Will the Depression of 2008 - 2012 make a dent in the US Obesity Epidemic?

For those of you who are sick of me today, I pledge that this is my last OP of the day.

I just got to thinking about this because I personally have lost 100 lbs since 2005 (thanks www.fitday.com !).

2005 was a bit of a turning point for me. I was drowning in debt and living in an extremely overpriced city (San Francisco), depressed and extremely overweight.

During the previous 4 years I had gotten caught in a spiral of letting the troubles of the world weigh too heavily on me.

9-11, then Bush murdering the nation of Iraq, it just drove me to distraction that my country could be brought to such levels of depravity

by this hideous man squatting in the White House. I participated in all the protests against the war, and spent hours every day here and at the

Malloy forums railing against it. This continued for several years, and I continued to get more withdrawn and overweight and depressed.




And from about 2004, I started to become more keenly aware of how the speculation in the housing market was spiraling out of control, and it was obvious that prices were

completely decoupled from Americans' stagnant incomes. All the while, our domestic industries hemorrhaged jobs and government debt ballooned. Even before I started

reading the various housing bubble blogs, I had a strong feeling we were in for trouble, but reading a lot of the info on the blogs made me certain of it.





So while my friends in the Bay Area were snapping up cramped condos for $300K and telling me to buy or be priced out forever, I took a step back and took stock of my life.

I realized that none of my impassioned posts were going to amount to a damn thing other than preaching to the choir. Hell, the worst president EVER actually was reelected!

I realized that political forums were NOT the most productive way to spend several hours of my day, and I realized that my kids were depending on me and that I needed to

get myself in a position to be able to provide for them in the upcoming economic shitstorm. So I got to work doing what I could to change my financial situation.

I got us out of San Francisco, and went back to my hometown, El Paso, where housing is still among the cheapest in the US. (I had a telecommute job and was able to do so, luckily)




I stopped paying minimums on all those damn cards and focused on paying my student loans (default or bankruptcy is not for everyone, but it was for me). Flushing my credit rating down the toilet

was worth not taking $400+/mo. out of my kids' mouths. And I got to work on bringing my weight down to a healthy level, with consistent use of calorie-tracking software and getting the diet sodas and junk food out of my

daily routine.

By this spring, I was at a trim 175 lbs, and I interviewed for a great job that pays almost double what I was making before, and I got it (and I seriously doubt I would have if I was still obese). And this job is in the academic/science field and thus not so affected by the economy.

Now things are to the point where it's not just the doomsayers - EVERYONE can see we are in for some BAD TIMES in the near future.



So will obesity plummet with our food budgets? Will people peel off the pounds to try and be more competitive in the job market?

Lost $40 weight because thought it would be easier to deal with my own life, after being depressed about the state of the world as well as my own life.

I think that some people will pack on the pounds d/t stress.

The cheapest food is the most high in starch, fat, empty calories. You can get an orange for $1.00, or you can get 5 packs of Top Ramen for $1.00. You're going to grab the Top Ramen to feed your family. Fresh fruits, vegetables, way too expensive. McDonald's double cheeseburger - 99 cents. Mac 'n Cheese, or lean chicken breast? What will feed my family for the $4.00 I have in my pocket?

It's not that they're comfort foods, they're the foods people will get to go the farthest.

Processed food full of starch, corn-syrup, and saturated fat is cheap. Healthy food made with fresh ingredients is expensive.

Also remember that people lucky enough to have jobs will be working harder than ever, and will have less time for exercise and cooking.

fructose...

I posted the exact same thing below before reading your response.

Couple that with the lack of education around healthy foods and we have obesity, diabetes and heart disease epidemics.

Some of us are fit obese people and I don't think it is fair to use us in you headline. I'm fat and I'm proud so kiss my fat ass!

It is the majority in the US now (60% overweight).

If you are happy with overweight and ll of its discomforts and health risks, more power to you. The folks at naafa.org are probably looking for members.

I was not happy. I had gastric reflux, ankle pain, an even was starting to get skin problems. Not to mention the fact that my wife wanted nothing to do with me.

