Shopping only at Costco has really opened my eyes to the buying {and consumption} patterns of your average Joe. While I stand in line, I like to watch what everyone else is loading onto the belt. I always wonder how long the mass quantities of food will last them. Are they shopping for the month, the week, the next 24 hours?
Wouldn’t you know it, during my daily NPR visit, a timely article about Big-Box stores and the link to Americans getting fatter popped up. According to the article, studies have shown a measurable link between communities with Big-Box superstores {Walmart, Costco, Sam’s Club, etc.} and a rise in BMI {Body Mass Index}. It does seem, according to general statistics, that communities with easy access to mass quantities of food eat more than those without access {duh}. The theory behind it is that when people have access to large boxes of chips, buckets of pretzels, etc. they naturally tend to eat more than they would if they were portioned out to single 200-300 calorie servings. While most people buy them with the intention of stock-piling food, they actually end up eating it all faster than intended.
The one thing the article didn’t mention, that I personally think has something to do with buying bulk is that typically buying bulk requires to you to buy shelf-stable items–and outside of your basic staples {flour, rice, beans}, that means a lot of processed garbage. Fruits and veggies have a shelf life, so over-buying only leads to waste.
When I was a kid, we had one regular sized fridge and freezer combo and two cupboards with canned or box food products in them. None of my friends kitchens had pantries. Some did have an extra freezer in the garage for meat–especially if they hunted. That’s it. As grocery stores got larger, and product sizes increased, they need for more food storage space increased. Nowadays, a large pantry is a selling feature in most homes.
I totally think there is something to this whole instant access to an over-abundance of food that is definitely adding to our waist-lines. What do you think?
~Mavis
Melissa says
While I can absolutely see how it may be easy to draw a line between the two, I don’t know that I’d blame Costco, Sam’s Club, Walmart, etc for American’s obesity epidemic. I feel fairly confident because I have a lot of personal experience in this department! Up until two months ago, I had never shopped at a Costco or Sam’s Club, but am obese.
I think the ASD (American Standard Diet), the USDA and FDA are the biggest contributors to the obesity epidemic sweeping the United States. I also believe in personal responsibility! No one put the cupcake, chocolate, or chips in my mouth. I did that and I alone should be responsible for my actions.
My family (myself, my husband and three of my four kids) have all been diagnosed with a glucose and lactose intolerance in the last two months from our nutritionist. Since then, we’ve started shopping at CostCo because feeding a family of six, GF/LF foods is expensive. Costco offers a larger variety of GF/LF options that our regular grocery stores. Also the size of GF/LF products are significantly smaller than their counterparts, so Costco carries products we can have and in the quatities we need to feed my family. In the two months that we’ve been exclusively shopping at Costco…my husband and I are down 30 pounds each. I attritubute that to being more mindful of what were eating, not the size of the packaging. When all four of my kids take things for lunch (a prime example is the chips you have pictured which they actually take), they weigh out a serving size in a baggie.
I’m not saying everyone does that, but it is up to us to be accountable for our actions…not trying to shirk off our choices on companies. That’s just my opinion, thank you for letting me voice it! Have a great day and keep writing! I love your blog!
Cecily says
Well said Melissa and congrats on your weight loss! I too am trying to lose weight and so have become more conscious of the nutritional content of the foods I consume. I was shocked at the amount of fat, calories, sugar and/or sodium in what I thought were healthy options and how little nutrients they contained. I think one of the biggest issues is that we are a society addicted to convenience and speed. We want it now and we don’t want to have to work for it. It’s sad.
Melissa says
Thanks Cecily! I admit to being totally oblivious to what I was eating. I never took the time to read labels or count calories and I have paid for that. Our family hasn’t had fast food or soda in two months. We’ve also cut out the HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), which I think was harder than when I quit smoking 10 years ago! HFCS is in almost everything! We tossed almost all our salad dressings, ketsup, bbq sauce, jelly, even sherbert!
I am truly sad that the FDA, USDA, etc have allowed these things to pass for food for so long. I am glad that I have taken the time to question what I was told was acceptable and to actually look into the things we were putting into our bodies as “food”. Our diagnosis has made us learn how to eat all over again. We try to avoid processed foods as much as possible, but to be sucessful, I’ve learned prepping is the key!
We live in a “Hurry Up and Go” & “Instant Gratification” society for sure! I know how crazy and busy our house gets between Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Lacrosse, Tumbling, Cheerleading, and social lives of four kids! I think my crockpot has been our saving grace for dinner time!
Mavis says
I agree. Excellent response, Melissa!
