While the Rich Get Thinner - the Poorer Get Fatter - Essay Example

The Rich get Thinner the Poorer get Fatter Statistics about obesity from 1990 to 1998 has changed significantly bringing into perspective the new developments in obesity and the health risks that the condition poses to people of all ages. Initially, obesity was thought to be rich man’s disease because it was usually associated with excessive consumption of food. However, in the contemporary American society obesity is becoming a problem of the poor. Most Americans resort to junk foods offered in fast food restaurants because they are cheap and convenient.

Most of these fast foods are packed with excessive calories and sugar that are responsible for obesity. Restaurants that offer healthy and low calorie food are expensive. The poor also lack access to important information about proper diet and ways to avoid obesity. Furthermore, the poor do not enjoy the privilege of exercising and keeping a close watch on their weight perhaps because they consider such initiatives as luxuries they cannot afford. In essence, the poor continue to suffer from obesity due to ignorance and inaccessibility to information with regard to proper dieting and ways of avoiding obesity.

Sabin provides an account that perhaps explains the reason for the increase in obesity in the southern states. Most people in the southern states have for a long time stuck to their traditional foods that are known to contain high calories. The southerners for instance have nurtured a culture of consuming processed foods that are packed with sugar and calories. These eating habits are the ones that Sabin blames for the increase in weight in the southern states. In essence, obesity is no longer a disease that is associated with the excesses of the rich but the ignorance of the poor.