The Cost Of Eating Healthy

In David Freedman’s article, “How Junk Food Can End Obesity” (2013), he begins by discussing his endeavors to search for wholesome food. He continues to come across food items that claim to be healthy and void of processed junk, but all he finds are items high in calories or the expense is too much for an average American. He argues that wholesome foods are actually just as bad, if not even worse, than junk food and that the Big Food industry has the technology available to make food healthier, but still retain its appeal. Freedman mentions continuously throughout his article that Americans who are most at risk of becoming obese are those who cannot afford healthy foods, completely defeating the purpose of the wholefoods movement. He

Obesity has dangerously increased over the years. Its consequences can be fatal for the human immune system. Some of the complications of overweight are: heart disease, diabetes, malnutrition, cancer, and even death. However, the cost of healthy food is twice or three times more than the price of junk food. Everywhere healthy options are more expensive, even water costs more than sodas. Making healthier food more affordable, will contribute to having healthier population. I think healthy food options should be more affordable because cheaper prices for junk food promotes obesity and other severe health issues, and families with low income can’t afford the costs of a healthy lifestyle.

(Parker-Pope, 2007) “If you have three dollars to feed yourself, your choices gravitate toward foods which give you the most calories per dollar.” said Dr. Drewnowski, Professor of the Department of Epidemiology and Medicine at the University of Washington. He further stated, “Not only are the empty calories cheaper, but the healthy foods are becoming more and more expensive. Vegetables and fruits are rapidly becoming luxury goods.” (Parker-Pope, 2007) Much of these cost are due to our Governments Farm Policy. Farm policy encourages the production of commodities for processed foods instead of healthy foods. Whether by intention or not, because of the low cost of commodities like corn and soybeans, sugars and fats like fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated vegetable oils, current farm policy has directed food industry investment into funding ways of using these cheap food additives in processed foods, thus causing consumers to eat more added sweeteners and oils than is healthy. Because these highly processed foods can be produced at a very low cost, they give significant profit for the food industry which creates an industry incentive to market “junk” foods instead of healthier foods. (Food without Thought:How US Farm Policy Contributes to Obesity)

Would you like to have no decisions on the healthiness of your food, and being able to only eat fast food, fried foods, etc. Most people would say no and rightfully so, people should be able to have choices on the foods they want to eat whether it’s healthy, unhealthy, fast food, farm grown, we shouldn’t have only unhealthy foods for our choices of what we eat. In the film Food Inc. directed by Robert Kenner there is a part in the movie that talks about the food choices of consumers. A point that was talked about for a decent amount of time in this part was how healthier foods are more expensive than fast food. This stood out to me because it’s true it cost more to eat healthy than it does to just go through a drive through. This is outrageous it should be the opposite, we should have to spend more for fast food than healthy foods. While at most fast food places there are ways you can eat healthy food but it is still more expensive than just buying a cheeseburger or chicken nuggets. During this part of the film a family was talking and saying that they have to choose whether to eat healthier food or get there father/husbands medicine so he could work. A family has to choose between those to things and that is not fair to anyone that has to make that decision. The family wanted to have better food and to not always be eating fast food meals but they don’t really have a choice and that is heartbreaking to see.

People choose to turn to meals that are already prepared for them instead of paying more money and spending more time cooking meals using healthier ingredients. Fast food restaurants are known for creating fast service and big meals for low prices which entices customers to buy more of their food because it doesn't require any work on the customer's behalf to be able to feed their families. Fixing this bad habit in most Americans households would require a change in the prices of fruits and vegetables giving the ability for anyone and everyone to be able to buy fresh produce from grocery stores and make it easier for everyone or helping people choose the way of making a fresh and healthy meal for their families instead of providing the meals given through drive thru windows. In the situation of trying to make the prices of fresh produce cheaper and helping adults make meals for their families instead of buying meals another solution could be for the government to step in and create a limit on how big restaurants are allowed to have their portion sizes. All fast food restaurants are in competition with each other so every restaurant tries to bring in as many customers as possible and if you are able to bring in a lot of customers that gives you power over every other restaurant. The key to bringing in customers

Obesity is a continuing problem in the American society. Obesity, occurs when, the amount of energy taken is more than the energy released (Abraham 237). The growing obesity rates could be slightly declined by the availability of more affordable, healthier foods and the decline of these temporary quick fit diets, many Americans put themselves on as a means to get fit. The opposing viewpoint may suggest that obesity can be fixed simply by shopping for better, healthier food choices in grocery stores and learning how to count calories to maintain a healthy weight; but that simple solution may not be an achievable solution for every American. Furthermore, the difference of cost between healthy compared to unhealthy foods is completely outrageous. Numberless people strive to go into a grocery store and select all of the healthy food options of their liking; however, healthy food options cost more and are seemingly unaffordable compared to junk food. The government should regulate the prices of junk and healthy food as a means to combat obesity in America, so that all persons can achieve good health.

