# How do women in poverty become obese? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 12, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123 "2017-07-12T20:14:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/21 "2017-07-12T21:21:39Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > \*\*Many of us have been in line at the grocery store. I’ve seen EBT used for large carts of junk food many times. It’s often an obese lady. > \*\* > The guy may he big too but I usually only see the mom shopping. > > One of the writers at Cracked came from a poor background. He’s written several articles. I recall he mentions learning to cook eat better food after he had a better income. > > A lot of people never learn to cook. A big Mac and fries is their daily meal. Washed down with a Big Gulp. And you can tell it’s EBT how? ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/22 "2017-07-12T21:23:38Z")
you can google poverty linked to obesity to find a number of resources. I’m going to piss people off here and suggest that poverty and obesity share the common thread of being sedentary. Its my observation from personal experience as well as based on some studies, that often poor people don’t move a lot. People that don’t move a lot tend to become obese. There is a significant number of people who are unwilling or unable to work. Those people will tend to be poor. Those people also tend to become obese. I’m closely associated with several people who prefer to sit around the house, watch tv and eat food rather then get up, go to work, or just do laborious tasks around the house. They are poor and fat. These are not people that live in bad neighborhoods and can’t go outside…they just prefer to sit on the couch with a bag of potato chips rather then going for a walk or mowing the yard. > **[Poverty and Obesity in the U.S.](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3198075/)** There is evidence of the association between sedentariness, poor health, obesity, diabetes, other metabolic diseases, and premature death (8). Sedentary individuals move 2 h per day less than active individuals and expend less energy, and they are thereby prone to obesity, chronic metabolic disease, and cardiovascular death (9). More than half of county-to-county variance in obesity can be accounted for by variance in sedentariness (Fig. 1B). Overall, the poorest counties have the greatest sedentariness (Fig. 1C) and obesity. [http://www.scholarsstrategynetwork.org/brief/why-poverty-leads-obesity-and-life-long-problems](http://www.scholarsstrategynetwork.org/brief/why-poverty-leads-obesity-and-life-long-problems) ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/23 "2017-07-12T21:36:02Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > And you can tell it’s EBT how? There is a big ‘EBT’ thingy right on the card? ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/24 "2017-07-12T21:40:24Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > As this is GQ, I will correct the above - somewhere around 74% of poor households in the US do not have one year-round, full time worker. ([Cite](http://www.heritage.org/jobs-and-labor/commentary/the-myth-the-idle-rich).) Unless “impoverished” doesn’t mean “poor” or “often” doesn’t mean “about a quarter of the time” or “long hours” doesn’t mean full time. There is something majorly wrong with that data. Whoever compiled it somehow missed the millions of people who work two or even three part-time jobs. ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/25 "2017-07-12T22:09:22Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > One thing that is not clear is why they are eating such low-quality foods rather than more nutritious but still cheap foods, like beans rice, and homemade tortillas. Their food costs could still be pretty low, but they’d have a much better diet. I’m sure the reasons are complex. Many people living in poverty don’t have access to working cooking facilities. They may be living in places where gas and/or electric have been cut off, they may be living in a motel (or car) that simply doesn’t have a stove, or they may be living in a rental with a nonworking stove, refrigerator, etc. When that happens, they end up either eating inexpensive fast food or prepared food that doesn’t require cooking. Both tend to be high-calorie. