Social class and Obesity

Montroseee

Why is it that there is such a correlation between childhood obesity and lower socioeconomic status? Women of all ages are also much more likely to be obese or overweight if they are from a lower socioeconomic background. I've never really understood why this is so, I know good quality food is expensive and it's easier to get the 2 euro bag of chips down in Centra but the issue is a lot more complex than this, it is an issue of attitude IMO. Is sport less encouraged? Unhealthy lifestyle less discouraged? Is education a factor? I don't really know but it intrigues me.


http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/risk-of-obesity-doubles-for-children-in-lowincome-homes-29952165.html

bodice ripper

If life already feels like a farce, motivation is hard to come by.

Sheep Lover

Bag of chips for 2 euro or bag of apples for around 1.50 euro, its not money its just greed/stupidity.

ceadaoin.

Probably because junk food is cheaper than fresh stuff.

The Strawman Argument

Sheep Lover wrote: »

Bag of chips for 2 euro or bag of apples for around 1.50 euro, its not money its just greed/stupidity.

I reckon I'd probably live longer if I was eating a diet exclusively of chips than one exclusively of apples...

Sheep Lover

The Strawman Argument wrote: »

I reckon I'd probably live longer if I was eating a diet exclusively of chips than one exclusively of apples...

Fire away my good man, I was simply pointing out that vegetables/fruit/healthy stuff can nearly always be found cheaper than junk food.

ceadaoin.

Sheep Lover wrote: »

Fire away my good man, I was simply pointing out that vegetables/fruit/healthy stuff can nearly always be found cheaper than junk food.

A bag of chips can be a dinner, an apple is not. They aren't really comparable.

mikom

Sheep Lover wrote: »

Bag of chips for 2 euro or bag of apples for around 1.50 euro, its not money its just greed/stupidity.

Bag of chips for 2 euro or 2 kg of potatoes for 2 euro is even more damning.

Sheep Lover

ceadaoin. wrote: »

A bag of chips can be a dinner, an apple is not. They aren't really comparable.

What's the difference between having a couple of apples for dinner to having a bag of chips for dinner?

AnonoBoy

It's lack of education.

anonyanony

Montroseee wrote: »

Why is it that there is such a correlation between childhood obesity and lower socioeconomic status? Women of all ages are also much more likely to be obese or overweight if they are from a lower socioeconomic background. I've never really understood why this is so, I know good quality food is expensive and it's easier to get the 2 euro bag of chips down in Centra but the issue is a lot more complex than this, it is an issue of attitude IMO. Is sport less encouraged? Unhealthy lifestyle less discouraged? I don't really know but it intrigues me.

Don't know where better nutrition food is more expensive then junk came from. When I put on weight by getting lazy and eating junk I was spending more then now when eating good, one of the things that got me back to eating good and stop junk food was when I made redundant I just could no justify spending the money on McDonald's or domino's cause when I was umemployed I had a weekly shop budget of around 40 euro and once I got another job I just kept up the good eating cause when I put on the bit of weight I got depressed and did not want to go back to the bad habits.

I understand if you have social housing and no other outgoings and dole at 188 euro sure then you can get junk and yes it's the lazy thing to do but it will cost you way more then good food.

GarIT

It's all do do with parenting, fat kids have bad parents who don't educate them properly either.

I've done extensive research and found that it is much healthier to each healthy than not. Assuming that the person eating healthy has portion control while the other does not.

ceadaoin.

Sheep Lover wrote: »

What's the difference between having a couple of apples for dinner to having a bag of chips for dinner?

A few hundred calories probably. I don't know about chips but an apple is less than 100 calories. You won't feel satisfied after eating 2 of those for dinner.


It's also lack of education and knowledge. It is possible to eat well cheaply but you need to know how to cook. If you're from a family who lives off processed food and ready meals then you don't have any idea about how to prepare healthy food.

chrissb8

Yeah healthy food is not hard to come by at reasonable prices. I do agree though you see obese mothers sharing a bag of chips with their kids at a bus stop or see the parents giving cans of coke or fanta and a packet of crisps to their pot bellied 5 year old kids. Just the culture around that socio economic class though. Parents can't look after themselves let alone their kids. I don't buy the lack of knowledge about foods and drinks being a reason for the rotund kids. If you're a parent weighing 18 stone smoking, eating and drinking away you know what you're doing is bad for you. Just a shame alot of kids are doomed before they even begin with bad eating habits like their parents.

Sheep Lover

ceadaoin. wrote: »

A few hundred calories probably. I don't know about chips but an apple is less than 100 calories. You won't feel satisfied after eating 2 of those for dinner.

But you will after a measly bag of chips?

Montroseee

GarIT wrote: »

It's all do do with parenting, fat kids have bad parents who don't educate them properly either.

I've done extensive research and found that it is much healthier to each healthy than not.

So could we safely say that if kids are statistically more likely to be overweight if they are from a lower economic background then parents are more likely to bad if they are of lower socioeconomic status.

LETHAL LADY

Is it because there is far greater number of people who can be described as coming from a lower social class or lower income homes causing the figures to be skewed?

