“You have got to be kidding me.” That’s the first thing that came to mind when I saw the tease for a new report by USDA’s Economic Research Service titled, “Metropolitan Area Food Prices and Children’s Weight Gain.” Basically it was conducted to see if there’s a link between high priced fruits and vegetables and fat kids. Let’s get rid of the term “overweight” please. Here’s one finding of the study:

Children who lived in metropolitan areas where fruits and vegetables were relatively expensive gained significantly more weight than children—matched for otherwise-similar characteristics and standard of living—who lived where fruits and vegetables were cheaper.

There’s no way you’re going to convince me that the reason these kids in the area studied are fat is because they can’t afford fruits and vegetables. At least the report ends with:

Lacking longitudinal data on consumption and price changes, we cannot confirm the causal relationship between higher prices and the purchase and use of fresh produce. However, the findings suggest the need for more research to determine the impact prices may have on the consumption of fruits and vegetables by children.

I can tell you that the “longitudinal” data they need to look at is how much time those kids are lying down on the couch watching tv or playing video games!