someone told me this I just can't seem to remember who

by Anonymous 11 years ago

People in Western Civilizations who have not directly experienced poverty have many preconceived notions as to what it must be like. Rural poverty looks very different from urban poverty. The obesity rates among the impoverished in urban communities are much higher than in rural communities. In a rural setting hunting, and farming for food is common, government subsidies are spent in the same stores that middle class residents shop where healthful options are readily available. In urban settings, because of lack of transportation (remember, buses do not accept food vouchers) and the fact that true “grocery” stores are mostly located in areas where middle-class families live, the urban poor are forced to purchase foods at smaller food outlets called //corner stores// that typically do not offer fresh foods. As a result the urban poor are left with less health (self stable) options. They would love to by broccoli, strawberries, orange juice, or even frozen vegies, fresh beef or vegie burgers - these items are simply not available to them. If they did take a bus to the suburbs to shop they would need to carry their purchased home the same way.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Imagine riding a crowed bus with 5 bags of groceries.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I remember now who it was it was my developmental psych professor and he also mentioned rural and urban poverty and transportation issues I've seen urban poverty based on where I live now and I saw rural poverty back where I was born but in both those situations the people were homeless and they were all thin except the few exceptions the kind of poor that still have somewhat of a home I have encountered much less of for urban poverty so that's why I didn't see that comparison

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Also there can be cases where there are plump poor people in rural poverty because of their overeating of rice or maybe that was all they had

by Anonymous 11 years ago

oh yeah that's why I added "in some places" I had a niggling feel that I should put it and your comment made me realize why

by Anonymous 11 years ago

back when we lived in Barbados, there's this petrol station we used to visit all the time and there was this one attendant who was always like "hi, how are you!" and just generally polite but this one time, we're there and the guy asks my dad "how are you?" and my dad says "I'm good, thanks" and this guy goes "no, sir, you are not good, you are fat." and I guess I just said this to illustrate that in some places plumpness is still a sign of wealth and well-being idk, on a tangent sort of related to this, there's a difference between fast-food plump and eats-well plump, don't you think? one is just like round and rotund and the other is like wibbly wobbly all over the place

by Anonymous 11 years ago

It seems logical to me. Fat is the most calorically dense substance commercially available (I'm sure there must be denser ones, but they mustn't be too common if I've never heard of them). Food used to be measured only in quantity, so if you were rich, you'd eat a lot and get fat. Today, there's a much bigger quality factor. All the shitty, fatty food is sold really cheaply, and the better cuts of meat that have less fat are eaten by the rich. Even within fast food, a Carl's Junior Western Bacon Cheeseburger has ~the same number of calories as the much smaller McDonald's Double cheeseburger. It costs about four times as much, is twice as large, but clearly it has better (or less poor, as the case may be) quality ingredients

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Austin pointed out the cheap healthy options below people just have to make more time to go that route so the poor eating healthy is feasible as long as they have the time and will

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Time? Poor people generally work long shifts and are paid by the hour. Every hour spent on health is an hour they could have spent getting an extra $5. Or whatever minimum wage is. It is possible, but difficult. And, wow. Stuff is cheap in the US. USD3.26 would get you maybe a quart of juice here in Singapore at best.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I know time is lacking for some of the poor that's why I made sure to say that as long as they have it it's feasible some can make do because of grandma and grandpa and other relatives but some can't because everyone is working full time jobs trying to make ends meet etc. there are just so many different situations Edit: that article does talk about how the meals don't have to take long to prepare either which I missed during the first read but "this information is one piece of the puzzle" ~Robert Post http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/05/healthy-foods-are-not-expensive-government-study-says/#.UUD0s1dK0g9

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I disagree with the whole poor people can't afford healthy food argument. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/05/healthy-foods-are-not-expensive-government-study-says/#.UUDrllfDuvM and http://ctrlv.in/169628

by Anonymous 11 years ago

the one on top is from fast food restaurants only the junk food Great Value stuff is much cheaper at least I think so and I wasn't making the argument that the poor can't afford healthy just that many of the options in their price range are unhealthy

by Anonymous 11 years ago

The link on top is separate from the picture on the bottom.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

oh okay I didn't see that so people can eat healthy but they choose not to I think that has to do with preparation now both parents are working and the kids are in all these programs and it's easier to grab a packaged item or stop by a drive thru than to actually prepare a healthy meal so I'd say time is another factor

by Anonymous 11 years ago

even so I don't think anything in the post is false since there are still many cheap, unhealthy options available like the comparison Ethan made with the burgers I was just sorta ignorant about the cheap healthy options

by Anonymous 11 years ago

To be fair, a lot of poor people are ignorant of the cheap healthy options.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I think some factors include the fact that low wage jobs are less labor intensive than they used to be. Even farming, one of the most labor intensive jobs there is, now has machinery to help maximize production and minimize labor. Also, the rich are more likely to be able to afford gym memberships, home gyms, personal trainers, etc.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

yeah like how the poor had to grow their own food back then and it was healthy food so they were eating right and exercising they didn't really have to think about eating healthy it was just something they had to do

by Anonymous 11 years ago

"Something to think about." Along with everything else. Obviously. As StickCaveman made a point of, healthy foods aren't outrageously expensive if you know where to look. Also, gardens and animals like chickens are cheap and give long-lasting benefits. I think that a bigger issue is time. Poorer people often work multiple jobs or have hectic lives which makes the preparation of healthy foods a huge hurdle to overcome.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

yeah I talked about the time in the comments you have any better ideas on how to format it? maybe I can get it changed

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Oh my bad! In that case I agree with what you had previously said. If you like it there you shouldn't change it. I, personally, would have just excluded it, as it seems like a weak conclusion to an otherwise good comparison.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I really wasn't going to put that last sentence but without it it just seems like I'm talking about an interesting fact without adding any opinion to it you know what I mean? like this: http://amirite.com/757353-our-memories-can-be-very-inaccurate-they-manipulate-reality-by-concealing-and-adding-certain I didn't add any opinion to it

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I think a lot of it also has to do with just knowledge and awareness of foods in general. There are plenty of people out there who just don't understand or were never taught the facts of nutrition, having a balanced diet and actually knowing what to look for. Schools are teaching this now to students (which is great), but their parents and older generations may ignorant. It can be hard for kids/teens to influence their parents, who may unaware, to break their habits and change the way they cook/shop. (that's how it was with my parents, at least.) But this could be applicable to both the poor and wealthy, really.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

oh yeah knowledge is definitely a factor but there are also those that have the knowledge and are unable to make use of it as well for some of the reasons you listed or some maybe choose not to

by Anonymous 11 years ago

http://amirite.com/553409-for-hundreds-of-years-if-you-were-plump-and-pale-that-meant-you-were-rich-and-beautiful-and-if

by Anonymous 11 years ago

go ahead and report this you need to get justice

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Nah I'm good I was only kidding lol

by Anonymous 11 years ago

NO GET JUSTICE

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Nuh uh That'd be a jerk thing to do

by Anonymous 11 years ago

HEY I'm not a jerk I'm a justice getter

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I know you aint But when someones post is going really well It'd be mean to report it o.e

by Anonymous 11 years ago

hmmph

by Anonymous 11 years ago