Reply to WTF is up with all the obese kids in DC?

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[quote=Anonymous]I haven't read the entire article, but I'll address the last line based on my experience.

Most of these obese children do indeed live in poverty.  My students are on free and reduced meals. That means they eat breakfast, lunch and sometimes an early dinner at school. What will a kid pick?  a salad or tater tots?

Furthermore, it takes TIME to prepare a healthy meal, even if it is cheaper. There's no one home to cook for these kids b/c their parents are working more than one job and working all sorts of odd hours.

So the [i]Times[/i] reporter can do all the food comparison price shopping he wants. WHO has the time to actually shop - let alone cook these meals?  Try shopping at 11 pm.

[quote=Anonymous][quote]OP, It is because of POVERTY. SOMEHOW when you are POOR you get too much food, if they had MORE money, they would be able to shop at Whole Foods and buy LESS food and eat less. Also, they would magically not choose to buy the potato chips at WF, just the Gala apples. [/quote]

Or is it ??????????

Article in today's NYTimes makes the opposite case.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/is-junk-food-really-cheaper.html?_r=1

Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?
By MARK BITTMAN
Published: September 24, 2011

THE “fact” that junk food is cheaper than real food has become a reflexive part of how we explain why so many Americans are overweight, particularly those with lower incomes. I frequently read confident statements like, “when a bag of chips is cheaper than a head of broccoli ...” or “it’s more affordable to feed a family of four at McDonald’s than to cook a healthy meal for them at home.”

This is just plain wrong. In fact it isn’t cheaper to eat highly processed food: a typical order for a family of four — for example, two Big Macs, a cheeseburger, six chicken McNuggets, two medium and two small fries, and two medium and two small sodas — costs, at the McDonald’s a hundred steps from where I write, about $28. (Judicious ordering of “Happy Meals” can reduce that to about $23 — and you get a few apple slices in addition to the fries!)

In general, despite extensive government subsidies, hyperprocessed food remains more expensive than food cooked at home.[b] [b]You can serve a roasted chicken with vegetables along with a simple salad and milk for about $14, and feed four or even six people.[/b][/b][/quote][/quote]

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