Beware the recession pounds

January 9, 5:15 PMWeight Loss ExaminerGail Gedan Spencer

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The rotten economy may be causing people to cut back on healthier foods and revert to cheap, starchy junk food, resulting in "recession pounds," Reuters reports.

Health professionals point to studies that link obesity and unhealthy eating habits to low incomes.

"People ... are going to economize and as they save money on food they will be eating more empty calories or foods high in sugar, saturated fats and refined grains, which are cheaper," said Adam Drewnowski, the director of the Nutrition Sciences Program at the University of Washington in Seattle.

"Things are going to get worse," Drewnowski said. "Obesity is a toxic result of a failing economic environment."

But on the upside, heatlh clubs are confident that people won't be cancelling their memberships to save money. The public radio show Marketplace recently did a segment and talked with Joe Moore, a spokesman for the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association. He says that in past recessions, health clubs have stayed, well, healthy, but to make sure that happens this year, clubs are offering more aggressive pricing deals.