“why dont you eat healthy?” – “i literally dont know”
leonprimrose on
The US makes it difficult to eat healthily within a reasonable budget and quickly. Many countries have cheap healthy options available with convenience. The only things convenient in the US are hot dogs and burgers and the like. Pastries, muffins, sugar and carbs
Tierradenubes on
Eating lentil, beans, rice and veggies with eggs is literally the cheapest option
fuckthetrees on
My answer (and I suspect a lot of people’s answer, if they are being honest) isn’t an option.
“I like unhealthy foods more than healthy ones”
phoneplatypus on
Healthy cheap food is a thing, but it often requires preparing and not going through a drive-thru. There’s opportunity cost there.
DrakeAncalagon on
This is the dumbest lie told in recent decades and it blows my mind that people just believe and parrot it, despite how easy it is to disprove on their own. It objectively costs more money to eat shit, high processed food. Any one that argues with this, refuses to just go to the store and pay attention. Rice and beans are some of the cheapest foods available, and are far more nutrient dense than the far more expensive high processed and fast foods.
I maintained my caloric intake requirements eating only vegetables, grains, and proteins for three months and spent 60% of my average spending on food for the prior three months and the same three months for the prior year, and any prior three month stretch.
aminervia on
*perceived cost of healthy food.
If you’re eating fast food, there is a huge spectrum of similarly priced meals from healthier to McDonald’s
InfidelZombie on
Just goes to show that it’s an education issue. Healthy food is generally cheaper. I eat a gloriously complex, varied, delicious diet of mostly fresh produce and dairy with a bit of fish and meat for $150/mo.
I also have the time to prepare meals from scratch and enjoy doing so, which I imagine is more the reason why it’s hard for some people to eat cheaply and healthfully.
Ooofy_Doofy_ on
My personal anecdote as someone who’s 15% body fat. I don’t snack ever. I don’t eat fruit or vegetables. I just eat what I want but with portion control and count my calories.
razehound on
Keep in mind these responses for “cost of healthy food” are most likely talking about eating out, not groceries.
The $2/lb broccoli, brussel sprouts, zucchini, etc (socal) are not cost prohibitive.
Also note that the responses are roughly equal for lack of time and lack of knowledge. Unfortunately many people don’t give it real effort for understanding. It takes time to learn what meals work for you.
Eating healthy is definitely a commitment, but be careful not to give yourself artificial barriers to entry in your head
rberg89 on
This information is unhealthy food, stop eating it.
Rice and potatoes and onions are so cheap. Ground beef is cheap. This data is garbage.
JustDontBeFat_GodDam on
Lies. Healthy food is cheaper, but doesn’t taste as good as junk food. Stop coping, fat people
phrasing the title as a factual statement instead of people’s response to a question is disingenuous (i.e “Americans believe…”).Â
it’s simply not true. people are just stupid. I just fucking hate cooking so I find a middle ground of light/decent breakfast, eating at a deli for lunch, and then prepped slop bowl for dinner.Â
4Looper on
healthy food is literally cheaper than unhealthy food – the reality is that unhealthy food tastes better and that is why we eat it.
lordjpie on
If I’m understanding correctly, this is just what people say, not actual research on whether or not cost ACTUALLY plays that role?
I think that means your heading is misleading to what the data actually presents in this case. The title you put on your post itself absolutely is. This unfortunately is not data is beautiful, it’s OP mis-representing their findings (unintentionally I believe).
TehWildMan_ on
“why don’t you eat healthy”.
13 hour workdays 6 times a week, and a 15 minute commute each way. I’m typically running a >1000kcal daily deficit simply because I’m too tired to cook anything at all
Caudillo_Sven on
Where is “unhealthy food is delicious”?
why_doineedausername on
This is really misleading and frankly people are wrong. Healthy food is honestly the same or less expensive if you make it yourself. This is talking about buying pre-packaged products that are marketed to health conscious people.
You can eat health without buying food that’s already made for you….. I think what people mean to say is that “healthy” packaged items are more expensive than ramen….
The real answer is that people are uneducated
SolWizard on
This isn’t saying that cost is *actually* why people aren’t eating healthy, this is saying that cost is the most used excuse for not eating healthy.
newbies13 on
Cost is just people externalizing the issue. The reason people don’t eat healthy is that unhealthy foods are delicious.
polomarkopolo on
Taste preference of unhealthy food: 100%
blundermine on
The lack of availability is a big problem that seems underserved by this survey. There are dollar stores in the US which target food deserts but don’t offer fresh produce.Â
Izikiel23 on
What’s the definition of healthy food?
godspareme on
Cooking at home 9/10 is cheaper than eating out. I dont really get this.
skysgrummy on
Education, look Japanese kids have nutritionist classes.
Culture, look Dutch dietary habits.
Processed foods, look at how grains and other ingredients are completely unnatural.
Product composition, the same product has wildy more sugar compared to European counterpart.
And lastly yes people like sugary, fat, salty foods more. But I don’t think US people are born to be more prone to unhealthy foods. The exogenous contextual factors above make the US skew towards an unhealthier/obese outcome.
