"Extreme Couponing" and obesity...connection?
 

I love watching "Extreme Couponing" on TLC,and totally get the couponing "high" they describe when paying next to nothing for a cart full of groceries. One thing I've noticed is many of the people featured on the show are extremely overweight and look really puffy and unhealthy. Some of them really go overboard with their purchases to the point of hording. ( Like 56 bottles of mustard in storage. Really? ) It seems when they get to that point, a lot of OCD tendencies appear. Overeating and over shopping, and the unfortunate thing is the bulk of "food" bought is processed and high in sugar and salt. Anyone else notice this?

it because they arent exercising they are sitting around clipping coupons all day

I do think it is hoarding. On one show a lady was showing off her enormous supply of food and toiletries. She said she would reach menopause before she was able to use all the feminine products she has on hand, yet on the same show she had coupons for feminine products and bought more. These people have enough food on hand to last several years. Why keep getting more when you already have so much stockpiled.

Actually my boyfriend and I were just watching this and I remarked that a large percentage of these people are bigger, plus there was that one lady with 9 kids who was SO in love with her soap collection, saying 'You can never get clean enough!' in regards to why she loves it so much... I thought that it was really unhealthy psychologically. I do notice that these people are so fanatical about their purchases and they have to divide it a certain way, they spend a ton of hours getting their trips ready, they dumpster dive for coupons, etc. It's just a little too much to me, I think. I do get the idea of stock piling to an extent, but a lot of these people end up donating a larger percentage of these foods because they simply can't use it all before it expires.

Anyways, the connection between being heavy and extreme couponing I make is that stuff like veggies, meats and fresh ingredients (which we should all be mostly eating) isn't a 'brand' and there really aren't coupons for them whereas things like crackers, chips, sodas, frozen meals - they're constantly on sale and they have a brand associated with them and the brand manufacturer generates coupons for these to get people to buy their products. I did notice sometimes the couponers will try to generate a negative balance with their purchases and then use the overage to cover staples like meats, breads, veggies, fruits etc (since most stores won't give you money back in you have a negative balance).

Some of the couponers do donate food to charity and I think that is good but I think most of them keep it for themselves . I think they just like to go look at their 56 jars of mustard or enough deodorant and shampoo to last several lifetimes. I do shop sales and take advantage of specsls and always have food on hand, but I will get 2 maybe 4 of an item. Not cases and cases.

I agree with Michi702 about the overweight-coupon connection. On a side note, I could never live my life chasing coupons & sales (I do use coupons & get things on sale but not to that extent). It seems obsessive and a waste of life IMO

I coupon, but I was "big" before couponing.
I do agree that a lot of it is processed crap, but you CAN also get good deals on GOOD things to eat if you look hard enough!

Also, yes it's a kind of hoarding, but I think [and don't chew me up over this] if you have the space, the time & the actual "need" in the future for a certain item AND you can get it for free... then why not?

I am not against free, free is good. But why more than you can ever use ?

because there is no actual "need" for something like 56 bottles of mustard (which do in fact expire) or feminine hygiene products beyond what you need for the next year - no one needs to stockpile enough for decades and then still keep buying!

I do understand the challenge of it, I enjoy getting a good bargain as much as anyone, but I have to say that there is something pathological about the people I have seen on these tv shows. They may be clean and organized about it, but they are hoarders.

I don't mean to say that anyone who uses coupons or who stocks up on something that is a good deal and that they can realistically use up while it's still fresh enough to use falls into that category, but as with most things, at some point, there is a line separating normal from extreme, and some people have crossed that line.

I don't know if there is a connection, but when I search for coupons, they are usually for unhealthy food. It's always stuff we don't eat or I don't need more of one of if it is a treat.

The people on this show are VERY entertaining, but they all seem sick to me.
And yeah, they're overweight because they get coupons for CRAP food!
That said, I still love to watch it :D

Yes, I agree with what you're saying. The woman that wouldn't need anymore tampons/pads for the rest of her life & THEN some needs to just quit lol. Or donate a lot! If they're a money maker, fine; get them & DONATE THEM. But I don't think having a swimming pool full of them is going to help anyone lol.

Also, I don't get the whole just because it's hoarding then they're sick or something lol. I would say [and this is my OWN PERSONAL OPINION] that as long as it's not over taking their life & household, then it's fine. If it's in the basement away from everything else and not taking over their house [unlike some people on that show] then they're fine, let them do what they want; but the people actually on HOARDERS have a serious problem.

Yes that part I agree with. If you know for a fact that you can't/won't use that many ever and don't know someone that will, then donate the stuff.

I thought there might be some connection between obesity and hoarding after watching "Hoarders" as well. There was also a food hoarder on there- which was beyond disgusting- another reason I can be happy I only have a manageable overeating problem.

I guess the other part about Extreme Couponing that gets me is that this would only really fly in America and other first world, super developed countries. We have this mentality of grabbing more than we need and who cares what's left for others? I mean if you get 56 yogurts or 200 bottles of aspirin or whatever, you're not really thinking of other people, just that you NEED that amount to save (or generate) a certain amount of dollars. The whole point of things expiring and having way more than you could ever use, it's kind of like pointless to me. Why should you buy all that crud when there's a line of other people who will actually use it before it expires? I've seen people with stock piles going into their kid's bedrooms, like this one lady with 100 bottles of sweet baby ray's BBQ sauce. I don't know about you guys, but I do love sauces and I'm hard pressed to go through two or three bottles a year.