Life After Diets
Don’t Let Perfection Be the Enemy of Good
How to stop sabotaging your health goals
The absolute worst health habit I engage in these days is the occasional lapse in judgment that leads me into the comments section of articles I read online. Frequently, this ends with me angrily venting to my partner, but from time to time I get a little inspiration.
Recently, in an article about a study of different types of exercise and their impact on obesity rates, someone left a comment stating that eating healthy and exercising is a luxury that most people cannot afford. The average person, he argued, does not have the time or money to dedicate to shopping at pricey farmers’ markets or going to the gym.
Not exactly controversial. After all, the comment writer’s claims are not entirely without merit.
In most places, people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to live in food deserts and experience food insecurity, which often leads to poor nutrition. Additionally, people who have to work two or more jobs to get by, not only lack the money to buy expensive, fresh produce, they often do not have the resources to dedicate to extensive meal prep. As a result, obesity rates increase for people who live at or below the poverty line.
