an apple a day

For anyone who’s ever been to Whole Foods, this won’t come as much of a surprise, but Alexandra Haller at Her Active Life blogged recently about how healthy foods are becoming more expensive, while unhealthy foods are getting cheaper. Haller cited this story from MSNBC, which quotes the University of Washington study that revealed this trend. The researchers examined the prices of about 375 foods and beverages at Seattle supermarket chains in 2004 and 2006 and found that, “[w]hereas the price of the lowest-calorie fruits and vegetables was more than $18.16 per 1,000 calories, the most calorie-rich foods cost $1.76 per 1,000 calories.” Also notable was the change in price over two years:

[T]he average price of the lowest-calorie foods — including green vegetables, tomatoes and berries — increased by almost 20 percent over 2 years. In contrast, in the same time period there was a 2-percent dip in the cost of the most calorie-laden fare, such as butter, potato chips, cookies and candy bars.

My first thought after reading this was that this trend could help explain why lower-income people are more likely to be obese than higher-income people. But then I found this interesting tidbit on WebMD  that dispelled that idea, to some extent:

“The fact is that obesity is increasing in all races, all income categories, and at a faster rate with people in higher incomes,” says the University of Iowa’s Jennifer Robinson, MD, MPH, in a news release.

“Obesity prevalence is now similar across all income categories, with obesity prevalence in the highest income group rapidly approaching that of the lowest income group,” says Robinson, an associate professor of epidemiology who also worked on the study.

Even so, this can’t be a good thing for people with lower incomes. As an insanely poor intern living and working in New York this summer (while simultaneously paying for my apartment in Chicago, for which I couldn’t get a subletter), I found myself subsisting largely on frozen foods, noodles-in-a-box meals and cheap takeout, and I didn’t feel so hot. It may have just been a coincidence, but that whole summer I experienced headaches, sinus infections, bloating and fatigue. I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say that if I could have eaten more healthily, I would have felt much better.