Have you heard? The recession makes people eat more junk food! The recession makes people eat less meat! The recession has been a boon for the diet industry! The recession makes you snack less! The recession makes people sit through the Transformers movie and actually claim they liked it! The next thing you know, the recession will have weapons of mass destruction and it will be curtains for all of us.
Hyperbole aside, no matter how you look at it, the world-wide economic slump has had an effect on how people eat.
In some cases, the connection is obvious: A very poor person loses his or her job and eat less because they can’t afford to buy food. This starvation scenario is rare, at least in developed countries. Thanks to welfare programs, unemployment benefits and credit, most people on a reduced income don’t starve. But they do change how they eat. Even those who have retained their jobs have altered how they eat based upon the economic forecast. Teasing apart the dietary implications of economic hardships has turned out to be an Olympic sport for researchers.
Fact: Income is the number one predictor for obesity. Even controlling for all other factors, the lower your income, the higher your risk of being overweight or obese.
By way of explanation, we have long known that calorie-for-calorie junk food is cheaper than fresh fruits and veggies. So it only follows that people who want the best caloric bang for their buck will eliminate the expensive stuff first and head for KFC all-you-can-eat buffet.
On the other hand, you have people curtailing how they eat because of financial constraints. Potluck dinners and backyard barbecues are becoming more popular and power lunches and expensive dinners out are on the decline. Ostensibly all this home cooking would be better for one’s waistline.
So which is it: Is the recession making us fatter or skinnier? Perhaps just more prone to histrionics? In my household, I can say with certainty that I’m watching our food budget more closely. Especially since food prices have risen about 11% over the past year and a half. I recently started a new budgeting system that has me plan out a month’s meals in advance (crazy, I know!) and shopping off a strict list every week. I’m using more coupons (despite my local grocer’s every attempt to thwart me), shopping the sales and going to discount stores. I’m packing my husband’s lunch every night and cut out the kids’ monthly McDonald’s trip.
While all my frugal tendencies have definitely saved us money, I’m not sure if it’s made us healthier. One of the things I quickly discovered about shopping discount warehouses is that organic is a foreign word. As is “whole grain” in any context other than Froot Loops. Although I will say “natural” is splattered on everything from a 25-cent box of mac-n-cheese to peanut brittle. But we do eat out less and I suppose the caloric damage from a store-bought corn dog is less than a deep-fat-fried one from a restaurant. And I’ve been hitting up the farmer’s markets and even our own backyard for produce. (This weekend we harvested all the cherries off our cherry tree – it was enough to make one pan of the best cobbler ever!) I’ve also stopped buying as much snack food – even though the snacks I buy are healthy ones like hummus and snap peas – which has actually led me to snack less. Not that I’m losing weight or anything (egads, that’s a post for another day!) but we all know why that is.
So now I’m curious about you: have you changed your eating habits because of the recession? Are all those ladymag articles about The Destitution Diet inspiring you or depressing you? Did you like the Transformer’s movie? Really??
fatter: we had to give up lean cuts of meat and whole grains and go back to beans and white rice and pasta. I don't have a problem with carbs, just that they're more calorie dense and I completely lose control when faced with the comfort of all comfort foods.
On the upside, my recession veggie garden is starting to put out salads, so we are saving money, saving the planet, saving our health, and saving our wardrobe! Who knew listening to that primary song could be so useful?! Maybe that guy that told us to plant a garden?
Aye aye aye, I thinki we have this conversation every few weeks. The "recession" is not affecting everyone, but once it affects you, you have no real choice, you have to eat cheaply- and sometimes that means you can't afford organic or even farmers market prices which have gon up alot. My solution is CSA farm- I love it! We paid for it all at once (well actually my mom paid for it-even better) and now we're getting veggies and fruit all summer long- and they give us so much for the money it feels like it's free. I heart CSA.
I haven't seen either of the "Transformer" movies, nor do I plan to. (And Michael Bay is a jerk!)
We're definitely cutting down. More shopping at Trader Joe's, less at Whole Foods. Unfortunately, because we need to buy a lot of GFCF food, we often have to spend more than we'd like.
What worries me are these two facts:
– people eat more junk food during a recession
– when economic times are bad, hemlines rise
So… we're going to have fatter legs and shorter skirts? Does that make any kind of sense?