Welcome to the United States of America; where every citizen has the right to life, liberty, and an expanding waistline. Recent studies have shown that “1 out of every 3 Americans are considered obese or overweight”(Kelley); a major contributor for 100,000 to 400,000 weight related deaths yearly. As a cost of being one of the heaviest nations in the world, the U.S. designates around $190.2 billion dollars, or 21% of all medical spending every year, for treatment, preventative, and diagnostic services, in an effort to stop what is now referred to as ”an obesity epidemic”. As for individuals living with this chronic disease on a daily basis, a recent report from George

While it is common for many Americans to be preached to on a daily basis about the importance of healthy eating and exercise, what most don’t consider is that one doesn’t have to completely give up the food that they love in order to strive to become more healthy. Even though the best thing for America to do would be to give up unhealthy eating habits completely, this goal is just not realistic. Fast food and unhealthy eating are too deeply ingrained in American culture to change within a decade. As of now, the best thing to do would be to incorporate better foods into their daily diets in order to better balance out the unhealthy food. This way, at least not all of the total calories consumed on a daily basis are from saturated fats, and other bad foods. Approaching America with this idea can be less intimidating than to suggest completely taking away junk food. This way people are more coerced into the idea and are more likely to switch over to a healthier diet than telling them to eat healthy right off the

In "Don't Blame the Eater," David Zinczenko responds to arguments that overweight people are to blame for their health problems. However, Zinczenko forgets to mention that fast food joints fail to uphold their responsibilities of providing healthy and nutritious foods to the public. In other words, they merely only care about making money and by doing so they make cheap, unhealthy products and sell them at reasonably low prices. Furthermore, this leads to more and more people purchasing their foods and an increase in health problems. While fast food places do a splendid job in advertising their foods using the words "juicy" and "delicious", they fail to show their consumers just how unhealthy their products actually are. Many people, such

The United States government brainwashes society with the idea that they know what is best for them, but according to obesity rates in America, they are wrong, and in most cases, with some knowledge, only one’s self knows what is best. With a government that is struggling to fix their economy, the reason the government recommends certain foods is just like anything else, and that is money. A twenty piece chicken Mcnugget at Mcdonalds is five dollars, and a large fountain drink is a dollar-fifty. Compared to pricey vegetables and other produce, that is clearly the easiest, and affordable lunch. Even though the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) tells society to stay away from junk food, they simultaneously make ingredients for the

The problem with these questions are that the unhealthy food meets these requirements. The unhealthy options are, on average $1.50 less than the healthier options. Unhealthy food often tastes greater with more fat and sugar, and companies are producing more in response to the demand and wish for unhealthy food is higher making the unhealthy food easily accessible. On average, the normal working person will save

The obesity epidemic can be changed by lowering the price of healthy foods. In the online article “Eating better for less” by Roland Sturm and Derek Yach it reveals that “So far, the results are compelling. Lowering the costs of healthy foods in supermarkets not only increases the amount of fruits, vegetables and whole grains that people eat, but it also seems to reduce their consumption of less nutritionally desirable foods. Using data from the grocery clerks' scanners, we estimate that a 25% rebate on healthy foods raises the share of healthier foods” (11). In “Eating better for less” online article it states that by lowering the price of health foods it reveals that very one makes a change and buys healthier foods. Healthy foods should be inexpensive such that when people shop at grocery stores they will not have to second think about getting the

Should access to healthy food be a right for everyone? A simple question with a unneededly complicated answer. Proper, healthy food should not be such high a cost that families who have a lower income cannot afford it. Denying the opportunity for nourishment is an ethical dilemma of this nation especially with obesity being our trademark. In the 2008 film Food Inc. directed by Robert Kenner, it discusses the topic of affordability vs healthy food. In this he interviews a low middle class income family of 4 and they elaborate on how and why it is difficult to choose one over the other. They talk about how "You can get a McDonald's cheeseburger for ninety nine cents while you can't even get a head of broccoli for ninety nine cents." says Kenner after a shot of the family having to be careful with what they buy at the supermarket. This is a failure the the American people, for food that is healthy to us to not be equally as priced as fast food is a trap for low income families to fall into a state where they get health issues, have to pay for medical bills, and then are stuck in this gaping hole of poverty; on top of having to raise kids.

Corporate America is feeding into our desire to eat healthier but I’m not so sure that we really are eating healthier because if you analyze the content of some of those “diet” meals then they’re not all that healthy.

People all the time state this false quote, “Healthy foods don’t cost more than unhealthy ones.” For example, if you go to an all organic grocery store, like Trader Joe’s, you will walk out spending much more than going to a regular grocery store and buying the usual not low-fat foods. A can of soda and an apple have roughly the same number of calories (~120). While a large apple costs about $1, a can of soda sells for $0.50 to $0.75. You may be shocked by this fact, but today’s society is messed up with nutrition. One major group that is affected by this situation are mothers who are trying to raise a family in a healthy way and teach them good eating habits, but they soon realize that it decreases their bank account drastically and they go back to the quick and fast meals. Part of the problem with healthy foods being so "expensive" is the definition of price.