“Mothers stopped homemaking and got careers = fat people.”
You know, this has occured to me before. But not until now have I realized that this is a pretty good explanation for why poorer kids are fatter than the well-off. I chalked it up to poor people making worse choices in general. But it stands to reason that children of lower-middle class to lower-class young single mothers would be fatter than children with two mature parents, possibly with hired help.
In addition to the mom with a job has no time to cook good food for the family theory, there is also the fact that crappy food is cheaper - just check the price of white bread vs 100% whole wheat bread. Fake cheese is cheaper than real cheese. Fresh veggies are more expensive than canned. For some people, it’s a real struggle to eat fresh, healthy food on a budget. (Yes, I know - grow a garden. Thank God I can, but not everyone has the ability to do that!)