Diana says
I would say that it is not just the grocery stores, but a culture of enablers at every turn–many of them corporate. Yet as Melissa says, it does come back to each of us to be accountable to ourselves, and it takes a commitment to swim against the tide. There are the stores with big carts and massive inventories, drive thru fast food, clothing sizes that keep getting bigger, peers who are obese and demand that no one shame them for it and shun any form of exercise, the ease of getting meds and handicapped car tags when the root of the condition comes down to food intake and inactivity. I also think that the de-emphasis of Home Economics in school has added to the problem. The current generation of parents didn’t even have the opportunity to acquire a sound base of nutrition knowledge in school before raising their families.
With all of that working against you, anyone who undertakes the challenge to swim against the massive cultural tide has my total respect and support.
Melissa says
Trust me, I would love to be able to blame someone else for my mistakes, but the truth is, until we own up to our mistakes, we can’t ever hope to learn from them.
I am still obese and have a long way to go, but I had to own up to the truth. I don’t think it’s right to shame someone for their size, however I don’t expect anyone to make exceptions for me either. Companies will take advantage of the opportunities to make money…wether it’s bulk buying of food or larger sizes of clothing.
I don’t however, feel any person should be made to feel that they are some how less of a person because of their size…or gender, faith, or race.
Diana your reference to schools doing away with Home Ec is a travisty to our children!
Karol says
Melissa – you are an inspiration. Best wishes to you.
Melissa says
Thank you Karol, you are very kind!
Diana says
Agreed! I’m in your corner!
Cecily says
My kids’ school requires them to take a life skills (home economics) class in ninth grade. It is still a focus here, thank goodness!
AshleyAshley says
I can see your correlation….but I also think that stock piling food is a smart thing in the name of preparedness, not necessarily for the end of the world, but for job loss, or lean times for other reason – think medical bills, unexpected appliance purchases, huge car repairs etc. So while some people buy large quanities or have large quantities of food, if it’s for the rainy day prepared person, perhaps the need to monitor diet, servings, and size of servings is more important than how much you buy.
susie says
We have a big family so I wish we had a costco near us! They have the best deals on healthy food too! The junk food is expensive so I wouldn’t by it much. I think a lot of why a lot of Americans are over weight is all the prescriptions they take- have you ever watched a pharmacy? Busiest place in the store- what is everyone taking?
Linda says
I remember when parents joined Costco when I was a kid. We had food stored all over the house. They also bought an extra freezer. More than 1/2 the food we bought never got eaten. Now I only buy what I’m going to use. If I think it’s the best deal in town but can’t eat it all, I’ll share with a friend or donate it. For me, meal planning has reduced the amount of processed foods I buy as well as the amount of extra food I buy.
Tisha says
I just see pantries as the more modern equivalents of root cellars (I have a pantry, really wish I had a root cellar). My opinion is that a lot of it comes down to cost. Junk food is relatively cheap therefore, overconsuming chips for example, may not be a huge problem in a grocery budget. Also, most junk food is easy to chew. It takes a lot longer to eat a whole bag of baby carrots than it does potato chips.
Heather from MA says
We visit BJ’s (big bix in New England) once a month because we have teenagers and they eat A LOT. When I go though, I buy things we eat a lot of such as hormone free chicken, butter, honey, fruits & vegs (they have a decent amount of organic produce), bread, cruelty free bacon, organic milk, organic flour, organic sugar, organic juice and cereal. Most of which can be stored easily or frozen. And of course toilet paper, laundry soap and paper towels.
So althouh I can see the connection IF I went and bought tons of crap food.
Yet another example of using a resource wisely.
tina says
When I first read it I thought it said “super sized panties”. I think I need more coffee.
Mavis says
Ha! Tune in next week for that post, Tina. 🙂
Wendy says
I think that’s kind of an assumptive correlation. I live in a community an hours drive from the nearest Walmart, and probably 2-3 hours from any Costco, Sam’s club or whatever. I can’t really say that I’ve noticed the population here any thinner than anywhere else. I do notice though, that Walmart town also has all the major fast food joints, while out here in the sticks we have two family diners. Drawing a line between big bags of chips and obesity really seems like it’s over simplifying.
My mother’s pantry was larger than most by today’s standards, though much smaller than mine. She only water bath canned, while I try to produce and preserve about 80% of what we eat. She never tried to stockpile more than a couple of week’s worth of grocery store groceries. I try to buy 2-3 months worth at a time so I get the big city prices without having to go in to the city too often. There didn’t seem to be a lot of price difference between the town grocery stores and the city grocery stores when I was young. Now it seems that the town grocery stores are almost double the price per item.
While I admit I am guilty of buying the big bags of chips – and eating them too fast- I’m not going back to get more for quite some time, so it probably balances out.
