This is not a scientific answer, but my perspective is that healthy food is more expensive, therefore purveyors of healthy food tend to avoid poor areas. It's not so much the consumer's "choice" to buy these products, but their inability to purchase or lack of knowledge that fresh foods may extend their lives.
Edit: Another issue affecting these consumers is that they may not have as much time to cook as a family with 2 parents working 1 job each.
Healthy food isn't very expensive if you're smart about it (it requires a bit of education and understanding nutrition). I live off of rice, beans, spinach, pita bread, whole grain pasta, peanut butter and the cheapest veggies I can find. I spend about 20$CAD a week on groceries.
Where's the steak? =) The day someone defines what "healthy food" actually is, or what subsets of food will suffice, will be the day people realize it can be had for as much or less than the unhealthy options.
Avoiding processed foods, limiting carb intake, and eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is a good rule of thumb. Also, make sure to stay hydrated to reduce false feelings of hunger.
When I was in college and couldnt afford steaks or other expensive forms of protein, I got them from eggs, one of the most well rounded sources of protein for the pricr
Yeah, but define "empty calorie". Like, I eat pretty low-carb (mostly because I feel better, not out of any ideological thing). Heavy on lean meats and green vegetables, while I avoid pastas, root vegetables, breads, etc.--I think a potato is the closest thing to an empty calorie you'll find this side of a sugar cube, but reasonable people can and do disagree.
Potatoes on their own aren't empty calories. [1] One medium potato is ~150 calories but full of potassium, vit c, and other nutrients. It's when you fry them or drench them in cheese and bacon bits and sour cream or mash them with loads of butter that they become unhealthful.
An empty calorie is one that provides little to no nutritional value other than the calorie itself. In my mind the most common empty calories come from sugars, some flours, and some oils.
Completely disagree: I eat a high-fat (~70% of calories from fat) and lots of protein diet (I'm about 12% bodyfat).
Bacon* and cheese and sour cream are the healthy parts of that meal, the potato is the "empty" thing by far, and the thing that will provide the highest glycemic load of those ingredients, spiking insulin.
(note that I have no idea what bacon bits are, or if they're even pork meat)
That's a fair cop. Potatoes are merely in the ballpark. (GI spikes for nutrients much more easily gotten from things that won't make me feel like crap? Either way, gimme.)
Edit: Another issue affecting these consumers is that they may not have as much time to cook as a family with 2 parents working 1 job each.