4 ms·

It's "cheap" if your labor is valued. I imagine the relationship between health consequences and income could somewhat be related to having multiple jobs, long

It's "cheap" if your labor is valued. I imagine the relationship between health consequences and income could somewhat be related to having multiple jobs, long hours, and being too tired to prioritize health after a long day. That fast food looks quick, convenient and affordable when you're going from one job to another and don't have much time or the additional money to spend on healthier fast casual eating options. I do not disagree that whole fruits and vegetables are, by and large, cheap and ubiquitous. If the health outcomes were tied to "cheap and ubiquitous" produce, we'd be off the charts. Yet, here we are. My point is workers who are barely scraping by are disadvantaged to not have the flexibility that higher-income earners do, to actually have the time/energy to cook a healthy meal. Or pay someone else to do it. They end up opting for meals that don't offer the macronutrient composition they need (e.g., frequently the issue is overconsumption of carbs), and are lacking in micronutrients as well (because there aren't enough fruit/vegetable servings in their diet).

dsfyu404ed 7y ago
Most poor people eat out with a fraction of the frequency of richer people. Its finding the time and motivation to burn the calories you consume that's the hard part.
- JMTQp8lwXL 7y ago
  And when not eating out, your fastest, most affordable option is processed foods, typically high in carbs and low in micronutrients. It's poor quality food. Regarding weight: it's more practical to limit calorie consumption than "burn" them through exercise. An hour of high-intensity cardio might only burn 200 calories. Eating less calories is easier. To get some volume, generous portions of fibrous vegetable help-- so your stomach doesn't feel empty.
  - opportune 7y ago
    Yeah, for most people who aren't obsessive calorie counters I really think eating more fibrous vegetables is the best way for them to make a healthy lifestyle change that would allow them to lose weight / maintain a healthy weight. I do it every time I go on a diet/cut. You can feel just as full eating 1lb of broccoli with a moderate amount of butter and salt (about 300kcal) as you do eating an entire bag of chips (about 1500 kcal). And making the broccoli is almost as convenient: you can get microwaveable bags that you just zap for x amount of time, empty into a bowl with some butter, add salt, mix and enjoy. Two minutes of actual effort, 10 minutes total time. I think a lot of it has to do with the way we arrange food in stores, profit margins for food producing businesses, availability (you can't usually get frozen broccoli at a gas station), what food gets marketed, etc. Really if you put even a small amount of effort in getting veggies to taste good they taste as good as most junk food and processed food. It may never taste as good as spicy cheese flavored corn chips but is still pretty good
  - Scea91 7y ago
    > An hour of high-intensity cardio might only burn 200 calories. The usual estimate for an average person is around 750 calories (https://www.livestrong.com/article/525798-how-many-calories-does-one-hour-of-high-intensity-circuit-training-burn/ https://www.livestrong.com/article/525798-how-many-calories-...)
jhhh 7y ago
Only 5% of working adults in the US have more than one job. The average worker between 25-54 works 40.5 hours with an average commute of 26 minutes each way.
- JMTQp8lwXL 7y ago
  Does this include 1099 contracting work? Because those aren't "jobs", by a W2 definition of the concept.
  - jhhh 7y ago
    It looks like it's a questionnaire through the Current Population Survey (https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/technical-documentation/questionnaires.html https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/technical-docume...) and the wording I found: (THE WEEK BEFORE LAST/LAST WEEK), did (name/you) have more than one (job/job or business), including part time, evening or weekend work? So it doesn't look like it separates different kinds of work.

dsfyu404ed 7y ago

Most poor people eat out with a fraction of the frequency of richer people. Its finding the time and motivation to burn the calories you consume that's the hard part.

JMTQp8lwXL 7y ago
And when not eating out, your fastest, most affordable option is processed foods, typically high in carbs and low in micronutrients. It's poor quality food. Regarding weight: it's more practical to limit calorie consumption than "burn" them through exercise. An hour of high-intensity cardio might only burn 200 calories. Eating less calories is easier. To get some volume, generous portions of fibrous vegetable help-- so your stomach doesn't feel empty.
- opportune 7y ago
  Yeah, for most people who aren't obsessive calorie counters I really think eating more fibrous vegetables is the best way for them to make a healthy lifestyle change that would allow them to lose weight / maintain a healthy weight. I do it every time I go on a diet/cut. You can feel just as full eating 1lb of broccoli with a moderate amount of butter and salt (about 300kcal) as you do eating an entire bag of chips (about 1500 kcal). And making the broccoli is almost as convenient: you can get microwaveable bags that you just zap for x amount of time, empty into a bowl with some butter, add salt, mix and enjoy. Two minutes of actual effort, 10 minutes total time. I think a lot of it has to do with the way we arrange food in stores, profit margins for food producing businesses, availability (you can't usually get frozen broccoli at a gas station), what food gets marketed, etc. Really if you put even a small amount of effort in getting veggies to taste good they taste as good as most junk food and processed food. It may never taste as good as spicy cheese flavored corn chips but is still pretty good
- Scea91 7y ago
  > An hour of high-intensity cardio might only burn 200 calories. The usual estimate for an average person is around 750 calories (https://www.livestrong.com/article/525798-how-many-calories-does-one-hour-of-high-intensity-circuit-training-burn/ https://www.livestrong.com/article/525798-how-many-calories-...)

jhhh 7y ago

Only 5% of working adults in the US have more than one job. The average worker between 25-54 works 40.5 hours with an average commute of 26 minutes each way.

JMTQp8lwXL 7y ago
Does this include 1099 contracting work? Because those aren't "jobs", by a W2 definition of the concept.
- jhhh 7y ago
  It looks like it's a questionnaire through the Current Population Survey (https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/technical-documentation/questionnaires.html https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/technical-docume...) and the wording I found: (THE WEEK BEFORE LAST/LAST WEEK), did (name/you) have more than one (job/job or business), including part time, evening or weekend work? So it doesn't look like it separates different kinds of work.