Food choices influenced by pricing

By Blake Dykes

Graphic by Summer Haynes.
Walking around the store while my mom picks out fresh fruits that smell like sweet scents from bath and body works, I cannot help but notice all the people around me.

I see the fairly large woman, pushing her cart, out of breath from the two liters and chips weighing her cart down. There is a couple in front of me, debating whether they want powdered sugar or chocolate doughnuts for breakfast the next morning.

I start to wonder, “Don’t these people know what they are putting into their bodies?”

Surely they do, everyone knows doughnuts are bad for you, right? But it is easier to get a dozen for $2.50 rather than spending $4 on a box of Quakers oatmeal.

Could this difference in prices have anything to do with increasing obesity rates in Amercia?

Right now, with the economy, it is hard to find jobs that pay well, let alone a job period. Everyone knows that we need to have money to buy food.

When you are waiting in line to check out of the store, how tempting is it to reach over and grab a $.99 bag of mini muffins, or a $.63 candy bar? You never get into line and say, “Man, a little bag of wheat thins would really hit the spot.” Maybe you do, but who wants to pay $3.50 for something when they could get a bag of chips that holds twice the amount and is half the cost?

I partially blame the grocery stores.

Displays do not promote healthy foods. When I stand in the check out line, all I see are candy bars, gum, and sodas. I never see any fruit or nutritious, healthy food.

Additionally, today’s world can often be influenced by television. I have yet to see a commercial promoting healthy foods. Many of today’s advertisements are promoting junk food.

What could be a solution to this problem? Get coupons, be alert, and when healthy foods go on sale be sure to take advantage of that. We cannot change what the prices on foods are; however we can control what we buy.

Now this is a little far fetched, but if people stopped buying some of the unhealthy food choices such as pop tarts, chips, etc. Do you think that companies would make adjustments and put healthier ingredients into them? Or maybe stop selling the product all together?

Maybe if people boycotted fatty foods the companies producing them would clean up their act and make healthier choices.

No one is going to spend money producing something that no one wants to buy.

Essentially, the cost of healthy foods needs to be lower. If healthy foods were not so expensive, people would make better food choices, and in turn have better eating habits.

Would you agree that maybe people may even feel a twinge of guilt buying something that is fattening and more expensive than something healthy?

It all boils down to, people can not afford to eat healthy.

3 thoughts on “Food choices influenced by pricing”

  1. Not always true. Like this states, get some coupons and know when stuff goes on sale. People just dont care about their health.

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