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Time-Starved Working Parents Eat Poorly: Study
Low-income work schedules make healthy eating difficult
By Nick McMaster
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Posted Sep 10, 09 2:59 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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The nature of low-income employment promotes unhealthy eating, Time reports. Over half of working parents in low-to-moderate income communities relied on dietary “coping” measures when their schedules couldn’t accommodate a full meal, according to a new Cornell University study. Those strategies included skipping breakfast or family meals, and ordering takeout or heating up packaged meals.
“Often our jobs don't allow us to eat together at home as often as we'd like," said the lead researcher. "This is more common than we expected, and it's not just fast food. We are not going to fix the obesity epidemic simply by telling people to eat well. This study is telling us that it is the structure of our lives that makes it very difficult to do what doctors recommend."