I was reading an interesting article yesterday about obesity rates and the grocery stores that people shop at. According to a study done in Seattle, skinnier people are more likly to shop at higher end grocery stores and obese people are more likely to shop at lower end grocery stores. When I read this study, I think about the difference between the rich and the poor. The rich are more likely to be at a healthier weight because they have the means to afford higher quality food. Higher quality doesn’t necessarily mean healthier but most of the time it does. If a family of four has only $10 for a meal, they are more likely to spend it on high caloric foods to fill up. And high caloric foods are generally the ones that are processed and sold for a low price.

It is interesting to think about the obesity epidemic as merely the struggle of the poor. Maybe if we educate people about the benefits of eating healthy nutritious food and the true hidden costs (higher health insurance, more medical bills, etc), we can lower the rate of deaths by the means of lifestyle choices. Or maybe we can simply make good food more affordable and processed foods more expensive so less people are inclined to purchase them.

When I was in Stop and Shop yesterday, I had the choice between a plethora of items but I made the conscious decision to buy a cartful of fruit and lean meats. And this did not come cheap. A container of blackberries alone were $4!

What choices do you make to lead a healthy lifestyle?

xoxo,
h