See now, you just thought we had free will.
According to this study, we are pwned by our environments:
Obesity rates were 20% higher in neighborhoods with five or more times as many fast-food outlets as produce vendors, compared with those with three or fewer, the study found. Diabetes rates were 23% higher.
So if you live near vendors of crappy junk food, you eat it -- whereas, conversely, if you live near a cool grocery that sells lovely fresh fruit and nice salads (as we now do, yay, hurray!) you find yourself buying that instead: which, yes, we do -- hmm! How is this possible? If the food is there, you will buy it? If it's not, you won't? What kind of crazy talk is that?
(Via Ezra)
This is the blog of Kelly Jennings, science fiction writer.
Well, I have noticed that if I have a bag of potato chips in the house, I'll eat them. If I can stop myself from buying them, I don't eat potato chips at all. Having something in your face makes a huge difference. So I say to that study: DUH! --Livia
ReplyDeleteUnfortuantely, the price of those fruits and vegetables just keep right on soaring, which makes the buying of such difficult.
ReplyDeleteI agree with anon. Duh.
ReplyDeleteIt won't surprise me at all if we see a significant rise in heat disease, stroke, diabetes, etc. because of the rising food costs. It's potentially cheaper to eat crap out than it is to eat a healthful, balanced meal at home.