theCLog

Fortunately, the food industry has learned to manufacture cheap foods that can keep the masses fed. Unfortunately, those foods are full of sugar, salt, fat, fillers and chemicals … and those things aren’t good for us to consume.

Which leads to how being broke equals “wide rear syndrome”: With less money, people have to skimp some where, so they often skimp on food. C-ya organics. C-ya healthy meals. Bring on the Velveeta.

As the unemployment rate passes 10 percent and consumers find themselves increasingly strapped, they turn to cheap but effective means to fill their families’ tummies. And those who have jobs are working longer hours, forgoing exercise and searching for foods that are not only economical but convenient.

As a result, more consumers are turning to processed foods – either already prepared, frozen or canned and typically filled with fat-generating calories, refined grains and sugars. That’s making more Americans chubbier and prone to obesity-related illnesses such as diabetes in what has been dubbed “recession fat.”

“Eating healthy has been one of the big casualties of this economic downturn,” says Harry Balzer, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group and author of the research company’s annual Eating Patterns in America report. “Last year, consumers cut back on eating ‘better-for-you’ and organic foods.”

The culprit is cost. About 70 percent of respondents to a recent Technomic Inc. survey said healthier foods are increasingly difficult to afford.

Read the rest of this Charlotte Observer / Market Watch article here.

Further reading: Fat Pride community pushes back on health debate

Here’s some tips for how to eat healthy on a budget:

Bookmark It

Posted in News | Leave a comment