The Americanization/Westernization of ang Asawa

[Mike J]

On 2/19/2019 at 3:00 AM, Jake said:

Speaking of super size meals, Mark should take his wife to WalFart.  Where double-triple wide WalFart Babes, (including the employees) can be seen eating while they shop......he, he.  

True story:

My Filipina wife had been with me in the USA about one month.  She had become familiar with the bus schedules and used them to get around the city.  At dinner I asked her about her day.  She had discovered that one of the bus routes went all the way to WalMart so she went there to look and maybe shop since she had heard it was a "big store".  She paused and then in a very serious voice ask me; "Why do all the fat people shop at Walmart?" 

[Mark Berkowitz]

Today was my wife's first visit to an American dentist and she was shocked about how they actually take X-Rays.  It turned out that we both need lots of work (a deep cleaning for her and a root canal plus two new crowns for me), so I leveled with the dentist about how it's more important that I use my money for getting plane tickets to go to the Phils to get the children.  He agreed that family comes first, and as a result, he gave us a big discount with a reasonable payment plan... and I didn't even have to say "wala ba ng tawad?" or "ang mahal naman."

[robert k]

On 6/9/2019 at 9:09 PM, Mike J said:

True story:

My Filipina wife had been with me in the USA about one month.  She had become familiar with the bus schedules and used them to get around the city.  At dinner I asked her about her day.  She had discovered that one of the bus routes went all the way to WalMart so she went there to look and maybe shop since she had heard it was a "big store".  She paused and then in a very serious voice ask me; "Why do all the fat people shop at Walmart?" 

I often wondered if it was cause or effect, myself.

[Mike J]

19 hours ago, robert k said:

I often wondered if it was cause or effect, myself.

Maybe some of each?  Walmart attracts a lot of people who have limited/low incomes.  Studies have shown that people on low incomes are often obese because they cannot "healthy" food.  I thought it sounded odd, but then I started to compare prices per serving of fast food and junk food compared to fresh fruit and vegetables and was surprised.  Food that is healthy and nutritious without being fattening is often more expensive than a lot of foods that is primarily starch or are processed with sugar and corn syrup.

[Mark Berkowitz]

1 hour ago, Mike J said:

Food that is healthy and nutritious without being fattening is often more expensive than a lot of foods that is primarily starch or are processed with sugar and corn syrup.

"Eating Healthy vs. Unhealthy Will Cost You $550 More Per Year, Study Reveals

Many people assert that unhealthy eating habits are the result of economic hardship. They say that healthful food is simply more expensive than unhealthful food. Now, science backs them up.

The most comprehensive study of its kind indicates that yes, unhealthy food is about $1.50 cheaper per day, or about $550 per year, than healthy food.

In a meta-review of 27 studies in 10 countries, researchers publishing in the British Medical Journal found that meats and proteins had the largest price differences, with healthier options costing an average $0.29 more per serving than less healthy options. Other categories such as snacks/sweets and grains also cost more for healthier options, at $0.12 and $0.03 respectively. No significant price differences were seen between healthier and less healthy soda and juices.

The study authors caution that the $1.50 per day conclusion is based on comparing a very healthy diet -- such as one replete with fruits, vegetables and fish -- with a diet full of processed foods, meats and grains. The price difference is thus based on a relatively extreme contrast.

Additionally, while $550 per year is certainly burdensome for many people, that cost figure doesn't include any long-term healthcare costs as a result of eating a poor diet.

"This price difference is very small in comparison to the economic costs of diet-related chronic diseases, which would be dramatically reduced by healthy diets," Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, the study's senior author and associate professor at Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School, said in a press release.

In a recent blog for The Huffington Post, Ellen Gustafson, the co-founder of Food Tank, explained the "true" costs of so-called cheap food.

"Hidden health costs like our global obesity epidemic and the food-related public health issues of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer are certainly not included in the cost of your fast food meal," she writes.

With that in mind, $550 doesn't seem like so much money at all."

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/12/05/eating-healthy-vs-unhealthy_n_4383633.html

 

[Jack Peterson]

 Studies are Ok in the main but here it is all a little useless because the people are just not earning enough to eat healthily We ( the Westerner) can  afford to eat just about what we want. Just a Little side here, a Friend recently came back from Australia and was astounded at the Cost of fruit and Veg there now, he was telling me that it did not take too long to spend 90+ Dollars (Aus) on what he wanted to eat as his family were eating badly in his opinion. Like many things the Comparison can go so wide and varied and as with many things it is all about Money. I am sure that any Filipinas going to any Western Country is going to be shocked at Costs and may well still shy away from the healthy stuff based purely on Money.

 Such are my thoughts, I eat what I need as my Diet but my wife will stick to what she was brought up on and should we ever go West I really do not think she will change, Over the Last 12+ years she has never been happy with what we call healthy Food But..................... It is mainly based on cost. Should the Local wage be enough to buy Healthy I am not too sure many would buy, Old Habits linger on 

[Mike J]

19 minutes ago, Mark Berkowitz said:

With that in mind, $550 doesn't seem like so much money at all."

Said the person who is probably well above the poverty level and does not have to choose between paying for heat or for healthy food but not both.   Here is my salute to the author of the article  for that arrogant ending sentence.     My salute is not meant for you Mark or your post.  It is these self righteous "you should be doing this instead of that" self proclaimed do gooders that really jerk my chain.   Life is not so simple when you struggle to put food on the table every day.

Edited June 13, 2019 by Mike J

[GeoffH]

40 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

 a Friend recently came back from Australia and was astounded at the Cost of fruit and Veg there now, he was telling me that it did not take too long to spend 90+ Dollars (Aus) on what he wanted to eat 

Because I spend part of my year in the Philippines and part in Australia I might make a comment about this.

In Bendigo, Victoria, Australia it costs about 200 peso for about 4 or 5 poorer quality bananas $5,  Mangos are about 250 peso for 2 or $7.50, a bag of grapes is 200 to 300 peso (1kg) or $10 to $15.  Apples are 4 for about 200 peso or $5 and then on top of that there would be fresh vegetables and various meats.  $100 does not go far, most weeks I spend $150 for groceries just for me here (and I eat out a bit too).

 

Or you could buy a packet of chicken nuggets or fish fingers for $5 and bag of fries for $4, or a frozen large pizza for $3 and you've got cheap (and not healthy) food.

Edited June 13, 2019 by GeoffH

[Hobbit112]

I think the $550 per year difference may be true globally but I think it is a little shy of the mark in the USA.  For people who can afford to eat healthy, do a price comparison between Walmart and Whole Foods.  You can get eggs at Walmart for less than $1 per dozen but at Whole Foods I wouldn't be surprised if the cheapest was at least $1.50 per dozen.  Walmart has some fresh fruit and veggies but not the quality or quantity at Whole Foods.  

$550 a year is significant just in food to low income earners.  Now carry that over into the other costs for living and the difference total really mounts up.

[JDDavao II]

On 6/13/2019 at 9:20 AM, Mike J said:

Said the person who is probably well above the poverty level and does not have to choose between paying for heat or for healthy food but not both.  

You know what I dreamed of having when I was a kid? Green Giant Niblet corn in a pouch. My mom had to buy store brand frozen veggies on our budget but I had some Green Giant at a friend's house one evening. Oh! The butter sauce was so sweet and the corn so tender!  Such is life for a poor kid. I tasted Coke for the first time at a friend's house. At our house, it was Shop-Rite cola at .15/can. 

People today are faced with spending $2 for two cheeseburgers at McDo's or $2 for a head of caulilower at the market. And then they're blamed for their decision.