California is Getting Fatter as the Credit Crunch Bites

The Los Angeles Times reports that during these times of economic uncertainty, the tightening of belts is actually leading to the expanding of waistlines.

While to stock market crashes all around us and grocery bills are rocketing you would be excused for losing your appetite. However, the reverse seems to be true. As the economy dives, there are signs that it is affecting how people eat. Gone are the days when the poor would tighten their belts when times got hard. Instead, people are more likely to gain weight. A combination of comfort eating and cheap junk food will actually fatten up California, and the rest of America, while the credit crunch bites harder.

As food gets more expensive, people not only buy less of it, but they also cheaper alternatives. And cheaper foods tend to have more calories than those with a higher price tag. Your dollar goes further when buying junk food. For example, as the price of oranges rises, people buy less oranges. And some may decide to buy cookies instead.

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“People are eating cheap, unhealthy food who never thought they would be,” Adam Drewnowski, director of the Center for Obesity Research at the University of Washington in Seattle.

High-calorie foods (chips, dips, cookies, candy) are generally cheaper than low-calorie foods (fresh fruits, leafy greens, nutritious vegetables). Processed foods are cheap to make, ship and store. This is partly due to government agricultural policy and partly due to the nature of the foods themselves.

“You can see how this situation could fuel both under-nutrition and over-nutrition,” Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.

However, healthy eating does not have to be abandoned completely during hard times. There are healthy alternatives to cheap junk food. Obvious options are choosing the staples of Mexico (rice and beans) or China (rice and vegetables) instead of expensive exotic fruits and fine cuts of meat.

People need to remember that the term “to tighten your belt” comes from the day that hard times meant less food, and a thinner population. You cannot eat your way out of the credit crunch.

Source: LA Times

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