(sent husband to Transformer alone. Id rather "babysit" 🙂 than sit thru it)
Im embarassed to say Ive not changed a thing (which is, Im sure, a reflection on the fact there are three of us as opposed to 4 or more).
Ive cut back every other way imaginable—but not food.
YET.
I was going to start eating organic, and then I saw the prices.
I try to use coupons and shop the sales, but otherwise it just seems that I am paying more and more for the same basket of food every week.
It hasn't changed the way we eat. It has however made me shop around a bit (a grocery store down the street has cheaper healthy food than the one across the street).
My family has actually started eating out LESS. We save so much more money if we just buy a large bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts, a chub of beef, some dry pastas, veggies and such and I just make dinner every night.
That said, I got laid off in June which puts me at home 98% of the time now. Because of this, normally, I'd be a snacking machine. Thankfully I started the P90X program the week I got laid off, and my devotion to following that/getting healthier/losing enough weight to enlist in the military (which was my plan long before I got laid off, I saw it coming) has helped keep me in check on eating. Because of the "eating plan" I've designed to go with my workouts, if I snack, it's on things like dried apricots which are about $2 a bag and will last almost 2 weeks. My daughter will snack on things like tomatos and carrots with ranch…a container of each lasting about a week. And my husband is content with coffee and the massive jar of his favorite Sweetarts I made him for Father's Day.
Kind of. We're tryiing to cut back on expenses…not for now, but for next year when I finish graduate school to scramble for a job…any job! So not looking foward to it.
I've found that cutting junk food has lessened my budget! So, I'm eating a little healthier while cutting back the price. But, my eating was no good what so ever before!
I've always been on a tight budget, so recent events have not affected my habits.
Pro: I don't have the money to waste on impulse buys at Starbucks or fast food joints. Treats need to be worked into the budget.
Con: No way can I afford organic produce. (Although my letter carrier husband does come home with excess backyard produce from his customers. Remember your mailman when you have extras!)
I don't even think I know what eating out is anymore, only home cooked meals for me lately…
Actually when I started eating better years ago, it did cost me less!
For the most part, the cost of food is pretty low. There are areas, however, where this is not the case. I really would like to see the food industry being more helpful to people, even if they do it because they are forced to.
When I noticed our grocery bill skyrocketing last year, I tried to figure out why. That's when I realized food was just getting more expensive. I've also started planning out our meals and taking a specific list to the super market. It's surprising how much that can save. I still buy a lot of fresh organic produce, but now I don't waste as much and I don't buy everything organic. Things like apples, peaches, and strawberries I try to buy at local organic farms. Other fruits like bananas or avocados I buy conventionally grown.
Hi Charlotte,
I have been an avid reader of your blog for some time and I love it! Keep up the excellent work. A little off topic but I came across this article yesterday and thought you and your readers may be interested..I was wondering what your perspective might be!?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106268439
Sarah
Thanks for the article on the BMI Sarah! I've posted before on this topic but I think it's time to revisit it:)
Have not see Transformers II – heard it was terrible so would rather not waste money on it. We will probably rent when it hits RedBox (love that – just down the street and $1 a night plus you can reserve on the web).
I have not needed to alter our food budget but have been trying to spend our money keeping businesses in business that we appreciate (like our CSA, farmer's market, new little health store and local non-chain restaurants). We now consider every dollar spent a vote for what we believe in both for our health and our children's future.
From Normal Eating dot com: 5 triggers for emotional (over)eating: powerlessness, anger, loneliness, pressure of heavy demands, and fear & uncertainty. So it isn't a surprise that the current economic climate could be a reason many people to gain weight.
We haven't changed our eating habits much, but eat fairly simply & try to go organic/unprocessed as much as possible. Organic meat definitely tastes better to us & doesn't leave lingering cooking odors, so the premium price is worth it. Meat isn't our largest portion on the plate any more – so to get 8 servings off a $10 organic whole chicken is a better deal than the same amount of $ for some nonorganic boneless chicken breasts.
Junk Food Science dot come has some interesting articles that say that research hasn't found any real difference in how different types of foods (including 'junk food' vs 'real food') impact weight gain/loss.
et
^^that delete was me – posted under my miscellaneous account!
