Healthy Food Vs Junk Food
Junk food has hidden costs, and it isn’t as cheap as it seems. Even though highly processed and unhealthy foods are generally less expensive than their healthier alternatives, they may end up costing a considerable amount more in the long run, and this cost may go beyond the monetary price tag. Individuals who eat very unhealthy diets or who are severely obese have a higher risk of developing obesity-and-diet-related medical problems such as heart disease, high blood-pressure, diabetes, and even chronic pain. These issues can end up costing patients a lot of money. Prices for medical bills, treatments, medications, and surgeries due to these issues can pile up quickly, and “obesity continues to impose an economic burden on both public and private payers. Across all payers, per capita medical spending for the obese is $1,429 higher per year, or roughly 42 percent higher, than for someone of normal weight” (Finkelstein, 2009. para. 21). Obesity, which is usually caused by poor lifestyle choices including unhealthy diet, has a negative effect on individual people who have to pay for their expenses, as well as the economy as a whole. While buying healthier foods at the grocery may cost more at the cash register, it is up to the consumer to decide whether the money saved by buying unhealthier foods is worth the prices, both monetary and physical, that they will eventually have to pay due to poor