"Whenever Republicans talk about trimming the federal food stamp program, Democrats decry them as cold, heartless or worse.
But new research shows that cutting food stamps could actually make the country healthier.The U.S. Department of Agriculture looked at data from 2007 through 2010, then compared average weights of those on food stamps — officially called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — to those who weren't.
The findings, released on Tuesday, are striking.
Food stamp recipients are far more likely to be obese than poor people who are eligible but don't take the help.
And they're even more likely to be obese than those with higher incomes.
Fully 40% of food stamp recipients are obese, the study found, compared with just over 30% of those who don't participate in the program.
Children of families on food stamps were also more likely to be obese than children in the other two groups, as were older adults.
At the other end of the scale, there was almost no difference among these three groups in terms of the share who were underweight — all were in the low single digits."
2 comments:
That means 40% of the people that attend my Florida church are on "food stamps". That means 40% of the people walking the streets of Punta Gorda are on food stamps, I don't think so. That means 40% of the people in the Florida mall are on food stamps, I don't think so..These are retired people wintering in Florida with a lot of money...They come from Indiana, Illinois, Canada and everywhere else in the country and believe me they are obese, but not on food stamps. That surveys means nothing.
The report said 40% of those on FS were fat. Compared to 30 buying their own food. But, it was the government (DOA) that released the study. And we ALWAYS trust the government.... right?
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