proof: healthy diets cost more

[Guest guest]

It's not your imagination...

 

Here's a recent study confirming that healthy diets

really do cost more. From the American Journal of

Clinical Nutrition:

 

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/79/1/6

 

 

-Erin

http://www.zenpawn.com/vegblog/vegan-done-light.html

[Guest guest]

I do not agree. I spent a lot more when I wasn't vegetarian.

I watch the market ads for veggies on sale, I buy grains, legumes and

beans bulk, I use leftovers to make another meal. Being a vegetarian

has been very economical for myself and my veg-head friends.

 

Zena

, " Erin " <truepatriot wrote:

>

> It's not your imagination...

>

> Here's a recent study confirming that healthy diets

> really do cost more. From the American Journal of

> Clinical Nutrition:

>

> http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/79/1/6

>

>

> -Erin

> http://www.zenpawn.com/vegblog/vegan-done-light.html

>

[Guest guest]

When I see articles like this - the first question I often ask myself -

is who is providing their/the reseacrhers funding? It is usually big

business, " for porfit " companies - So, Reading the article - to the

link you provided below? is mostly about Obesity and Poverty? and way

down in the article is a brief mention about the costs of foods? in

comparsion to different income groups, ie; the top and the bottom

income groups? Also, you said " Here's a recent study confirming " ? do

you consider 1992 data recent? 15 years ago? hum - even the article

date itself is from Jan. of 2004? And, again - most of this entire

article is about OBESITY and it's effects.

 

And, even in the section of the article you are referring to it states

and I quote: " the absence of large-scale community studies, few

intervention studies purport to show that healthful diets are not more

expensive than are less healthful diets. " - reread the whole thing.

 

Actually most vegetarian diets are less expensive, and the closer to

the source the less expensive it is to eat. No pre-packaged - and less

processing makes for less expensive food costs as a whole!

 

And no where in the article you sited - does it say it costs more - to

eat a healthy diet actually it says there is no evidence to support the

claim. my advice eat healthy always and always check your sources.

 

namaste'

 

doc

 

, " Erin " <truepatriot wrote:

>

> It's not your imagination...

>

> Here's a recent study confirming that healthy diets

> really do cost more. From the American Journal of

> Clinical Nutrition:

>

> http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/79/1/6

[Guest guest]

Yikes! Don't shoot the messenger.

 

A couple points: 1) I didn't make reference to any part of the

article, only presented it in full, 2) It was published in 2004.

 

I did read it! It's not unusual for studies to hedge their

bets as the snippet you gave appears to do, but their concluding

paragraph seems indeed to conclude as I have titled the subject:

 

" The current focus of obesity research has been on environmental

factors that promote inactive lifestyles and excess energy intakes

(122). The present economic approach suggests that food choices and

diet quality are influenced by social and economic resources and by

food costs. Low-cost, energy-dense diets are likely to contain added

sugars and vegetable fats. Such diets have been and will continue to

be associated with obesity and overweight. However, the relevant

features of obesity-promoting diets may not be the percentage of

energy from sugar or fat (119, 120) but rather high palatability and

low energy cost. These issues are inextricably linked to agricultural

commodity prices, imports, tariffs, and trade. Americans are gaining

more and more weight while consuming more added sugars and fats and

are spending a lower proportion of their income on food. No longer a

purely medical issue, obesity has become a societal and public health

problem. "

 

 

-Erin

http://www.zenpawn.com/vegblog/vegan-done-light.html

 

 

, " mendo_medicineman "

<mendo_medicineman wrote:

>

> When I see articles like this - the first question I often ask

myself -

> is who is providing their/the reseacrhers funding? It is usually

big

> business, " for porfit " companies - So, Reading the article - to the

> link you provided below? is mostly about Obesity and Poverty? and

way

> down in the article is a brief mention about the costs of foods? in

> comparsion to different income groups, ie; the top and the bottom

> income groups? Also, you said " Here's a recent study confirming " ?

do

> you consider 1992 data recent? 15 years ago? hum - even the article

> date itself is from Jan. of 2004? And, again - most of this entire

> article is about OBESITY and it's effects.

>

> And, even in the section of the article you are referring to it

states

> and I quote: " the absence of large-scale community studies, few

> intervention studies purport to show that healthful diets are not

more

> expensive than are less healthful diets. " - reread the whole thing.

>

> Actually most vegetarian diets are less expensive, and the closer

to

> the source the less expensive it is to eat. No pre-packaged - and

less

> processing makes for less expensive food costs as a whole!

>

> And no where in the article you sited - does it say it costs more -

to

> eat a healthy diet actually it says there is no evidence to support

the

> claim. my advice eat healthy always and always check your sources.

>

> namaste'

>

> doc

>

> , " Erin " <truepatriot@>

wrote:

> >

> > It's not your imagination...

> >

> > Here's a recent study confirming that healthy diets

> > really do cost more. From the American Journal of

> > Clinical Nutrition:

> >

> > http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/79/1/6

>

[Guest guest]

I think the issue really is that our nations cooks, usually wives and mothers,

are so busy working outside the home trying to support their families, that they

have resorted to boxed and frozen foods that are full of additives, fat and

sugar. These quickly put food in the hungry family, but forget all about

nutrition. If an effort to get more of the quick food market, producers remove

the fiber and hulls that add nutrition add fat and sugar to make it taste

better. No wonder that we are a nation of obese children and adults.

Katie

 

Erin <truepatriot wrote:

Yikes! Don't shoot the messenger.

 

A couple points: 1) I didn't make reference to any part of the

article, only presented it in full, 2) It was published in 2004.

