on the same things lately.

Point by point, if I may.

Welfare, I thought, was put into place years ago to help people who'd fallen on their luck, not to lazily live on. I detest lazy people, and I positively loathe the people who have no shame, no pride, and will immediately live off the govt. tit for as long as it feeds them.

Support set up for sudden widows or unemployed persons has evolved to a life-support system designed to provide for those who prefer someone else providing for them.

The system has been taken advantage of, big time!

I know some people are in dire straits and need it. But so many that need it due to no or little fault of their own cannot easily get approved, simply because people have severely taken advantage.

IE, people that need it aren't getting it because people that don't need (not all, but many) are getting it instead.

And the obesity comes in the form of cheap, unhealthy foods. More times than not, the pricier a food is, the better it is for you.

And the ones most deprived are children.

I've known a lot of people who struggle, wouldn't do welfare if they were dying, and are forced to eat cheaper, less healthier foods just in an effort to provide clothes and such for their kids.

IMO, many, many people are taking advantage, abusing and working the system for - extra money, goodies, etc.

Sick.

reply to post by nixie_nox


They might only be getting a few hundred dollars cash, but they get plenty of food stamps, free housing, and free medical care. There are a lot of working folks that dont have $200 spending cash after they pay for food, housing, and medical expenses each month.

Obviosly some of them are making out quite well. You cant maintain a big fat behind unless you are eating quite well.

My 2 Cents...as stated above...

Quality food becomes too expensive for the true poor and they are forced to buy lessor (higher fat content) meats and cheaper (higher fat content) foods in general...

It's not all their fault...look to Corp Food Producers for even producing this *CARP*

Originally posted by Hx3_1963
My 2 Cents...as stated above...

Quality food becomes too expensive for the true poor and they are forced to buy lessor (higher fat content) meats and cheaper (higher fat content) foods in general...

It's not all their fault...look to Corp Food Producers for even producing this *CARP*

Nobody is forcing anyone to buy unhealthy foods. It is their choice. I dont think we should try to lay blame on everyone else for a persons bad choices. Could they not also choose to buy less food, but healthier food. Obviously they are getting too much food or they wouldnt be so fat, so a little less, but healthier would be good for them.

[edit on 7/30/2009 by grapesofraft]

Originally posted by Republican08
Some statistics.

Poorer people don't get the oppurtunity to eat healthy.

With a steady diet of wendys, and mcdonald big macs, the things to choose are quite unhealthy.

Ever walk down the Ghetto, I have it's a very bizarre unreal feeling, seeing crying children, and then a hummer in the driveway of a house that's literally just falling apart with bugs all over the place.

Or hearin bass over and over again from every car, nearly every car.

I think for the most part it's priorities.

Not sure where you live, but I have spent some time in the lower income "ghetto" neighborhoods of Kansas City, and only occasionally did I hear a car with loud bass.

Certainly way less than back in the suburbs.



The reason poor people in the US are fat is that food is not expensive, yet good food is.

Go down to a bad area of town and drive around, look for a grocery store you probably won't find one. Many low income neighborhoods do not have grocery stores anymore. All they have is Fast food restaraunts and convenience stores, and if they are really really poor they can't even drive far to get to a good grocery store. If all you ate was junk food you would be fat too.

Originally posted by grapesofraft
reply to post by nixie_nox

 

Obviosly some of them are making out quite well. You cant maintain a big fat behind unless you are eating quite well.

That's not entirely true. "Back in the day", being fat was a sign of wealth - as you had the means to actually buy food and laze about.

In our current society, the more unhealthy food that clogs arteries and whatnot is more wildly available for mere dollars.
"Supersize Me" was a rather good example of how much weight someone can pack on within months by eating this food constantly - and there are people who eat like that.

Cheers,
~Tea

reply to post by bommer09


A person could eat nothing but junk food and not be fat. You just have to eat less of it. As far as grocery stores go, they all moved out of the ghetto because they were tired of getting robbed and loosing tons of money to shoplifters.. so whose fault is that?

reply to post by TheTeaKettle


The truth is though that they CHOOSE to eat like that. Nobody is forcing them to buy junk food. Personally, I dont see where junk food is cheaper than buying healthy food. If you prepare your own meals instead of buying microwavable products you will save a fortune.

reply to post by grapesofraft


This is true, although it depends on where you live and the availability of food. My family eats relatively well; and I can't remember the last time we "ate out". It's not hard for us to spend over $100 shopping sales for healthy foods and buy ingredients for making our own stuff.

However, one of the things that can be seen to people eating unhealthy is them either not caring, or not even knowing what to do. I have a friend who doesn't even know how to make a salad and lives pretty well off Dr. Pepper and other crap. I just asked him about it, and he responded; "Because I don't have the luxury of eating what I wish. We have no money. None. Ever."
Yes, I'm aware of what a load of BS that comes across as, but it stands by my reasoning of people just not being aware or thinking of what they can manage to do for themselves.

Cheers,
Tea
-Whom can't spell

[edit on 30-7-2009 by TheTeaKettle]

Originally posted by grapesofraft
reply to post by bommer09

 

A person could eat nothing but junk food and not be fat. You just have to eat less of it. As far as grocery stores go, they all moved out of the ghetto because they were tired of getting robbed and loosing tons of money to shoplifters.. so whose fault is that?

I hate to engage in a flame war but you should seriously read some statistics if you think that is why many low income areas are missing grocery stores.

The fact is that it became unprofitable for grocery stores to sell food in those areas, because as those areas became poorer, less and less people bought food (or at least bought less food) from the grocery store. Less Demand.

This means that in order for the grocer to make up the money he is losing from people buying less food, he must raise the food prices.

As you can see this is a vicious cycle and because the food prices are raised, less people go, and so on and so forth until the grocery store shuts down.

When that happens the people have a few options. Go to another neighborhood where there is a grocery store and buy food, or rely on conveneince stores and fast food restaraunts. And for those who do not have a car that's one option out the window.

The fact is most poor people are not their by choice. If you spent any time talking to people in the ghetto or working with any community service organizations or churches in the area you would know that.

They aren't just a bunch of lazy people sitting at home eating and watching television while they collect welfare checks. And to assume that grocery stores left ghettos because of robbery and shoplifting is asinine. People don't usually # with people they get food from. And even if they did, thats not enough of a reason to close a store down, especially when you can spend a little bit of money on a gun or better security systems.

reply to post by grapesofraft


If they were really poor how do so many of them stay so fat?

Define "so many"

Where are the statistics and facts?

Poor people come in all sizes. Under and over weight. Obese and emaciated. Rich people also come in all sizes. There is no correlation between income level and bmi.

reply to post by grapesofraft


Wow really?

Next time you are at the grocery store look at the prices of fruit and vegetables. It ain't cheap and it is only getting more expensive. Around here a single ear of corn costs at least 50 cents. Same with apples and oranges.

Now if you're poor and buying food for your whole family your priorities are going to be on what makes your family member's full. In other words you are going to buy them food that fills them up so they arent hungry. If it's between a couple apples or a whole bag of potato chips a lot of people will choose the potato chips.