Reply #4: Then why?

[lumberjack_jeff]

Instead of assuming something about my moral flaws, why not convince me (as well as the AMA) about the root causes of obesity among the poor?

The working poor like Caballero often have no time for cooking, little money to buy fresh vegetables, and a long walk to the closest supermarket with a good produce section.

"We have been pretending that it is easy to replace a diet of soft drinks and fast food with home-cooked meals, fresh fruits and vegetables," said Adam Drewnowski, a University of Washington epidemiology professor who has studied the problem.

<snip>

Although being overweight is usually associated with eating too much rather than with hunger, a growing body of research is showing that they people who have gained the most weight in the last decade tend to have the lowest incomes, and often go without the kind of food or the amount they need.

Caballero's neighborhood mini-market in the isolated farming town of Cutler offers a full array of processed foods in colorful packages -- and battered apples selling for 50 cents.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/diet.fitness/03/04/obesity.paradox.ap/index.html