Upper middle class women

[creekster]

The price of household labor saving devices (and cheap food availability) has dropped to within the budget of all white women. Exercise and movement have switched from non-voluntary (walking to work or school, household chores, child rearing, job requirements, entertainment) to voluntary (working out, exercising healthily, etc). These voluntary exercises have only been embraced by $100K+ women.

Men don't take advantage of household labor saving devices because they still do very little traditional house work.

This is my 2c hypothesis.

Makes sense but what's the difference between working out and exercising healthily?

[Katy Lied]

Im going to the gym vs. I am parking my car all the way over at the other end of the parking lot.

[jay santos]

The price of household labor saving devices (and cheap food availability) has dropped to within the budget of all white women. Exercise and movement have switched from non-voluntary (walking to work or school, household chores, child rearing, job requirements, entertainment) to voluntary (working out, exercising healthily, etc). These voluntary exercises have only been embraced by $100K+ women.

Men don't take advantage of household labor saving devices because they still do very little traditional house work.

This is my 2c hypothesis.

taking this seriously, my instinct is to disagree about the explanation of why rich women are thinner. My first thought is that it's related to time. My thought was that rich women have more time than poor women (+- $100K isn't really rich/poor but let's just go with those labels). Rich women are more likely to be a stay at home mom. Or more likely to have time saving resources like maid, laundry service, take out food, or even a vehicle. So this extra time is used in leisure opportunities which includes working out and also possibly social situations where competitiveness about appearance comes into play. But then I think about when I go to Walmart and see all the fat people. I imagine most of them have a lot of free time on their hands.

[Sullyute]

taking this seriously, my instinct is to disagree about the explanation of why rich women are thinner. My first thought is that it's related to time. My thought was that rich women have more time than poor women (+- $100 isn't really rich/poor but let's just go with those labels). Rich women are more likely to be a stay at home mom. Or more likely to have time saving resources like maid, laundry service, take out food, or even a vehicle. So this extra time is used in leisure opportunities which includes working out and also possibly social situations where competitiveness about appearance comes into play. But then I think about when I go to Walmart and see all the fat people. I imagine most of them have a lot of free time on their hands.

I have to admit that I got a hardy laugh out of that.

[jay santos]

I have to admit that I got a hardy laugh out of that.

Thanks, I try. that's what we're here for.

[creekster]

Don't all these factors also correlate strongly with education levels?

[Katy Lied]

I have to admit that I got a hardy laugh out of that.

[jay santos]

Don't all these factors also correlate strongly with education levels?

Yes, but they do in men also. So there must be an additional element.

[Joe Public]

Instead of wealth being the cause, another possibility is that wealth is the effect. Be it mate selection or job promotion, a healthier/fitter/more attractive appearance could be beneficial. Similar to the height variable, but unique to women.

[Jeff Lebowski]

This phenomenon was covered in the Food, Inc. documentary. Poor people tend to be more obese at least in part because eating healthy is expensive.

[jay santos]

Instead of wealth being the cause, another possibility is that wealth is the effect. Be it mate selection or job promotion, a healthier/fitter/more attractive appearance could be beneficial. Similar to the height variable, but unique to women.

Old Greg covered this ground. I think he might be right.

[falafel]

Upper middle class women

I had that one. I hated that shirt Joe is wearing.

[Goatnapper'96]

This phenomenon was covered in the Food, Inc. documentary. Poor people tend to be more obese at least in part because eating healthy is expensive.

It is often more time consuming and also requires better organizational skills. But if one makes it a priority I am convinced it can done pretty cheaply.

The one thing about living ultra rural is you get the chance to be exposed to families across the socio-economic spectrum. In my community we have from very comfortable to very poor. My ultra cynical conclusion is poor people tend to consistently make bad decisions. Often those bad decisions result in their own children having limited options and the cycle repeats and will repeat itself. Take the opportunity for education - where I live some of our poorest families choose to home school to protect their kids from Common Core, the mormons getting upset when one shows off their older sister's ass tatoo (or various other whiny excuses for how their kids are picked on) or because they are fundamentally too damn lazy to get their kids up and dressed and to school by 0800. I get to read about their daily roping or duck hunting forays on facebook. My guess is most of these kids will be poor and one day my son will be lamenting how their kids' bad decisions will ensure the grandchildren will also be poor. It seems to me that the US system of charity (both government and religious/humanitarian communities) makes available a basic sustenance level of existence that many of the poor are not very motivated to rise above. So here is to many more generations of roping and duck hunting instead of book learnin'!

[Color Me Badd Fan]

This phenomenon was covered in the Food, Inc. documentary. Poor people tend to be more obese at least in part because eating healthy is expensive.

I've read the book too. I think it's more a function of fast food being really cheap. And you add that to poor women having less time to plan meals.

Chicken, beans, rice, etc are pretty cheap. It's not the expense, but the time involved and a relatively cheap and easy alternative.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I've read the book too. I think it's more a function of fast food being really cheap. And you add that to poor women having less time to plan meals.

Chicken, beans, rice, etc are pretty cheap. It's not the expense, but the time involved and a relatively cheap and easy alternative.

Let me just add, I meant the book Fast Food Nation.