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/26 "2017-07-12T22:10:52Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > One thing that is not clear is why they are eating such low-quality foods rather than more nutritious but still cheap foods, like beans rice, and homemade tortillas. Their food costs could still be pretty low, but they’d have a much better diet. I’m sure the reasons are complex. Speaking not only as someone who has been on food stamps/EBT, but also as a cashier in a grocery store… It’s really all over the map. There are people on EBT who buy nothing but healthy food like fresh/frozen vegetables, whole grains, fruit, lean meats. There are people on EBT who buy nothing but frozen pizza, frozen prepared food, and salty snacks and pop. There are people all in between those. You will tend to notice the minority mother with three kids in tow with a cart full of frozen pizza over the slender white woman on her own buying vegetables, but both could be on EBT. We’ve got dedicated vegetarians on EBT. Omni/carnivores on EBT. People who seem to subsist on corn puffs, Pepsi, and cheese doodles. The only folks I see eating a homecooked beans, rice, and tortillas (well, corn meal) diet are Spanish-speaking folks who clearly moved to the US from somewhere else. They also buy a lot of different sorts of peppers and vegetables with Spanish names. This really shouldn’t be much of a surprise. It’s not that other folks don’t eat beans, rice, etc. but that those items tend to be only a small part of their shopping cart. Back when my family was on EBT I bought very few vegetables… because I was growing most of our vegetables in our backyard and spent the money on bread/whole grains, dairy products, and meant/fish. So I’m sure that would have skewed the opinion of anyone looking at my grocery cart. Had a neighbor down the road on EBT who raised chickens in the backyard, so her cart would never have eggs in it, but they ate a LOT of eggs. What’s in the grocery cart is going to be skewed by things like that, and stuff like whether a senior citizen gets meals on wheels, or someone eats regularly at a soup kitchen. But it remains a truth that “empty” and carbohydrate calories are dirt, dirt cheap in in US society. Heck, even some forms of protein - I buy a cold rotisserie chicken once a week for $5 that serves as meals for about one third of the week in one form or another (reheated, cold, fried rice, chicken salad, etc.). EBT folks can only purchase the cold version, but we sell a LOT of them to folks on EBT and arguably it’s a lot healthier than some choices they could be making. Sausage are relatively cheap, but fattening. So on and so forth. You CAN eat healthy on EBT - I fed both my spouse and me on it for awhile and we both had dietary restrictions to complicate it on top of that - but you have to know how. And a lot of people just don’t know how. If you don’t know basic cooking then you eat prepared food, which is more expensive and often less healthy. It’s more complicated than “poor people are stupid or ignorant or both”. We don’t teach “home ec” in school anymore, and kids aren’t picking it up at home, which state has been going on long enough we’re on a generation of people who never learned basic cooking now having kids of their own. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/27 "2017-07-12T22:13:50Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > And you can tell it’s EBT how? In my case I’m typically ringing up their order. Every state I’ve worked in as a cashier (Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin) has a distinctive EBT card. It’s easy to spot if you know what to look for, and sufficiently nosy bystanders sometimes look for them. But, since I’ll see it every time someone goes through my line I can a lot of people who don’t fit the stereotypical EBT “poor person” profile using them. This won’t be so noticeable to a lot of the busy-bodies. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/28 "2017-07-12T22:14:15Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > And you can tell it’s EBT how? I see it getting pulled out of her purse. Pretty hard not seeing it. 😃 [![](https://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://i2.wp.com/ebtcardbalancenow.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ARKANSAS.jpg?resize%3D288%252C175&imgrefurl=http://ebtcardbalancenow.com/arkansas-ebt-card-balance-check/&docid=qCaotMsdRqGMLM&tbnid=P_dq8PKwioosPM:&vet=1&w=288&h=175&source=sh/x/im) ](https://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://i2.wp.com/ebtcardbalancenow.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ARKANSAS.jpg?resize%3D288%252C175&imgrefurl=http://ebtcardbalancenow.com/arkansas-ebt-card-balance-check/&docid=qCaotMsdRqGMLM&tbnid=P_dq8PKwioosPM:&vet=1&w=288&h=175&source=sh/x/im) I remember back when government cheese was a thing. A lady came to our apartment complex and gave a cooking lesson. Cheesy rice and chicken was one of the dishes that I remember. She also explained how to cook with the powdered milk being given away. ---
