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Millions of Americans have tried the latest fad diets but have
found they were too expensive for their budgets.
One of the leading food price experts agreed that the expenses
of these diets are high and stated that the average weekly cost
for the Atkins diet was $100 while the South Beach Diet costs approximately
$90 a week.
Statistics have shown that most people cannot afford to eat "healthy,"
according to these diets at least, and instead have no choice but
to shop to fit their budgets. This means that they end up purchasing
low-cost items such as hot dogs and refined carbohydrates instead
of healthier, more expensive items like salmon and fresh fruit and
vegetables. Experts believed situations such as these might result
in losing the war on obesity due to the high costs of buying and
eating healthy.
Research was conducted on the relationship between lower-income
families and higher percentages of overweight people.
Findings From the Research:
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60.5 percent of the people who earned incomes of $15,000 to
$75,000 were overweight, compared to the 56 percent who earned
over $75,000.
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26 percent of the people who were at the poverty level, which included incomes
of $17,000 or less, were considered obese.
Experts claimed there has been a growing misperception of viewing
obese people as lazy and stated if these people had the financial
means to buy healthier foods, they would.
Another study found that lower-income families living in urban
areas typically frequented smaller convenience stores that offered
a small selection of overpriced foods with little variety of fresh
fruits or vegetables.
USA
Today May 2, 2004
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