Sharing my experience is not "dissing" anyone, nor is wondering which way America's continuing health disaster will go.

http://papers.nber.org/papers/w9468

"Using microdata for adults from the 1987-2000 years of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, I show that smoking and height-adjusted weight decline during temporary economic downturns while leisure-time physical activity rises. The drop in tobacco use occurs disproportionately among heavy smokers, the fall in body weight among the severely obese, and the increase in exercise among those who were completely inactive. Declining work hours may provide one reason why behaviors become healthier when the economy weakens, possibly by increasing the non-market time available for lifestyle investments. Conversely, there is little evidence that reductions in income play an important role. The overall conclusion is that changes in behaviors supply one mechanism for the procyclical variation in mortality and morbidity observed in recent research."

http://www.nber.org/papers/w11007

"Although health is conventionally believed to deteriorate during macroeconomic downturns, the empirical evidence supporting this view is quite weak and comes from studies containing methodological shortcomings that are difficult to remedy. Recent research that better controls for many sources of omitted variables bias instead suggests that mortality decreases and physical health improves when the economy temporarily weakens. This partially reflects reductions in external sources of death, such as traffic fatalities and other accidents, but changes in lifestyles and health behaviors are also likely to play a role. This paper summarizes our current understanding of how health is affected by macroeconomic fluctuations and describes potential mechanisms for the effects."

I think I get slimmer when I'm happier

Stress eating will add weight. But when you don't have money, you tend to stretch meals with things like pasta and potatos and bread. Healthy foods like veggies and meat/chicken/fish will be too expensive. Lots of backyard gardens will crop up.

What will they eat when their low-paying McJobs dry up?

And for more meals.

you are too poor to be able to afford it. Ramen noodles and whatever else is on sale at bargain prices (that sure the fuck won't ever be fish or other healthy sustenance) won't help with our overall health, much less obesity.

$1.99/# for boneless chicken breasts, $1.39 for whole, cut-up chickens yesterday.

Veggies and fish hardly ever seem to be on sale anymore.

you are my new hero ! How did you do it?

For me, it was a matter of honestly tracking everything I ate, every day.

Still do it today. It is not for everyone, but personally, the 5 minutes I spend tracking what I eat per day is worth it when I consider where I was going - a life of immobility, diabetes and early death.

I was always active. I just ate way too much and too many junky things. It wasn't until I started tracking that I realized how much - about 3500-4000 cal per day, and skewed way too heavily towards the fats and carbs, with way too little vegetables and fiber. Getting processed packaged foods out of my diet helped too. If I make sandwiches, it's from chicken or turkey breasts I baked and cooked myself at the beginning of the week, not overpriced, oversalted lunch meats anymore. I try to keep my intake between 1800 and 2000 cal. now, although it was 1500-1800 when I was still trying to lose.

PS - I am a 6'2" male, so obviously I can lose more lbs faster than a woman or a shorter person could.

In the first great depression, people just couldn't afford food. Now with packaged goods, cheap food is widely available, but not nutritious. If anything, obesity could increase due to more people needing to switch to inexpensive, packaged food.

Most people who don't have enough money don't know how to cook cheap. They are still buying prepackaged food which is full of sugar and expensive. A bag of 15-bean soup is about $1, but people don't know or want to take the time to cook it. It's very nourishing! When my husband and I were struggling, I made soup all the time. It got us through many weeks when we had about $11 left for food.

...I personally spend about the same amount on food now that I no longer buy all the processed, prepackaged food (which I used to clip coupons for and buy on sale).

But that being said, we also spend more time preparing it now than we used to.

...is a disease--an addiction, and it is a response to overwhelming stress and emotions.

I see the underlying stress that fuels addictions such as overeating, alcohol abuse, drug
addiction, sex addiction, etc--as only increasing.

I applaud you for making those healthy changes in your life.

Being depressed, isolated and using food for comfort is a very lonely, painful place. Pulling
yourself out of that is no easy feat. You should be very proud of what you have done--for
yourself and your family.

And yeah, it is a rough place to be.

It's sad that some overweight people take these kind of topics as an insult.

I can assure you, there is nothing I despise more than the way our culture ridicules the obese.

Eating healthily costs more, most of the time. The old processed, high carb, high fat standbys are more affordable. It's all about math after that.

Duke

is shitty food

foods that are good for you are generally more expensive (fresh vegetables, fresh dairy, fresh meat etc)

cheap food (25 cent frozen meals) chips, crappy junk food take up a lot of caloric space but are generally nutritionally worthless

(I know some dont think dairy or meats are good for you)

Peace

S

So poverty tends to equal obesity in many cases. It's cheaper to feed a family on refined carbs than meat and fresh vegetables.

and get even more obese

... we will see even more processed foods, mac n cheese, store-brand-filler-type stuff being purchased just to keep our kids tummies full rather than to keep them healthy, unfortunately.

Glad to hear about your weight loss and more importantly, your sensible approach to it. Too often, understandably, people want the quick fix to their weight problems, and go about it the wrong way. It's true that people are going to go for the more calorie-dense (as opposed to nutrient-dense) foods, because those tend to be cheaper. Sad, but true...

Anyway --- glad to meet another native El Pasoan, and glad that you were able to make some healthy, positive changes in your life!

...as opposed to "going on a diet". Cheers!