Recession may worsen your diet

Rising food prices deplete our budgets and put our waistlines at risk. Nutrition experts say the lean economy can mean a fatty diet. Are the numbing jolts of grocery store sticker shock changing the kinds of food we place in our carts?

Price changes don't just affect how much food people buy, it can markedly change what they buy. Cheaper foods tend to have more calories -- calorie-dense foods like cookies are more affordable than oranges. Just yesterday I picked up a bag of oranges, saw the $5.49 price tag, freaked out and put it back. As I walked away, this battle waged in my head, "How could you not buy oranges, even at that price, when we're faced with post-Halloween candy fallout at home?" Our fridge is now full of oranges.

Also, research has clearly found foods full of fat, sugar and starch are cheaper than those packed with vitamins, minerals and fiber. Even worse, skyrocketing food prices haven't impacted foods equally. Between 2004-2006, the cost of calorie-dense foods in one study dropped slightly, while the lowest-calorie foods (e.g., oranges) shot up by nearly 20 percent.

Interestingly, another study found thinner moms bought fewer high-calorie foods when prices went up, and sometimes even reached for foods lower in calories whose prices had not increased. Obese moms did not stop buying the cookies and did not start buying low-calorie foods. Glad I bought those oranges, recession or not. Here are ten quick tips for nutritious shopping during a recession. I'm already following all the tips, except for number five (use coupons). How about you?