I recently read an article talking about research on the effectiveness of exercise programs and diets. The research noticed that lower income individuals were far less likely to be successful than individuals with higher incomes. This effect was most drastic for people below the poverty level.
This made me think about what factors a person needs to be successful when they decided to make a change. If 2 people are given the exact same plan to follow what leads one to achieve their goals while another fails, or gives up?
They were talking specifically about losing weight. The economics of ones situation is a huge factor. Lower income neighborhoods don't have access to good produce. Farmers Markets and organic grocery stores are not flocking to places that have very little disposable income. So that is one possible factor. Another is time. I am in a household with 2 children and adults that work full time. Making a dinner from a box is much faster and often all we have time for. While this may be a big factor, I imagine time is an issue for everyone, unless you have a stay at home parent or grandparent to help prepare healthy meals for the family.
So these two factors may have some effect on a persons success, but I think there is more to it. I think it comes down, not to motivation but to belief. I know that if I believe I can accomplish something I do. Henry Ford once said "Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right." I think it ultimately comes down to this. You must believe you can change. I do not think that people below the poverty line are weak willed or unmotivated, but they are probably unaccustomed to winning, to setting a goal and achieving it. We are all capable of so much more then we accomplish and the first step is to believe.
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