We haven't been affected by the economy except that we refinanced our house and get an extra $100 a month, plus the stimulus that puts about $25 back in my paycheck each month. But I have been watching our food budget more closely in hopes of one day becoming a stay at home mom. This means lots of warehouse shopping, which doesn't offer much healthful variety. I also shop at a discount grocery store, which doesn't offer much more besides cereal for the tot and some produce if we're lucky… the big change has been not eating out or going out to stay within budget. I think that's the main reason I'm not ballooning up….
My eating habits haven't changed that much, but I think I've been eating more bananas during the recession…can't pass up 69 cents a pound! And I have no desire to sit through a 3 hour robot movie, lol.
I did the same as Fit Mama and refinanced; saved us almost $150/month. I also cut out Red Bull ($30-$40/week depending on my mood) and cut down on the amount of miscellaneous spending I do (movies, books, etc.). With a two-year-old, a nursing mother, and soon-to-be-released-from-the-NICU-in-hopefully-two-weeks newborn, I won't sacrifice food quality. I have enough extra packaging to cut down on my intake, but I'll never sacrifice the health of my family because of it. I can put my own health at risk, but I'll never give the three of them less than they need. Is it because of the recession? Probably. All I know is that we were spending way too much on other things, so we cut back there first. I started planning the weekly menu and shopping list about 2 years ago and it saved us a ton of money and we had less waste (food going bad, etc.). The other thing I noticed is that it freed up some extra cash to help pay down debt faster. Add that with the refinance and we've consilidated our debt tremendously. And everyone in the house is healthy.
Oh…and as for "Transformers 2"…I'm male, so I must abstain. Though, with two kids and a wife recovering from a c-section, I'll admit that I haven't seen it yet. And in case anyone is looking to take them from me, I've hidden both my Man Card and my Geek Card.
It's strange because me and DH's lives are actually getting better through the recession.
But I attribute that mostly to the fact that we got out of college at the end of 2003. So even though the economy has been going down since then, our work and pay level has still been going up (maybe not as much as it would have were we to graduate during a boom).
But my point is that we started at rock bottom when the first recession hit. Mmm Ramen. So…nowhere to go but up 🙂
I'm not eating as well – I'm buying cheap bread instead of my ezekial bread and eating more of it, cause it's cheap and filling. I've even eased up on some of the foods that I would previously ONLY eat organic since I got laid off.
And just look at what you said – people are eating out less and having backyard barbecues and potluck dinners more. Now, maybe this is because I live in the south, but the types of food served there answer that question. I suppose it depends on where you eat when you eat out, but the types of food tend to be maybe not the healthiest, and with large portions… but still better than an all-you-can-eat buffet of hot dogs and high-fat burgers with processed cheese, or pot lucks, where the dessert table is as big as the meal food table, which itself is usually full of homemade macaroni and cheese, fatty meat meats, fried foods, white bread… Picture your plate at the last church potluck (and picture your dessert plate. Point made.) Try finding a veggie that isn't fried and smothered in either cheese or a high-fat sauce. (Try finding a veggie at a barbecue too, other than the one wilted slice of tomato under the cheese and ketchup on your burger.)
Maybe it's the type of restaurants I tend to eat at (sushi bars, vegan-friendly places), but even the places the rest of my family tends to prefer seem to at least have veggies and not fry everything. While they may not be THE healthiest, they seem healthier than pot lucks and barbecues. And while their portions may be 2-3 serving sizes, that still seems better than the all-you-can-eat buffet found at these types of family gatherings. So it makes sense to me that people eat worse food, and more of it, at these home-cooked family functions than they do eating out.
(That is, unless you're the lone vegan like me who can't find a single think without 10 pounds of cheese/butter/gravy/bacon and just end up waiting till you get home to eat.)
Indeed! Recession + more expensive apartment for me = incredible food budget.
I'm a single girl in NYC and I now hold myself to $35/ week for groceries – which includes all my lunches for the week.
I now cold-brew iced coffee at home, instead of buying Starbucks. I make 1 large casserole-type dish on the weekend, freeze & eat throughout the week. Usually it's vegetarian, like spanakopita. This week was coq au vin.
I now drink at home. Meaning, I invite people over to hang out on my roofdeck. They invariably bring beverages & chips with them & leave the rest for me!
