Monday, Jun. 28, 2010

Food Matters: Obesity and the poor

Recent articles and news stories lately have discussed the growing epidemic of obesity especially among the poorest Americans. That doesn't make any sense. How is it people with no money overeat? Is it the misery factor? Studies have found that during an economic recession like we are in today the intake of premium ice cream goes up. People tend to spend more on little comfort things to make up for the extravagant vacations and expensive cars they can no longer buy.

It is true that healthy foods can be much more expensive than refined, processed foods. How can anyone with only a few cents in his pocket pass up a 39 cent burger? The problem I so often see when counseling patients is the poor choices when shopping. If someone is short on cash it seems silly to buy soda, energy drinks or Gatorade. Most eat a good amount of beef or chicken, bologna or hot dogs, cheese, white bread and white rice or pasta and ranch dressing, margarine, mayonnaise and corn oil or vegetable oil. I seldom see clients that are eating mostly rice, tortillas, beans, whole wheat bread and peanut butter.

Cup for cup, legumes (pinto beans, dry peas, lentils, black beans, etc.) provide more protein and fiber than any other vegetable. A cup of dry beans will make about 3 cups of cooked beans; a one pound bag will give you over 7 cups of cooked beans. Beans are a very frugal food. Beans go great with rice, cornbread, tortillas, bread and potatoes or can be part of a stew or soup.

If someone wants to eat healthfully but inexpensively it would help if they were vegetarian. Meat is typically the most expensive part of the meal. This may in part be due to the amount of meat one may consume. We often eat much more than we need. A reasonable and adequate portion is between 2 to 3 ounces in a meal. It would be better to consider meats as a small addition to the more healthy grains, vegetables and fruits.

The way people shop can affect the price of foods. Many low-income areas may have a convenience store nearby that charges an arm and a leg for the limited products they carry. Those without transportation that frequent the neighborhood store may be forced to spend quite a bit more for groceries.

One problem may be the lack of storage space to keep discounted cases or bulk food purchases. The more you buy the less expensive it is. It's nice to have a large pantry or storage area to keep canned and dry foods, but if you don't have one look around for a fairly cool, dry area that can be kept mostly dark. It could be a box under your bed or a closet. A good rule of thumb is if you need to pay more than half the regular price, only get a few, if less than half price, buy as many as the grocery store, your budget, your storage space, and your common sense will allow.

A common complaint is that fruits and vegetables are too expensive. The cost of these foods have gone up about the same as other foods over the past few years. A recent study found that Americans consumed an average 60 percent of the recommended intake of fruits and vegetables. Individuals eligible for benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (low income consumers) ate even smaller amounts of fruits and vegetables (approximately 50%). Farmers markets are a great place to get fresh produce at reasonable prices. Dried fruits are also a less expensive, and a healthy alternative to fresh fruits.

Chuck Newcomb, MS, RD, CDE is a consulting Registered Dietitian currently providing medical nutrition therapy services for Memorial Hospital Los Banos. He has a Masters of Science in Clinical Nutrition from New York University. E-mail questions to the Attention of ChuckRD at: MHALosBanos@SutterHealth.org.