Unhealthy Food And Prices

Researchers have been reporting that average Americans lack of a proper diet has little to do with their willpower. According to their findings, having a healthy diet is expensive for an average American and they cannot afford it. The nutrient lacking in a typical American diet includes Potassium, fiber, vitamin D, and calcium. Potassium according to individuals is expensive. Studies indicate that to include potassium in diet Americans will have to increase their yearly budget by $380. On the other hand, additional Vitamin D and fiber requires an increment of $ 127 (Zied, 2010). In accordance, proponents use such data to indicate the reasons additional diet will be expensive to them. An additional of more than 20% of the spending of an Average American is expensive to some individuals, and they will have to live on unhealthy diet.

Studies indicate that adding nutrients on food will lead to an increase in the cost of food. On the other hand, there would be a decrease in the cost of food by adding sugars and other fatty foods. This is a clear indication that once Americans embark on saving money, they are likely to eat fatty or sugary foods. The consequence of this is a community at the risk of obesity especially children. In accordance, despite Americans indicating their willingness to eat in a healthy manner, they cannot afford the healthy foods. Studies that the proponents of this arguments use are credible. Poor Americans are at a risk of eating unhealthier food that their rich counterparts. This is because of that fact that they cannot afford to increase their budget to include the healthy foods.

Despite the credible studies that proponents of this argument use, they fail to include the fact that it does depend on the formula that they use to calculate the cost. If calculation concentrate on calorie per cost, as has been the case in previous studies, then high calorie foods are obviously cheaper. On the other hand, taking the price per weight indications are that vegetables, grains, and dairy products are cheaper. Calorie content does not indicate the amount of food that an individual will eat (Zied, 2010). It does not indicate the feeling of fullness that an individual will feel. However, the weight of the food that an individual feeds on is a clear indicator. In accordance, it is not accurate to report that high calorie foods are cheap based on their calorie content.

Unhealthy eating is a rather a question of willingness, as opposed to the cost of that food. It is not true to argue that healthy food is expensive. There is a possibility of individuals to eat potassium at a low cost. Bananas, for instance, are rich in potassium are not expensive. If an individual swaps a bag of chips with a banana not only are they fuller, they also save money. The perception that unhealthy foods are cheaper than healthy food is a misconception that channels more Americans into buying fast foods (Zied, 2010). The result of this is that most Americans especially kids are at the risk of being obese. However, according to discussions contained herein, there is sufficient evidence that healthy foods are cheap. In accordance, Americans should buy health foods not only to improve on their diet but also, to save money. Triple bottom line is that Americans chose to eat unhealthy foods, and that is why many people are fat.

References

Zied, E. (2010). The cost of Healthy Living. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons.