Speaking of Horn of Plenty

Another stupid study - August 10th, 2009, The US Food Stamp Program may make users fat, according to a new nationwide study that followed participants for 14 years. Researchers found that the average female user of food stamps had an increase in weight of 5.8 pounds.

In 2008 about 28 million people, or almost 1 in 11 residents, received benefits from the food stamp program in a given month.

This study compared nearly 4,000 survey participants who used food stamps with almost 6,000 survey participants who did not. They looked at Body Mass Index (BMI) and food stamp use among the participants from 1989 to 2002.

The study also found that people's weight increased faster when they were on food stamps than when they were not, and increased more, the longer they were in the program.

The researchers took into account income and a variety of other factors, including race and education, that may have also affected the weight of survey participants, outside of the use of food stamps. Even after the various controls, the link between food stamp use and higher weight remained clear, especially for women.

Male food stamp users, both white and black, did not have significantly higher BMIs than those not in the program.

Results showed BMI changed before, during and after they were on food stamps, but increased the most when participants were on food stamps. In addition, the study found the longer participants received food stamps, the fatter they became.

"Every way we looked at the data, it was clear that the use of food stamps was associated with weight gain," a researcher said. The study appears in the current issue of the journal Economics and Human Biology. Our government at work again, tax dollars to study a tax dollars program with ludicrous results. Do ya think it might be the food they buy with the stamps and not the stamps? Why not study how some people can remain on food stamps for 14 years? Hey, let's eliminate obesity, stop the free food stamp program!