Kristina says
Mavis, I also think you buck the trend by *walking* to Costco. By their nature, big box stores need to be in suburban areas where real estate is cheap enough to support a warehouse-type building. Such communities tend to be automobile-dependent and not especially conducive/ friendly for other types of conveyance like walking or biking. People just walk more in urban settings than they do in the suburbs, and thus naturally get more exercise just by going about their daily lives. (FWIW, I think you need to save up for one of those fab Dutch cargo bikes. It would be totally “you”!)
Diana says
Good point about walking to the store. And, I love the Dutch cargo bike idea. It would be great for hauling plants and garden produce, as well as groceries.
Mavis says
I second that. I do need a Dutch Cargo Bike. I wonder if I can get it on amazon? 😉
Lana says
I have shopped at Costco for many years. Since I retired several years ago I now have the time to do more meal planning and being on a fixed income am much more aware of my budget. When I worked I used to just throw tons of expensive prepared food in my card and did not give it a second thought. Now I am very aware of what I buy. I find I can stock up on fish chicken and beef at Costco (organic) and freeze it. Costco carries huge bags of frozen organic fruits and veges which I transfer to smaller containers and nothing goes to waste. We do buy some treats and bags of chips, but not too many and when they are gone, they are gone. I agree that it is a shame that home economics is no longer taught in many schools. I think it has to be up to family when raising children to show them how to cook and balance a checkbook, manage money, wash clothes, clean, etc. Schools can’t do everything. I taught my kids all these things and they are quite capable now.
Linda says
Only partly, can we say, stores take the blame. We share it too. Some people hardly know what real food tastes like. We buy the junk, if more people would refuse, I don’t think they’d be making all that stuff. I think everyone should watch how flavors are made or read Rich Food, Poor Foods. Once I was watching a show about a little boy who got taken away from his family because he weight too much. Mom was telling how he stole stuff from cupboard, junk food, of course. My question would be why is those foods in house if he has weight problems, beside fact it is JUNK. I have joine Weight Watchers they teach way to eat- life style and what portions are all about.
I have large pantry but my pantry has: 1) allowed me to help others in time of need. 2) take advantage of sales 3) be prepared in snow storm 4) not go to store when I am not feeling well.
Diane says
I agree with all the points made about the obesity epidemic, and that ultimately control of what and how much we eat HAS to be the responsibility of the individual…BUT…I do want to mention that human beings EVOLVED to eat as much calorie-dense (high-sugar, high-fat) food as we could consume at one time, because those foods provide the body with needed energy, and the availability of such foods was scarce during our early history as a species. Nowadays, those foods are EVERYWHERE – easy to get, often inexpensive to purchase, and engineered by food scientists to be an immediate trigger for your “oh, I have to eat as much of this as I can” response. So part of understanding what makes us overeat “bad” foods is educating ourselves about our own biology, and making sure that the calorie-dense foods we DO eat are also giving us a nutritional boost – like avocados, for instance.
Melissa says
I truly wish walking was an option for me, but Costco is about 15 miles and two towns away from our house! That’s an easy 5 hour walk, probably longer! The other problem would be bringing home all the food! The Costco we shop at is on the corner of an 8 lane highway and there aren’t sidewalks or bike lanes.
Karol says
We did have a pantry and most of my friends growing up had bigger ones. My parents came from a small farm in Europe where during the war, there was real hunger. They did keep plenty of food around and little got wasted. There was some junk, yes, but we always had eggs, butter, whole milk and home cooked dinners. I loved helping grind pork and beef with the hand grinder. We stocked up on sourdough rye and ethnic meats you can’t get in regular grocery stores. My parents heavily used Price Club (now absorbed by Costco.) I use it too. Their quality stock rotates so I get organic strawberries when they’re in season and freeze for smoothis in the winter. Organic apples last a few weeks in the garage. I also get cases of organic chicken (they offer a case discount.) I get the grassfed kielbasa, imported cheeses and butter and they all last quite awhile. They have good pantry items as well, 50 lb bags of central milling organic flour (only seems to be available in the fall), canned salmon and wild planet tuna, maple syrup, tomato products in glass jars, etc. I think big pantries have always been a sign of wealth, but until now signified a wealth of productive land. An often overlooked aspect of obesity are plastics and pesticides in food (especially concentrated in meats and dairy) and their endocrine disrupting components that may also accumulate from mother to child.
Mavis says
Sounds like you have big box shopping totally figured out–I’m impressed with your shopping list!
Ellen in Clackamas says
Mavis,
you better check and see if the HOA will let you ride that Dutch cargo bike around the neighborhood!!!