<story><title>The strange effects of thinking healthy food is costlier</title><url>http://sciencebulletin.org/archives/8325.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>Tharre</author><text>The headline misrepresents the article completely.&lt;p&gt;Eating healthy food _is_ costlier than not caring about what you eat. However, that does not mean that expensive equals healthy.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s basically the same old &amp;quot;everything that&amp;#x27;s good is (at least somewhat) expensive, but not everything that&amp;#x27;s expensive is good&amp;quot; applied to food.&lt;p&gt;BTW: why the heck are both source and journal reference links to some top level domains?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>jdietrich</author><text>Most Americans simply need to eat less. America is not facing an epidemic of rickets, scurvy or beriberi, but it is facing an epidemic of obesity-related diseases. The average American is eating ~50% more calories than they need. That caloric surplus is &lt;i&gt;the&lt;/i&gt; dominant issue.&lt;p&gt;Skipping dessert is free. Not snacking between meals is free. Serving smaller portions is free. Apples are cheaper than candy bars, carrots are cheaper than meat. Whole grains and pulses are the basic sustenance for most of the poorest people on earth.&lt;p&gt;The problem is simply too much food, available too cheaply. There is an abundance of tempting, calorie-dense foods. Given the choice between spending $0.25 on a banana and $1 on a candy bar, most people choose the candy bar. This is why we&amp;#x27;re seeing increasing mortality in middle-income countries - when you overcome the diseases of poverty, you quickly start developing the diseases of wealth.</text></comment>
<story><title>The strange effects of thinking healthy food is costlier</title><url>http://sciencebulletin.org/archives/8325.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>Tharre</author><text>The headline misrepresents the article completely.&lt;p&gt;Eating healthy food _is_ costlier than not caring about what you eat. However, that does not mean that expensive equals healthy.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s basically the same old &amp;quot;everything that&amp;#x27;s good is (at least somewhat) expensive, but not everything that&amp;#x27;s expensive is good&amp;quot; applied to food.&lt;p&gt;BTW: why the heck are both source and journal reference links to some top level domains?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>the_gastropod</author><text>I&amp;#x27;m not sure that&amp;#x27;s necessarily true. You can eat a healthy diet for very cheap. Rice, beans, most in-season fresh vegetables, out-of-season frozen vegetables, flour, peanuts, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, etc are all quite cheap. Throw in some spices and your protein of choice, and you can eat more cheaply on these foods than on a &amp;quot;not caring about what you eat&amp;quot; diet of lean cuisines, fruit loops, and poptarts.</text></comment>