Eat the rich?

Nation struggles with obesity, but what's the cost of healthy eating?

PORTALES, N.M. (RWN) - As the nation fights to keep from becoming a nation of overeaters, a new study indicates that it's easier to eat well if you're rich.

It has nothing to do with being able to hire cooks or chefs, either. It's that it's far cheaper to eat mass-produced foods that are high in fat then it is to eat freshly prepared healthy food.

"The dollar per calories cost of, say, a PatriotBurger, is eight cents per 100 calories," said Wadi Nayen, a professor of nutrition at Eastern New Mexico Martyrs University. "The dollar per calories cost of dinner-sized salad, is 50 cents per 100 calories.

"If you're poor, it's an economic decision: Do I spend $7.50 on a salad, and I'm going to be hungry two hours later, or should I spend $2.50 and get a PatriotBurger and be full all night?"

The reason a person is full with the burger is the amount of calories: That salad has about 575 calories. The burger? More than 1,000.

"If you're well-to-do, or even doing just ok, the chances are that you will have a much better diet than if you make less than $20,000 a year. If you're below that line, spending 75 cents on an apple can seem daunting."

Nayen's research into the topic has broad public-health implications. The government could, Nayen said, subsidize a fresh-food food bank, so that the poor could pick up their produce and eat well.

"We know that parents are the role models for their kids' diets," Nayen said. "How powerful would that be for a six-year-old to see his father eat a banana or a salad, rather than a hamburger and look down on his plate and see a banana or a salad there. That's very powerful in determining good eating habits.'


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