Price incentives can/do impact consumer choice but adjusting tax (higher for sugar, lower for vitamin) would have a similar effect as just increasing people’s budget so the healthy choice has similar availability. Besides I think first 4 above reasons are most impactfull
There are definitely ways to stay healthy, but with limited budget/time/effort these factors make it prohibitively difficult. So for a lot of people it’s the ‘expected’ outcome and to look at it as an outsider and expect otherwise is neglecting the multivariate nature of the problem
26 Comments
“why dont you eat healthy?” – “i literally dont know”
The US makes it difficult to eat healthily within a reasonable budget and quickly. Many countries have cheap healthy options available with convenience. The only things convenient in the US are hot dogs and burgers and the like. Pastries, muffins, sugar and carbs
Eating lentil, beans, rice and veggies with eggs is literally the cheapest option
My answer (and I suspect a lot of people’s answer, if they are being honest) isn’t an option.
“I like unhealthy foods more than healthy ones”
Healthy cheap food is a thing, but it often requires preparing and not going through a drive-thru. There’s opportunity cost there.
This is the dumbest lie told in recent decades and it blows my mind that people just believe and parrot it, despite how easy it is to disprove on their own. It objectively costs more money to eat shit, high processed food. Any one that argues with this, refuses to just go to the store and pay attention. Rice and beans are some of the cheapest foods available, and are far more nutrient dense than the far more expensive high processed and fast foods.
I maintained my caloric intake requirements eating only vegetables, grains, and proteins for three months and spent 60% of my average spending on food for the prior three months and the same three months for the prior year, and any prior three month stretch.
*perceived cost of healthy food.
If you’re eating fast food, there is a huge spectrum of similarly priced meals from healthier to McDonald’s
Just goes to show that it’s an education issue. Healthy food is generally cheaper. I eat a gloriously complex, varied, delicious diet of mostly fresh produce and dairy with a bit of fish and meat for $150/mo.
I also have the time to prepare meals from scratch and enjoy doing so, which I imagine is more the reason why it’s hard for some people to eat cheaply and healthfully.
My personal anecdote as someone who’s 15% body fat. I don’t snack ever. I don’t eat fruit or vegetables. I just eat what I want but with portion control and count my calories.
Keep in mind these responses for “cost of healthy food” are most likely talking about eating out, not groceries.
The $2/lb broccoli, brussel sprouts, zucchini, etc (socal) are not cost prohibitive.
Also note that the responses are roughly equal for lack of time and lack of knowledge. Unfortunately many people don’t give it real effort for understanding. It takes time to learn what meals work for you.
Eating healthy is definitely a commitment, but be careful not to give yourself artificial barriers to entry in your head
This information is unhealthy food, stop eating it.
Rice and potatoes and onions are so cheap. Ground beef is cheap. This data is garbage.
Lies. Healthy food is cheaper, but doesn’t taste as good as junk food. Stop coping, fat people
[Source](https://www.researchamerica.org/foodsurvey/)
Tool: Excel
phrasing the title as a factual statement instead of people’s response to a question is disingenuous (i.e “Americans believe…”).Â
it’s simply not true. people are just stupid. I just fucking hate cooking so I find a middle ground of light/decent breakfast, eating at a deli for lunch, and then prepped slop bowl for dinner.Â
healthy food is literally cheaper than unhealthy food – the reality is that unhealthy food tastes better and that is why we eat it.
If I’m understanding correctly, this is just what people say, not actual research on whether or not cost ACTUALLY plays that role?
I think that means your heading is misleading to what the data actually presents in this case. The title you put on your post itself absolutely is. This unfortunately is not data is beautiful, it’s OP mis-representing their findings (unintentionally I believe).
“why don’t you eat healthy”.
13 hour workdays 6 times a week, and a 15 minute commute each way. I’m typically running a >1000kcal daily deficit simply because I’m too tired to cook anything at all
Where is “unhealthy food is delicious”?
This is really misleading and frankly people are wrong. Healthy food is honestly the same or less expensive if you make it yourself. This is talking about buying pre-packaged products that are marketed to health conscious people.
You can eat health without buying food that’s already made for you….. I think what people mean to say is that “healthy” packaged items are more expensive than ramen….
The real answer is that people are uneducated
This isn’t saying that cost is *actually* why people aren’t eating healthy, this is saying that cost is the most used excuse for not eating healthy.
Cost is just people externalizing the issue. The reason people don’t eat healthy is that unhealthy foods are delicious.
Taste preference of unhealthy food: 100%
The lack of availability is a big problem that seems underserved by this survey. There are dollar stores in the US which target food deserts but don’t offer fresh produce.Â
What’s the definition of healthy food?
Cooking at home 9/10 is cheaper than eating out. I dont really get this.
Education, look Japanese kids have nutritionist classes.
Culture, look Dutch dietary habits.
Processed foods, look at how grains and other ingredients are completely unnatural.
Product composition, the same product has wildy more sugar compared to European counterpart.
And lastly yes people like sugary, fat, salty foods more. But I don’t think US people are born to be more prone to unhealthy foods. The exogenous contextual factors above make the US skew towards an unhealthier/obese outcome.
Price incentives can/do impact consumer choice but adjusting tax (higher for sugar, lower for vitamin) would have a similar effect as just increasing people’s budget so the healthy choice has similar availability. Besides I think first 4 above reasons are most impactfull
There are definitely ways to stay healthy, but with limited budget/time/effort these factors make it prohibitively difficult. So for a lot of people it’s the ‘expected’ outcome and to look at it as an outsider and expect otherwise is neglecting the multivariate nature of the problem