On Mar 7, 2007, at 5:49 PM, James Heartfield wrote:
> Carl writes
>
> "IMO the US has a fat, lazy-minded, self-indulgent population
> because it
> serves the interests of capitalism as a consumer society to make it
> so."
>
> To which opinion you are no doubt entitled, but that would be
> reinforcing my
> argument that working class consumption in the US has not been
> squeezed as
> much, and hours not as stretched as much as is being said - though
> I don't
> think I would put it in quite the same terms.
I wouldn't either. But...
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<http://jech.bmj.com/cgi/reprint/59/8/670>
Wider income gaps, wider waistbands? An ecological study of obesity and income inequality
Kate E Pickett, Shona Kelly, Eric Brunner, Tim Lobstein, Richard G Wilkinson
J Epidemiol Community Health 2005;59:670Ð674
Results: Adjusting for gross national per capita income, income inequality was positively correlated with the percentage of obese men (r = 0.48, p = 0.03), the percentage of obese women (r = 0.62, p = 0.003), diabetes mortality rates per 1 million people (r = 0.46, p = 0.04), and average calories per capita per day (r = 0.50, p = 0.02). Correlations were stronger if analyses were weighted for population size. The effect of income inequality on female obesity was independent of average calorie intake.
Conclusions: Obesity, diabetes mortality, and calorie consumption were associated with income inequality in developed countries. Increased nutritional problems may be a consequence of the psychosocial impact of living in a more hierarchical society.
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<http://www.frac.org/html/hunger_in_the_us/hunger&obesity.htm> The Link Between Hunger and Obesity
The Paradox of Hunger and Obesity in America from FRAC and the Center on Hunger and Poverty explains how hunger and obesity can co-exist.
Far too many Americans face food insecurity: Poverty, obesity sometimes go together from FRAC and the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger is an op-ed piece from the Philadelphia Inquirer that points out the complex factors that contribute to obesity.
Food Insecurity Is Positively Related to Overweight in Women finds that the prevalence of overweight among women increases with food insecurity.
Nutrition and Health Outcomes Associated with Food Insecurity and Hunger suggests a relationship between food insecurity and overweight in women.
Food Insecurity Is Associated with Increased Risk of Obesity in California Women finds that obesity is more prevalent in food insecure than in food secure women.
Results from the Los Angeles County Health Survey indicate a higher likelihood of obesity in lower income, food insecure households than in lower income, food secure households.
Food Insufficiency and Prevalence of Overweight Among Adult Women shows that food-insufficient women are more likely to be overweight and have lower diet quality.
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<http://www.frac.org/html/news/071403hungerandObesity.htm>
EMERGING LINKS BETWEEN HUNGER AND OBESITY REQUIRE ATTENTION FOR MANY HOUSEHOLDS, LACK OF MONEY CAN CONTRIBUTE TO BOTH HUNGER AND OBESITY
July 14, 2003 -A joint analysis released by the Center on Hunger and Poverty at Brandeis University and the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) shows how hunger and obesity not only pose separate and distinct health risks, but also can co-exist in the same household.
The apparent paradox of expanding waistlines and persistent hunger and food insecurity in America is driven in part by the economics of buying food. Households without money to buy enough food first change their purchasing and eating habits - relying on cheaper, high calorie foods over more expensive, nutrient-rich foods - before they cut back on the amount of food. In order to cope with limited money for food and to stave off hunger, families try to maximize caloric intake for each dollar spent, which can lead to over consumption of calories and a less healthful diet.
Research among low-income families shows that mothers first sacrifice their own nutrition by restricting their food intake during periods of food insufficiency in order to protect their children from hunger. The resulting chronic ups and downs in food intake can contribute, over the long run, to obesity among low-income women.
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<http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/1_5.htm>
Disparities in the prevalence of overweight and obesity also exist based on socioeconomic status. For all racial and ethnic groups combined, women of lower socioeconomic status (income ² 130 percent of poverty threshold) are approximately 50 percent more likely to be obese than those with higher socioeconomic status (income > 130 percent of poverty threshold). Men are about equally likely to be obese whether they are in a low or high socioeconomic group.