 

I did read it! It's not unusual for studies to hedge their

bets as the snippet you gave appears to do, but their concluding

paragraph seems indeed to conclude as I have titled the subject:

 

" The current focus of obesity research has been on environmental

factors that promote inactive lifestyles and excess energy intakes

(122). The present economic approach suggests that food choices and

diet quality are influenced by social and economic resources and by

food costs. Low-cost, energy-dense diets are likely to contain added

sugars and vegetable fats. Such diets have been and will continue to

be associated with obesity and overweight. However, the relevant

features of obesity-promoting diets may not be the percentage of

energy from sugar or fat (119, 120) but rather high palatability and

low energy cost. These issues are inextricably linked to agricultural

commodity prices, imports, tariffs, and trade. Americans are gaining

more and more weight while consuming more added sugars and fats and

are spending a lower proportion of their income on food. No longer a

purely medical issue, obesity has become a societal and public health

problem. "

 

-Erin

http://www.zenpawn.com/vegblog/vegan-done-light.html

 

, " mendo_medicineman "

<mendo_medicineman wrote:

>

> When I see articles like this - the first question I often ask

myself -

> is who is providing their/the reseacrhers funding? It is usually

big

> business, " for porfit " companies - So, Reading the article - to the

> link you provided below? is mostly about Obesity and Poverty? and

way

> down in the article is a brief mention about the costs of foods? in

> comparsion to different income groups, ie; the top and the bottom

> income groups? Also, you said " Here's a recent study confirming " ?

do

> you consider 1992 data recent? 15 years ago? hum - even the article

> date itself is from Jan. of 2004? And, again - most of this entire

> article is about OBESITY and it's effects.

>

> And, even in the section of the article you are referring to it

states

> and I quote: " the absence of large-scale community studies, few

> intervention studies purport to show that healthful diets are not

more

> expensive than are less healthful diets. " - reread the whole thing.

>

> Actually most vegetarian diets are less expensive, and the closer

to

> the source the less expensive it is to eat. No pre-packaged - and

less

> processing makes for less expensive food costs as a whole!

>

> And no where in the article you sited - does it say it costs more -

to

> eat a healthy diet actually it says there is no evidence to support

the

> claim. my advice eat healthy always and always check your sources.

>

> namaste'

>

> doc

>

> , " Erin " <truepatriot@>

wrote:

> >

> > It's not your imagination...

> >

> > Here's a recent study confirming that healthy diets

> > really do cost more. From the American Journal of

> > Clinical Nutrition:

> >

> > http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/79/1/6

>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

*getting up on her soapbox*

 

Erin, thank you for posting the link to this study. This is a growing health

threat in our country, one that is very near to my heart... I work with abused

and neglected kids and I see the results of poverty-linked nutritional

deficiencies every day. However, this article has nothing to do with the

presence or absence of animal products in an otherwise balanced diet. It's

about the well-documented fact that processed junk food is cheaper than healthy

whole foods, as stated in the first two sentences of the abstract.

 

Yes, meat costs more than fresh veggies, but this article is talking about

low-income families that can't afford meat OR fresh veggies and live on boxed

mac & cheese and pb & j sandwiches on cheap white bread. This is a big issue here

in Arkansas, where so many ppl are dirt poor, have substandard education in

general, and NO education at all as to what constitutes healthy eating. A lot

of ppl, especially school-aged children, are actually obese and malnourished at

the same time, due to a shockingly poor diet consisting primarily of processed

starches, fats, and refined sugars. I guess most ppl on this list don't let

their kids eat the standard school lunches, but check out the nutritional

guidelines for the schools in your area. The school lunch program here in

Arkansas considers a ketchup packet a serving of vegetable!

 

NIF

[Guest guest]

, NIF Julian

<niflovesditto4ever wrote:

>

> *getting up on her soapbox*

>

> Erin, thank you for posting the link to this study.

 

You bet.

 

> This is a growing health threat in our country, one that is very

near to my heart... I work with abused and neglected kids and I see

the results of poverty-linked nutritional deficiencies every day.

However, this article has nothing to do with the presence or absence

of animal products in an otherwise balanced diet. It's about the

well-documented fact that processed junk food is cheaper than healthy

whole foods, as stated in the first two sentences of the abstract.

>

 

Agreed, and I later clarified as much thusly:

 

" [...] the study was mostly comparing your standard, low-income

SAD with a healthier, though not necessarily vegetarian, diet.

The point was that energy-dense food is cheap. Think 25 cent

boxes of mac n' cheese, $1 cheeseburgers at fast food joints,

buy-one-get-one-free Chips A'Hoy, etc., etc.. "

 

> Yes, meat costs more than fresh veggies, but this article is

talking about low-income families that can't afford meat OR fresh

veggies and live on boxed mac & cheese and pb & j sandwiches on cheap

white bread. This is a big issue here in Arkansas, where so many ppl

are dirt poor, have substandard education in general, and NO

education at all as to what constitutes healthy eating. A lot of

ppl, especially school-aged children, are actually obese and

malnourished at the same time, due to a shockingly poor diet

consisting primarily of processed starches, fats, and refined

sugars. I guess most ppl on this list don't let their kids eat the

standard school lunches, but check out the nutritional guidelines for

the schools in your area. The school lunch program here in Arkansas

considers a ketchup packet a serving of vegetable!

>

 

It is indeed a shameful situation. Did you catch the TV

programs about that English chap trying to improve meals

in schools. One of the biggest problems he ran into, aside

from the expected initial resistance from the children (lol),

was the budgetary constraints.

 

-Erin

http://www.zenpawn.com/vegblog/vegan-done-light.html