As we analyze our last year, we make note of the things we need to do less of (say, eating desserts and watching TV) and the things we need to do more of (like eating more fruits and vegetables).
It’s a fact. Americans need to make healthier food choices. In particular, we need to eat more fruits and vegetables. But researchers this week released some bad news for those of us with less disposable income. The price of fruits and vegetables is climbing higher and doing it faster than inflation! To make it a double whammy, they also discovered that junk food is actually becoming cheaper!
The study, done by the University of Washington, looked at the retail prices in chain supermarkets in the Seattle area. The in-depth study even found that:
- The very lowest-calorie, nutrient–rich foods (fruits and vegetables) are far more expensive than sweets and snack food.
- The lowest calories choices had gotten 20% more expensive in the past 2 years.
- Those same 2 years showed a 2% drop in the price of calorie-dense foods like: butter, potato chips, cookies and candy bars!
This may help explain why obesity rates are highest in the Americans that are the poorest. When, for each 1,000 calories, low-calorie foods average $18.00 and high-calorie foods are only $1.76, it’s obvious what most people will be able to purchase.
What can help? What makes calorie-dense foods resistant to inflation? Perhaps our government needs to make a policy shift and find ways to help people eat healthier foods by helping them be able to afford sufficient quantities of them daily. The 20% increase of the price of healthy foods is putting them out of the reach of those that need them the most: women with children.
To read more about it – check out the report in the Journal of American Dietetic Association (registration required to view entire article).
See you at the produce counter (I’ll be one of the ones counting my pennies!)
Alice Lockridge,
MS Phys Ed
Pro-Fit