DoYouEvenLift

Lower standards of education would be part of it but with most people having access to the internet nowadays that's slowly becoming less of a valid point, or excuse, since the information is there yet people will check their Facebook newsfeeds instead of using a tool for access to basically endless information to learn about stuff that can actually help them.

Montroseee

LETHAL LADY wrote: »

Is it because there is far greater number of people who can be described as coming from a lower social class or lower income homes causing the figures to be skewed?

It's proportional.

GarIT

Montroseee wrote: »

So could we safely say that if kids are statistically more likely to be overweight if they are from a lower economic background then parents are more likely to bad if they are of lower socioeconomic status.

Yes, which links back to education. Less educated people educate less.

robman60

Some of it is probably because low income people tend to be less intelligent, therefore more likely to opt for convenient, cheap unhealthy options.

ceadaoin.

Sheep Lover wrote: »

But you will after a measly bag of chips?

Seriously? Obviously chips are a lot more filling than apples. On the plus side, apples for dinner would solve the obesity epidemic.

somuj

Fat children equals child abuse and parents should be brought before the court. Its disgusting watching an adult shoveling junk into their kids.

anonyanony

robman60 wrote: »

Some of it is probably because low income people tend to be less intelligent, therefore more likely to opt for convenient, cheap unhealthy options.

Stop calling it cheap, the junk food is more expensive then a good meal you can make yourself.

ceadaoin.

robman60 wrote: »

Some of it is probably because low income people tend to be less intelligent, therefore more likely to opt for convenient, cheap unhealthy options.

Lack of education, not intelligence. Unless you think that poor people are idiot sub human types?

anncoates

You've really got a bee in your bonnet about them proles, haven't you?

fr336

There are a few billionaires who look like they're a new skyscraper structure.

steddyeddy

Sheep Lover wrote: »

What's the difference between having a couple of apples for dinner to having a bag of chips for dinner?

The calorific intake.

Ave Sodalis

robman60 wrote: »

Some of it is probably because low income people tend to be less intelligent, therefore more likely to opt for convenient, cheap unhealthy options.

Less intelligent... Have you any stats to back that up?

Sheep Lover wrote: »

But you will after a measly bag of chips?

You can grab a big bag of frozen chips out of Centra for €2 and that's Centra. Lidl and Aldi are cheaper again so yeah, you'd be full after one of those

Saipanne

Its a cop out to say eating healthy is expensive, because it isn't.

RDM_83 again

Its more complex than just this but the biggest factor is Time, if your working for a low paid job unsatisfying job you have no time to or way of doing the big healthy food shop and prepairing the food

ceadaoin.

anonyanony wrote: »

Stop calling it cheap, the junk food is more expensive then a good meal you can make yourself.

No it isn't really. Fresh fruit and veg is expensive. Stocking up a cupboard so that you have spices and various ingredients to hand is expensive. Not to mention cooking utensils and good facilities. I'm sure some people literally have no money to spare for all that stuff.

Doing a weekly shop in Iceland and stocking your trolley full of ready meals is a lot cheaper.

Montroseee

steddyeddy wrote: »

The calorific intake.

Surprised it took you so long to appear.

Saipanne

ceadaoin. wrote: »

No it isn't really. Fresh fruit and veg is expensive. Stocking up a cupboard so that you have spices and various ingredients to hand is expensive.

Doing a weekly shop in Iceland and stocking your trolley full of ready meals is a lot cheaper.

Keeping the shelves stocked with spices is not expensive, unless you're doing it all at once. Sure a thing of paprika costs only a euro. You don't need a lot of them.

Vegetables are not expensive at all. Don't you notice farmers protesting that supermarkets sell them too cheaply?

anonyanony

RDM_83 again wrote: »

Its more complex than just this but the biggest factor is Time, if your working for a low paid job unsatisfying job you have no time to or way of doing the big healthy food shop and prepairing the food

Tesco deliver to you house easy to shop in your bed, what about the single moms not working on social that are larger and so are the kids, they are spending more on junk and have the time to make it.

Making food doesn't take that long but do understand the draw to be lazy if working I did it once myself, but the weight I gained at the time was do to pure lazyness it cost me more to eat the junk rather then prep for 15 min.

ceadaoin.

Saipanne wrote: »

Keeping the shelves stocked with spices is not expensive, unless you're doing it all at once. Sure a thing of paprika costs only a euro. You don't need a lot of them.

Vegetables are not expensive at all. Don't you notice farmers protesting that supermarkets sell them too cheaply?

It's expensive to lay out the money the first time to get everything you need. Keeping it stocked after that is cheap. Plus you need to know how to cook or at least want to learn.

Saipanne

ceadaoin. wrote: »

It's expensive to lay out the money the first time to get everything you need. Keeping it stocked after that is cheap. Plus you need to know how to cook or at least want to learn.

You don't need to buy it all at once.......

