Posted on 09/27/2005 7:01:19 PM PDT by NJRighty
September 27, 2005 Poor Have Difficulty Eating Healthy Foods By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE (AP) -- Laurieann Cossey has always struggled with her weight. Four years ago, she was diagnosed with diabetes. Now, six months pregnant and struggling to get by, the single mother tries to make sure her 1-year-old son gets the fruits and vegetables he needs.
''I worry a lot about my son being obese,'' said Cossey, whose mother and grandmother also had diabetes.
Cossey, a 43-year-old community college student, and her son, Andrew, survive on food stamps, trips to the food bank, and a state program for pregnant women and their children that provides essentials such as dairy products, fruit juice and cereal.
She knows they should both be eating more fruits and vegetables. But the foods on the government's new food pyramid are too expensive. Boxed macaroni and cheese costs less than a dollar to feed the whole family; a fresh chicken breast and steamed vegetables cost about $2.60/
The poor have more barriers to dealing with obesity, eating healthy and leading an active life, said Dr. Lydia Tinajero-Deck said/
Dr. David L. Katz of Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center advocates vegetable subsidies. He favors the idea of a junk food tax that would use the money to lower the price of vegetables, as well as pay for anti-obesity programs/
Crane said PCC would be happy to see more funding for government programs that get produce to low-income families/
He also argues for research to map the geographical distribution of obesity rates and spoke about obesity by ZIP code at a conference over the summer. An ''atlas of obesity'' would help policymakers know where to focus their programs, he said/
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Let me guess. Its Bush's fault. Am I right? /s
norplant for welfare parasites
No sh!t. This woman is about 20 years too old to be living in such an irresponsible manner.
He can have mine.
One problem that I see is that the urban poor tend to eat McDonalds for every meal instead of shopping for food and actually cooking meals.
"Let me guess. Its Bush's fault. Am I right? /s"
Isn't everything? :-)
Can't imagine Why...
Funny. People have been eating "macoroni and cheese" and cheap greasy food ever since man started frying chicken.
However he had to catch, pluck and cook his/her own food.
Not drive up to the Colonels and oreder "Extra Crispy"
It's the amount, not quality
How much do WIC and Food Stamp benefits give people per month?
This is a bunch of crap. We get fed this crap all of the time, the truth of the matter is that for the most part the blame lies in the fact that they are just too darned lazy to cook a good meal. Mac and cheese in a box may be cheap, but it's also really easy to prepare.
Are juice boxes cheper than milk? Not really, but it's easier to get your kids to drink them, so that's what they buy. Same with the mac and cheese and hot dogs, that's the easy route, not the cheap one.
Not exclusively. I work at an upscale restaurant and the place wouldn't do much late night business at all if not for the projects crowd.
That is true though; healthy food is very expensive. I have been through a course with a dietician because of my blood pressure and I was horrified at the price of the food I have to eat now. White flour pasta is 79 cents a box; whole wheat pasta is nearly $4.00 for the same amount of pasta. And you can forget about getting health food at the food bank; people give CHEAP food to the food bank, and that isn't health food.
I don't know what the answer is to that. For me it's cutting down on other things. But you have to decide these things yourself.
Only in America...a starving welfare mom worried about her kid being overfed.
The fastest route to financial independence is 'Watch what poor people do, and don't do it.'
Being fat, having color tv's, xbox's, and PS2's. Man, being poor American style sure does suck.
How much do vegetables really cost? I just came from the grocery store and bananas were like 39 cents a pound. I'm talking about raw, fresh vegetables, not the ones already prepackaged in fancy packages. Fruits and vegetables are cheap as hell.
If the poor aren't eating fruits and vegetables, then what are they eating then? Sawdust? (Cue the old cartoons where the character opens up his cabinet and there lies a can of beans. He opens the lid, and a single bean pops out. So now he's trying the cut the bean in half but the bean slips out and rolls into a mousehole or something).
Yeah, and note: community college student. This is a welfare-reform dodge. Register for one class at the local CC and you are now a "student" -- and still get your check, when you otherwise would be running out of benefits and forced to seek the dreaded employment.
She's getting at least $2k a month, counting in-kind benefits and free or reduced rent, and not counting the meds that she gets for her self-inflicted disease (diabetes being a product of her obesity). And we're supposed to weep because fresh poultry and veg costs more than the cheapest all-carbofest, mac and cheese.
I bet if you looked in her house you'd see a bunch of unhealthy, expensive junk food. I also bet she finds a way to afford cigarets, drugs or alcohol. They all seem to.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
''Energy-dense foods rich in starch, sugar or fat are the cheapest option for the consumer,''
Sounds like EVERYTHING a WORKING man/ woman needs.
Repeat: WORKING man/ woman
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