The Blog that Noone Reads

So, I’ve long believed that one of the largest causes of the rampant obesity in this country is the fact that it’s much more expensive to eat healthy foods. I was thinking about that this morning when I went into the deli in my building for breakfast. I picked out two separate breakfasts. Let’s compare:

Breakfast Bagel

Plain bagel, sausage patty, american cheese, scrambled egg
Price $3.25
Nutritional value: a little protein and more fat and cholesterol than I want to think about

Fruit and Cottage Cheese

Cottage Cheese, Strawberries, Pineapple Chunks, canned peaches, canned mandarin oranges
Price $5.00
Nutritional value: tons. fresh fruit is excellent for you. canned fruit, not as much but much better than american cheese
Note: The fruit stuffs came from the salad bar. I ordered my sandwich first so I could make the weight of the two breakfasts as equal as possible.

Results

So there you have it, $1.25 difference between horribly unhealthy and moderately healthy for the same amount of food. I’ll bet, in most places in the US, there is a direct connection between income and rate of obesity, and there’s a lot more to it than being able to afford a gym membership or a personal trainer.