**Author:** ![Crazy\_Canuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazy_canuck/32/5282_2.png) [@Crazy\_Canuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazy_Canuck)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/29 "2017-07-12T22:20:07Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > There is a significant number of people who are unwilling or unable to work. Do you have a cite for that? Particularly the “significant” and “unwilling” parts? I did some googling, and I was unable to find any scientific study that collaborates that. I’d really like to read one, as right now it appears to me that you are asserting that poverty is caused by poor people being lazy. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/30 "2017-07-12T22:29:46Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I see it getting pulled out of her purse. Pretty hard not seeing it. 😃 > [https://goo.gl/images/Q71zxL](https://goo.gl/images/Q71zxL) I don’t think I’ve ever looked at someone else’s bank card closely enough to identify it. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/31 "2017-07-12T22:30:20Z")
> [@cwthree](#): > > Many people living in poverty don’t have access to working cooking facilities. They may be living in places where gas and/or electric have been cut off, they may be living in a motel (or car) that simply doesn’t have a stove, or they may be living in a rental with a nonworking stove, refrigerator, etc. When that happens, they end up either eating inexpensive fast food or prepared food that doesn’t require cooking. Both tend to be high-calorie. Absolutely that’s the case for a lot of people. If your meals consist of ready-to-eat foods from 7-11, it’s going to consist of a lot of essentially junk food. But some of the families in “Poor Kids” which had cooking facilities didn’t make an effort to make healthy meals. They were using their stove to heat up cheap frozen pizzas which were essentially oil and flour. And they were drinking soda instead of milk, or even water. In my opinion, it seemed that the hardship of their poverty was so overwhelming that they looked for enjoyment anywhere they could. It’s a lot easier to pop a pizza in the oven rather than cook. The kids are going to be a lot happier eating pizza and soda instead of rice and milk. The long-term consequences of a poor diet was not a factor if the poor diet was more enjoyable or gave them a break from their troubles. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/32 "2017-07-12T22:35:22Z")
Schools share some blame if they don’t require Home Ec. That’s where our parents learned nutrition and how to cook. So many people can’t cook a simple pot roast with vegetables. Buying food on a tight budget requires careful meal planning. Getting the best nutrition they can afford. A pot of dried beans is filling and good protein. > **[Food & Recipes](https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/default.htm)** > > Healthy recipes for healthy meals, find thousands of delicious recipes. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/33 "2017-07-12T22:40:02Z")
The poor or less than well to do certainly get a lot of shit. If they are fat and overweight, people wonder how, if they are well dressed or presentable then people scowl if they use EBT. I am guilty of both though, under the right circumstances. How does a 350-400LB person not know that buy Mac N Cheese, Babar Hot Dogs and 5 boxes of cookies not know its contributing to weight gain? Or the guy using an Illinois LINK card or EBT who has an iPhone. I feel like such a jerk wondering these things, since it really is not of my business, but the questions are still there. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/34 "2017-07-12T23:03:21Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Calories are incredibly inexpensive in our society. Gym memberships are not. I beg to differ, gym memberships are far less expensive than calories. Gym membership $1.00 per day, try and get fat on $1.00 per day. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/35 "2017-07-12T23:04:20Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Schools share some blame if they don’t require Home Ec. > > That’s where our parents learned nutrition and how to cook. So many people can’t cook a simple pot roast with vegetables. > > Buying food on a tight budget requires careful meal planning. Getting the best nutrition they can. I don’t know how old you are, but you really think Home Ec is where people learned to cook, and about nutrition? My wife and I both took Home Ec, and that is NOT where we learned to cook, and neither did our parents. Home Ec in our two schools was a joke. We learned to cook from our parents, grandparents and other older family members, and from cooking TV shows. And for the record, my family was quite poor, but my dad grew a garden and we ate at home-cooked meals 99 percent of the time. We ate out about three times a year. You can eat real cooked food for less money than fast food or processed crap. