Expensive Groceries Make Fat Kids In Mobile, Alabama?

Fatties in the land of Moon Pies and RC Cola

I came across a story reported by AP and on About.com that cites a study made by the RAND Corporation in California, which says kids become fatter in Mobile, Alabama, than elsewhere because the relative prices for fruits and vegetables are higher in the region. The report went on to say that kids gained less in Visilia, California, which had the lowest relative cost for produce.

Huh?

I tried to vet the economics of the study, but I only got as far as finding the report's abstract before somebody wanted $30 to read further. So much for hashing the actual data.

Well, here's my take. About a year ago, I moved from my normally mundane middle class lifestyle in Jacksonville, Florida, to my current living like one of the "Aztec Kings of Mexico" lifetyle in Mobile. The relative cost of living here seems low compared to Jacksonville. While there are perhaps fewer grocery stores here than in Jacksonville, prices seem to be competitive by necessity. Rural Mobile and neighboring Baldwin counties are mainly agricultural, with cotton and vegetables as the rotating crops.

Because I cannot get to the actual numbers in the report (without spending 30 bucks), I have to read the articles as if the the story is the result a study performed in a data-free-enironment.

All I can figure is the fat kids must be consuming loads of that particularly Southern delicacy, Moon Pies and RC Cola. Historically, Mobile is the home of the first and original Mardi Gras, and maybe all those King Cakes take their toll, too.

Read the About.com article.
Read the AP article at ABC.com.

General Tension: 30
Gravity: -10
Updated: 6:00 PM 10/6/05
Topics: Mobile Alabama, Gulf Coast, News, Current Events

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