All in all, I've found I'm eating less meat and fish and sushi than I used to, more veggies, pasta, potatoes, eggs, and yogurt. I'm cooking more. Drinking about the same (but cheaper wine and beer, no mixed drinks). A dinner out is rare – and usually involves a taco truck.
I've found that when budgeting I eat MORE protein now because it leaves me feeling full longer, so I don't spend as much money or calories on carbs.
My family and I have been stocking up on fruits (99cent melons mostly) and hot dogs- their smaller appetites are pretty good on the pocket so far. As for transformers, I'll wait for it to hit Starz 🙂
Barb <—trying to be frugal 🙂
We went to transformers 2 (matinee prices – 6 bucks) and I thought it was entertaining, but not the best movie ever or anything.
We eat at home more – but that's more of a product of work moving 3 miles from home instead 10 miles away. Most places I'd go for lunch would be at or past my house, so why not just go home? I'd say we used to spend 150 bucks a week on going out to eat – now it's less than 50 most weeks if even that.
As for groceries – I find I'm spending about the same 70 bucks a week (with about 120 bucks at Costco a month for big bags of chicken/fish/veggies/etc) for the two of us. And I don't plan to change that no matter how tight things get (unemployment runs out for the boy in a month and he's looking at needing to take a pay cut FROM UNEMPLOYMENT to even start working. Sigh.). I'll get rid of other stuff first.
I am with MizFit. I have tried to cut back elsewhere but trying not to too much with food. It is hard though & I look for specials on the foods I like & try to be oh so careful.
As for eating worse or more during hard times, I also wonder if people get depressed & emotional eat during times like this.
No Transformer movie for me. I did not like the first one! Looking forward to seeing Harry Potter once the crowds die down.
I've cut back on buying fancy things for dinners. I used to buy wild caught salmon once every other month, or some other more expensive meat item. Other than that, I don't think we've changed our habits much. I'm pretty cheap/frugal normally.
It helps to have enough from the garden that we can eat dinners nearly all from the garden.
Ostensibly all this home cooking would be better for one's waistline.
Not necessarily. If you're cooking at home because you're dead broke, you might very well be cooking junk food because, like you said,
calorie-for-calorie junk food is cheaper than fresh fruits and veggies.
So even if you're cooking at home, if the recession has hit you hard enough, you're making Kraft dinner (.99/box, on sale!) for the family instead of chicken and veggies.
And honestly, I've never been to a potluck that wasn't a nutritional minefield, from the fried chicken to the ambrosia salad.
All that said, my budget hasn't changed TOO much, although I find that if I want to eat free-range, organic, etc., I have to plan every single meal for the week. No impulse buying (and let me tell ya, I'm the impulse QUEEN!).
The recession hasn't really hit my city. We've been lucky to not be affected much by it; the restaurant industry is taking a bit of a hit but that's about it.
I shop the sales anyway, going so far as to go to 3 different grocery stores to get the best prices I can (even though two of them are 20 minutes walking distance away from my house, in opposite directions). But shopping the sales is kind of a game to me. I like it… don't think it really has affected how healthy I eat.
We are no longer buying our grass fed finished organic beef and chicken. so, I basically don't eat much meat these days besides fish.
Been making my own nut butters at home, and buying the nuts at Costco. Saves us a lot as I have a bit of a nut butter problem. 🙂
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I'd also like to point out that socioeconomic status correlates negatively to weight for another reason, in addition to those you mentioned.
People with more money tend to have the time and luxury for "recreational activities" like sports, fitness, nutrition, etc. For people whom the basic substantive needs are not met (shelter, food, safety), it's probably unlikely that they will prioritize fitness and health!
I'm always frugal, recession or not, so I haven't really changed my spending habits. I'm also fortunate to be a college student currently living at home with her education being provided for by her parents, who both have relatively stable jobs. I am grateful for that 🙂
I don't know you are right or wrong. But I think recession affect all the things actively or passively.
I noticed that I didn't quite change the stuff I ate but rather my eating lifestyle. Before I'd eat out very often on weekends, and have my lunch at some cafe or deli on the weekdays. Now, I've been bringing packed lunches with me to work and I've drastically cut down on my weekend lunch / dinner outs.