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/36 "2017-07-12T23:13:42Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I beg to differ, gym memberships are far less expensive than calories. Gym membership $1.00 per day, try and get fat on $1.00 per day. Beg all you want. Gyms are expensive in both money and time. And, people _need_ to eat - they don\*'\*t need to work out. Also, while there are some gyms that cost $30/month, many are much more than that, and there are generally initiation fees, sometimes costing several hundred dollars. And, of course, you need to drive to the gym, unless you are lucky enough to have one in walking distance. Oh, yeah - you can take the bus. I wonder how much that costs in time and money. As for getting fat on $1/day - right, you probably won’t get fat for $1, but it will [buy](http://www.brandeating.com/2014/08/news-taco-bells-new-1-dollar-cravings-menu-includes-beefy-fritos-burrito.html) you around 1/4 of your calorie requirements (if you are an average woman). ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/37 "2017-07-12T23:20:16Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I beg to differ, gym memberships are far less expensive than calories. Gym membership $1.00 per day, try and get fat on $1.00 per day. Even if the gym is $30/mo, there are a lot of demands for that $30. Does it go for rent, food, clothing, utilities, car repair, school supplies, etc, etc. They are likely coming up short trying to pay for essential needs, so there’s not an extra $30 for the gym. That would be a luxury when you’re trying to keep the internet connected, or even the electricity turned on to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/38 "2017-07-12T23:25:57Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > Even if the gym is $30/mo, there are a lot of demands for that $30. Does it go for rent, food, clothing, utilities, car repair, school supplies, etc, etc. They are likely coming up short trying to pay for essential needs, so there’s not an extra $30 for the gym. That would be a luxury when you’re trying to keep the internet connected, or even the electricity turned on to begin with. And there will be people screaming about how can someone on food stamps pay for a luxury like a gym membership. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/39 "2017-07-12T23:28:03Z")
Children with low IQs, especially girls, are more likely to be obese when they grow up: [http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v30/n9/full/0803279a.html](http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v30/n9/full/0803279a.html) > [@](#): > > Objective: To examine the relation of childhood intelligence (IQ) test results with obesity in middle age and weight gain across the life course. > > Methods: We analysed data from the National Child Development (1958) Study, a prospective cohort study of 17 414 births to parents residing in Great Britain in the late 1950s. **Childhood IQ was measured at age 11 years and body mass index (BMI), an indicator of adiposity, was assessed at 16, 23, 33 and 42 years of age**. Logistic regression (in which BMI was categorised into obese and non-obese) and structural equation growth curve models (in which BMI was retained as a continuous variable) were used to estimate the relation between childhood IQ and adult obesity, and childhood IQ and weight gain, respectively. > > Results: In unadjusted analyses, **lower childhood IQ scores were associated with an increased prevalence of adult obesity at age 42 years. This relation was somewhat stronger in women (ORper SD decrease in IQ score [95% CI]: 1.38 [1.26, 1.50]) than men (1.26 [1.15, 1.38])**. This association remains statistically significant after adjusting for childhood characteristics, including socio-economic factors, but was heavily attenuated following control for adult characteristics, particularly education (women: 1.11 [0.99, 1.25]; men: 1.10 [0.98, 1.23]). When weight gain between age 16 and 42 years was the outcome of interest, structural equation modelling revealed that education and dietary characteristics in adult life mediated the association with childhood IQ. > > Conclusions: **A lower IQ score in childhood is associated with obesity and weight gain in adulthood**. In the present study, this relation appears to be largely mediated via educational attainment and the adoption of healthy diets in later life. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123/40 "2017-07-12T23:36:43Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > And there will be people screaming about how can someone on food stamps pay for a luxury like a gym membership. OK, anecdote alert. I was waiting for the light to turn green at a busy intersection, and the ubiquitous panhandlers were working the stopped cars. But, this couple (young guy and girl) caught my attention. Although they were both dressed rather slovenly (as is required by the panhandler’s union), they were both in excellent shape - as a dedicated gym rat, I could tell that they both worked out frequently. I thought to myself “You too are much too buff to be begging - if you have the time and money to go to the gym, you shouldn’t be panhandling.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-in-poverty-become-obese/791123.md?page=3)