We all try to have a balanced diet, eat fresh vegetables and fruit every day or try to, and try to avoid frozen or pre-made meals to stay healthy. But many people still choose fast food, because they like it or they don’t know how to cook. It’s not always that, but for some people, it is the most affordable kind of food.
Twitter user Emily Porter said that overweight people who still continue to eat at McDonald’s may only be able to buy this kind of food and we should be less judgmental against them. The tweet got diverse responses and while the bulk of people were understanding with the statement, a lot of them didn’t agree with losing one’s health for an affordable and easy food option.
A doctor on Twitter defends those eating junk food by saying that people with lower income may be unable to afford healthier options
Emily Porter is a board-certified physician, a wife, and also a mother that won the battle with cancer two times in 20 years. Recently, she posted a tweet that made people split into two camps: the ones agreeing with her and others opposing.
In a said tweet, Dr. Porter urges people to be more sympathetic towards people who eat fast food because it could probably be their only choice as healthier options are expensive. She relates a meal she purchased at Mcdonald’s that cost $3.25 with non-organic raspberries at Walmart that cost $8.96 for a pound.
She gives an example from her own experience when she ate a full meal from McDonald’s for $3.25 while a pound of raspberries at Walmart cost $8.96
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According to the results of a meta-analysis published in 2013 in BMJ Open, a healthier diet costs $1.48 more a day, which would add up to $540.20 a year, and for a family of four, the amount would equal $2,160.80.
Another study done in the UK by the Institute of Economic Affairs concluded that “switching to healthier versions of many staple products can be achieved at no extra cost.“ So there isn‘t a definite answer and it probably depends on where a person lives, what supermarkets are near their homes, and other factors.
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Dr. Porter also points out that not everyone has supermarkets near their homes and can buy fresh food
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Even if making healthy food is cheaper, then Dr. Porter argues that a person who works all day wouldn’t have the energy to prepare a meal, and let’s not forget that you have to clean up afterward. So, cooking a frozen pizza or mixing up some macaroni and cheese seems way easier, less time-consuming, and less messy when everything you want after a tiring day is to lay down.
Furthermore, cooking is a lot of work and after a long, tiring day, pre-made meals are just more convenient
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The tweet got over 25k likes, so there are definitely a lot of people who relate and are struggling with eating more healthy because fast food is just cheaper, at the same time recognizing that it is a problem.
There were other opinions, with people saying that preparing meals at home on a budget is possible and eating cheap junk food will eventually cost you more in medical bills in the future.
There are some conflicting opinions in the comments, but everyone has their reasoning
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