http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080121/...Ll8l_LJbQE1vAI

I found this study to be interesting - mostly because it didn't really say anything of substance. They say that current theories are that kids don't eat enough nutritious foods, but eat too much of things like hot dogs. (I don't know about you, but hot dogs are not necessarily cheap or filling foods.) But then they dismiss this as reason for obesity and say there has to be more research done.

I grew up poor, and there were times during our married life raising our kids, especially when we were self-employed and money was tight, that we had to eat "cheap", meaning lots of starch. Mac & cheese, cornbread & beans or split pea soup, more beans, etc. Cheap but filling, and heavy on the carbs. And yes, we gained weight. Of course, there is no mention of this in the news article. Many people with limited food incomes, or who rely on food stamps, don't buy junk food, they buy what is on the bottom of the food pyramid because it's cheap and filling.

At the end they put some blame on family life. It's not their family life, it's the carbs they eat. And it isn't always junk food, either. A $1 bag of dried beans and a $2 bag of rice can feed a family for quite a few meals. These are considered "nutritious" foods, and when we had to, we ate a lot of these foods. No matter that they are "nutritious", we still gained weight eating them.

If they actually looked at what families eat, instead of how much, they might see that pattern - high carb foods to fill the tummy.

__________________
Nita

I work with women who are on government assistance and I can tell you that poverty and welfare make it very difficult to make healthy food choices. Fruits and vegetables are so expensive now that the produce aisle is skipped, entirely. And while beans and rice are a moderately healthy combination, I find that many of these over-worked and over-tired mothers opt for quick fix meals like hotdogs, chips, frozen pizza, and mac & cheese.

I did a small, mental test: one day, I took one of these women shopping with me. She has 3 daughters and I have 3 daughters.
I tried to keep my purchases equal in number to hers. She bought things like chips and cold cereal and sodas while I bought things like salad and beef and cheese. She added cookies and cupcakes to the basket and I added frozen green beans and almonds.

When we got to the register, her total was about 3 times LESS than mine!
THREE TIMES LESS!!!!

I agree with you, Nita; it's not just about the home life. It's about lack of education and a system that punishes you for trying to eat healthy. It's a perpetually cyclical problem that seriously needs to be addressed.
By the way, the woman I shopped with -- who happens to also be my friend -- is VERY overweight, has type II diabetes, and very high blood pressure. I am very scared of what will happen to her if things don't change for her soon.

__________________
Summer

I saw this article today and it really ticked me off. It is a lot cheaper to eat junk so of course parents will buy it so kids won't starve. It would be nice if those who used food stamps could get a discount on produce so they could get it for their kids. I thought that was so interesting what you said about shopping with your friend lawbooks. If anyone has been on foodstamps knows that the $2.50 a day they give someone to live off of doesn't add up to healthy fuel for the body.

__________________

yeah, these people are clueless and are looking for someone to blame.

when our kids were little and we didn't know about lc and had little extra cash, we ended up with lots of potatoes, mac and cheese, hot dogs, sandwiches and the like. i made veggies too, of course, but the kids are less interested and the big bag of chips is 99 cents...plus we were always SO exhausted with full time jobs and little kids to run after, the more work it took to make it, the less likely it was to happen.

clue-less!

__________________

A bit of good news: WalMart employees get a 10% discount on everything except groceries, with the exception of fresh produce! My son-in-law is an assistant manager with WalMart, so I know it to be a fact, and apparently this is a fairly new development, an incentive for employees and their families to eat better. I hope it continues for a long time.

__________________
Nita

well, thanks for adding a bright spot, nita, and maybe the trend will continue.

__________________

That is really neat to hear about Wal-mart. Wow! Healthy makes a happy person/employee.

__________________