I'm pretty sure the apples do have more calories per oz than a chip.     No.  Apples are ~15 calories/ounce.  Chips are ~150 calories/ounce if that person is American (British crisps), 80-100 calories/ounce if British (American fries).   Yes, $5 will buy far more weight in apples than crisps or chips, but you always get more calories per dollar with the latter because of just how much more calorically dense they are. Of course this all fails to address the root of the problem, that they think maximizing calories per dollar is the goal (under the excuse of "muh nutrition") when clearly that's not the part of the diet that is lacking.