Jackson Free Press

It's not an accident that Mississippi—the state with the lowest individual and family incomes—is also the fattest. Ounce for ounce, highly processed food is usually cheaper than fresh, wholesome foods. The problem is that low food prices often come with lots of salt, sugar, refined grains and unnecessary additives that tend to pile on the pounds.

The folks at SixWise.com: Epiphanies for Your Empowerment bring home the connection of lower income and increased obesity when they cite that McDonald's, even in the midst of the economic downturn, reported better-than-expected third quarter profits, with sales up 7 percent, according to Reuters

SixWise also offers some excellent tips for avoiding those "Recession Pound," with "10 ways to save money on groceries and still eat healthy." Among the advice:

1. Focus your budget on fresh foods. Meat, dairy and produce are healthy staples that should take up the majority of your food bill. A rule of thumb is to shop the perimeter of the store. This is where you'll find the basics like produce, meat, dairy and bread.

4. Consider joining a local food coop. Often, you'll get fresh organic produce, eggs, dairy and grass-fed meets for less than you could ever find them in a store.

5. Visit farmer's markets and ask for the leftover produce. Most sellers will have produce left that they can't sell and would simply go to waste. If you don't mind sorting through produce that may be a few days old and pulling out the "good stuff," you can get high-quality veggies for nothing. Often, farmers will be glad to let you have it so they don't have to haul it away.

Visit SixWise.com for the complete list, and other excellent information on kinds of topics.