Learning to cook doesn't cost anything.

somuj

RDM_83 again wrote: »

Its more complex than just this but the biggest factor is Time, if your working for a low paid job unsatisfying job you have no time to or way of doing the big healthy food shop and prepairing the food

Nonsense. Pot of veg and fish cooked from frozen in 15 minutes. Almost as healthy as fresh fish and veg and only take 5 minutes to grab them from freezer and pay and leave the store.

runawaybishop

ceadaoin. wrote: »

It's expensive to lay out the money the first time to get everything you need. Keeping it stocked after that is cheap. Plus you need to know how to cook or at least want to learn.

Its not expensive. A bag of spuds is far far cheaper than the equivalent weight in frozen chips. A bag of carrots is like 50 cent. The part in bold is the real reason. Lack of educations and willingness to make an effort.

anonyanony

ceadaoin. wrote: »

No it isn't really. Fresh fruit and veg is expensive. Stocking up a cupboard so that you have spices and various ingredients to hand is expensive. Not to mention cooking utensils and good facilities. I'm sure some people literally have no money to spare for all that stuff.

Doing a weekly shop in Iceland and stocking your trolley full of ready meals is a lot cheaper.

Just getting frozen veg, a protein and a bag of spuds will cost less then some frozen meals. Utensils is a copout everyone has a cooker and pan. Spices last for ages and cheap.

runawaybishop

somuj wrote: »

Nonsense. Pot of veg and fish cooked from frozen in 15 minutes. Almost as healthy as fresh fish and veg and only take 5 minutes to grab them from freezer and pay and leave the store.

Agree, the "no time" argument is bull**** and just sheer laziness.

Streetwalker

robman60 wrote: »

Some of it is probably because low income people tend to be less intelligent, therefore more likely to opt for convenient, cheap unhealthy options.

Jesus :eek:. Is this attitude par for the course around here?

If all your friends and family have ever done is eat ready meals or something then it's not even wanting to learn, it's not knowing there's something to learn. Everyone may have the Internet but it's a different story to those of us who use fora, who know how and where to search and how to filter out nonsense and spam. To an extent

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

Personally I think they do it just to be sound, they know how it bothers the educated, financially secure middle-classes when they don't have anyone to sneer at and shít all over, and god knows outrage over the dole gets boring after a while.

Streetwalker

RDM_83 again wrote: »

Its more complex than just this but the biggest factor is Time, if your working for a low paid job unsatisfying job you have no time to or way of doing the big healthy food shop and prepairing the food

With the government putting more and more pressure on low paid families to pay the bank debt off (actually just the interest) this problem is getting worse and worse. A lot of people I know just don't have the time to eat/cook healthy. One of the reasons you see a lot of fat kids and people in general around these days is that mam isn't at home all day anymore with the time to prepare the meal and do a proper thought out shop.

Try getting home at 7pm every evening and setting about helping the kids with the homework, getting that laundry done etc.. whilst spending a couple of hours preparing the dinner.

runawaybishop

Streetwalker wrote: »

With the government putting more and more pressure on low paid families to pay the bank debt off (actually just the interest) this problem is getting worse and worse. A lot of people I know just don't have the time to eat/cook healthy. One of the reasons you see a lot of fat kids and people in general around these days is that mam isn't at home all day anymore with the time to prepare the meal and do a proper thought out shop.

Try getting home at 7pm every evening and setting about helping the kids with the homework, getting that laundry done etc.. whilst spending a couple of hours preparing the dinner.

A couple of hours? Have you no arms or something? Takes me 20 to 30 mins to get dinner on the table.

People are just lazy.

Saipanne

Let's break it down, I'm using tesco here.

Spaghetti Bolognese.


Tesco Value spaghetti - 0.50c

Tesco value tinned tomatoes - 0.49c

Tesco value onions bag - 0.49c

Garlic - not on site, but a cheap one is around 0.50c

Tesco value mushrooms - 0.89c

Dried Basel - 0.60c

Minced beef - 3 euro


Home Cooked spag bol for less than 7 euro. Serves four. Onions, garlic and Basel are leftover for future meals.

How much is a frozen version? Two euro? For one serving?


Expensive, my arse...

ShadowHearth

People with less income usually do ****y, physical jobs and long hours. After coming back home there is no motivation cooking and doing it up all nice and healthy. All they want is to eat something, relax a bit and get ready for another hard day at work.
I am doing a 13h shift today and no way I would come back home now and cook myself a healthy meal. At least in my case the good thing is that I am a chef and I can eat at work, but other professions do not have this benefit.

Just saying that it's all about education and people being lazy is bull****.

anonyanony

Streetwalker wrote: »

whilst spending a couple of hours preparing the dinner.

Most of us don't make a sunday roast each day for dinner, there is plenty of healthy meals to make that can be prepped in 15min, you can make big batches of some of it and freeze it for other days. This is not a valid excuse

No time for shopping get it online from tesco.

Arbiter of Good Taste

RDM_83 again wrote: »

Its more complex than just this but the biggest factor is Time, if your working for a low paid job unsatisfying job you have no time to or way of doing the big healthy food shop and prepairing the food

Many highly paid professionals are working 10/12 hour days. I did it myself at one point. Yet the shopping got done and the meals got cooked.

anncoates

Scum with their instant noodles, cheap lager, tracksuit bottoms, daytime TV and taxpayer-subsidized lifestyles.



But enough about university students....