High Diabetes and Poverty Why?

[_canpakes]

Some of the cheapest food is also the junkiest and most high calorie.

Seriously. Was in a Big Lots the other day just for fun and noticed a box of Pop Tarts. They were marked $1.20 for a box of eight, at over 200 calories for each ‘tart’. Pop Tarts aren’t my cup of tea, but it would be easy for someone to shell out just over a buck for what basically amounts to a full day’s worth of calories... and maybe have two boxes if they’re bored.

It’s bad enough that local southern cuisine has an inordinate amount of fat in it (thanks, Paula), but it just makes it that much more difficult to get folks to shell out 10 bucks for salad fixins when they can just grab a box of ‘Tarts for pocket change and no effort.

[_aussieguy55]

"Obesity in Australia is one of the biggest public health challenges facing the population. More than half of the adult population has a body weight that poses serious health risks. More than 60% of Australian adults are obese and almost 10% are severely obese.Jan 3, 2017"

That is one reason they provide free meetings with health professionals. When I was working I notice in the snack bar downstairs one section had the hot fried food which gave off that smell. The other side were the salads. Often I would see men standing at the hot side looking at what they wanted (usually had a pot belly) The salad side was more frequented by women. There is a book Why French Women do not Get Fat. I heard it was because they ate small good quality food several times a day.

[_Dr. Shades]

Notice in the US obesity goes up as you age. https://www.stateofobesity.org/states/Utah/

As opposed to Australia, where obesity goes down as you age?

[_EAllusion]

Southern states are poor because agrarian slave economies were comparatively inferior to the more industrialized North to start with, then they were wiped out in the civil war. That set them behind. Even when the South industrialized, it did so in an environment of 1-party government corruption due to the authoritarian governments the Southern Democratic party were able to set up to suppress minority voters. Because of this, you had worse public education systems, more government corruption propping up inefficient businesses, and a weaker middle class.

All in all, not great.

Is this why the South has high diabetes? I'm not so sure. Southerners like fried food more than your average American. It's hot as hell in the South, which makes a sedentary lifestyle in air-conditioned spaces more appealing. There are non-economic factors that can explain this.

[_Jersey Girl]

All of those southern states have a culture of deep frying and overeating junk (freeeee-dumb). When you go to a restaurant, unless they come out with a plate at least twice the size of any normal meal, customers feel ripped off. One meal is easily in excess of a person's daily needed calorie intake, and you don't see people skipping meals that often.

I worked in Alabama once for 5 months early in my career, and I believe I gained around 40 pounds in that time (what a joy that was to lose). I had to abandon the "clean your plate" mentality I was taught growing up in a poor family, because eating in restaurants everything they give you is a sure ticket to obesity.

I lived in Alabama for 8 years of my life. You are right that culturally, fried foods are in abundance, also sugar--high carby-foods. But boy, was that some tasty stuff! The guys I worked with used to bring in fried chicken, fried okra, hush puppies done up in beer batter, homemade ice cream--they taught me how to make all of their good stuff. Coca Cola and Seven Up cake, and some junk made out of saltines and sugar something or whatever called "Company's comin'"--it tasted good though. We had a great catfish place right down the road from one of our homes there. Come on, you know that crap tastes great!

On a slightly different note, one of the benefits of living there was that we had a huge garden at one of our houses and I could pick fresh raspberries and blackberries right on the side of the road. That's where I learned how to do canning and store food like potatoes, and make the most out of a garden, so I am not going to complain about their dietary intake.

Reporting in from the healthiest state on the list,

;-)

[_EAllusion]

The Mountain West states are America's thinnest states.

If I'm going to go for a hike, doing so in the Rocky Mountains >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> doing so in a swamp in Alabama.

[_Jersey Girl]

https://www.cheatsheet.com/health-fitness/this-u-s-state-has-highest-diabetes-rate-country.html/

Is it they might spend on cheap fast food.? They have no money to join a health club?

I live in the #1 healthiest (low rate of diabetes) state on the healthy list. We are not sports enthusiasts, not really gym rats, and I haven't really hiked or camped in several years though I do go places out of doors and walk (easy hikes) fairly long distances from time to time. Our climate makes it more possible for us to be active out of doors.

In summer, a relatively short season here, we do tons of work out of doors. In winter, our lifestyle and environment requires that we do even more work for basically a 9 month winter. In summer we are chain sawing and hauling tree limbs and crap, in winter we're moving snow. Like all. the. time.

There's a myriad of things to do out of doors here that don't involve a gym membership, though we have one.

So in the Southern states where it's hot and humid all day and night, and folks are in AC as much as they can be, we live in a high altitude desert with dry air and cool nights so we can probably be physically active more hours in the day.

Other than that, there are great healthy restaurants and grocery stores around here, we eat healthy but it's not like I didn't get pizza this week either.

Basically, living here is not a sit down job and there are plenty of opportunities to remain active though some are forced on us.

[_Jersey Girl]

The Mountain West states are America's thinnest states.

If I'm going to go for a hike, doing so in the Rocky Mountains >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> doing so in a swamp in Alabama.

You come right on out and hike here, EA.

by the way, was in Walmart yesterday(?) and noticed for the first time ever that they are selling canned oxygen now. Usually you see that in the sporting goods stores or up at visitors centers/trailheads.

I'll send some to your hotel room to get you going.

[_Some Schmo]

I lived in Alabama for 8 years of my life. You are right that culturally, fried foods are in abundance, also sugar--high carby-foods. But boy, was that some tasty stuff! The guys I worked with used to bring in fried chicken, fried okra, hush puppies done up in beer batter, homemade ice cream--they taught me how to make all of their good stuff. Coca Cola and Seven Up cake, and some junk made out of saltines and sugar something or whatever called "Company's comin'"--it tasted good though. We had a great catfish place right down the road from one of our homes there. Come on, you know that crap tastes great!

On a slightly different note, one of the benefits of living there was that we had a huge garden at one of our houses and I could pick fresh raspberries and blackberries right on the side of the road. That's where I learned how to do canning and store food like potatoes, and make the most out of a garden, so I am not going to complain about their dietary intake.

Don't get me wrong; there was a lot about that stint in Alabama I loved (including many of the meals). It's a beautiful, green state. Another thing I loved about it was the quality of the highways. I've driven all over this country and only the Maine Turnpike came close to Alabama's highway quality (I wonder if they're still as pristine as I remember).

[_EAllusion]

The Mountain West states are America's thinnest states.

If I'm going to go for a hike, doing so in the Rocky Mountains >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> doing so in a swamp in Alabama.

You come right on out and hike here, EAllusion.

by the way, was in Walmart yesterday(?) and noticed for the first time ever that they are selling canned oxygen now. Usually you see that in the sporting goods stores or up at visitors centers/trailheads.

I'll send some to your hotel room to get you going.

I do go for hikes in the Rockies most every year. Usually in the fall. Doing that in oppressively hot and humid weather sounds like torture.