uits, vegetables, and whole grains. A U.S. study of 371 low-income women "found that a $10-20 per month decrease in family food expenditures correlated with a net increase of 300 kcal/day in daily energy intakes" (Martin 2005:1). This caused the researcher to conclude that the increase was due to the consumption of energy-dense foods. Another possible factor, not surmised by the researchers may be that food insecurity caused increased consumption, as the women ate more when food was available, for fear of not having access to food in the near future.
             Regardless, it is clear that as income goes down, consumption of energy-dense food increases, and so does caloric intake for the day. But some proposals to ameliorate the causes of obesity, like a so-called 'fat tax,' or tax upon processed foods low in nutrition or fast food chains, to subsidize healthier foods seem like an imperfect solution. Firstly, such measures are regressive taxes and socioeconomically unfair, targeting the consumer rather than the corporations promoting such unhealthy foods. Secondly, it is uncertain if the healthy food subsidy could make up for the newly prohibitive financial costs of former processed staple goods, particularly given the recent spike in food prices. Also, ease of preparation may be another reason for poor food choices and a poor person who is working several jobs and feels highly stressed may see the added time burden of cooking as taking time away better spent in em
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