A new Agriculture Department study counters a common perception that junk food is cheaper than a nutritionally balanced meal.
It all depends on how prices are measured. Pastries and processed snacks high in fat, sugar or salt may seem a bargain if the price is measured by calories. By weight or portion size, grains, vegetables and fruits are less expensive.
The cost of eating healthy foods has been the subject of growing debate. Experts warn that a third of US adults are obese, and expect that number to grow to 42 per cent by 2030. A report two years ago by University of Washington researchers concluded that calorie-for-calorie, eating junk food is more cost-effective for low-income people than eating healthy.
The conclusion of this Dept. of Agriculture study is quite evident to anyone who prepares his or her own meals from scratch using staple ingredients (including cereal grains and fresh fruits and vegetables) and hasn’t fallen for the hype around so called “organic” products.
By the Department’s criteria, the healthiest food is sawdust. High bulk, no calories. I saw the report — eat an apple instead of a ‘sugary snack’.
An average apple contains 53 calories. A healthy active human adult requires 2,000 calories per day. That’s about 37 apples.
What allowed humans to descend from the trees, cross the savannahs, and find the leisure time for cave art, investing in carbon certificates, etc. was energy-dense, portable food. It’s no accident that our preferences haven’t changed.
And so a new factoid is created, “one third of US adults are obese, and the number will grow to 42%”, to reverberate throughout news stories everywhere.